Wolverhampton Council Reassures Drivers on Cross Border Hiring

In their winter newsletter, Wolverhampton Council Taxi Licensing reassured drivers that, despite ongoing calls to limit out-of-area working, the current legislation allows licensed drivers to carry out pre-booked jobs anywhere in the UK, regardless of where their licence was issued.

This flexibility permits journeys to start, pass through, or end in any part of the country. The City of Wolverhampton Council has confirmed that any restrictions on this practice would require legislative amendments. At present, there are no indications from the government of plans to implement such changes. If new regulations are introduced, all affected licence holders will be informed in advance.

"While there have been calls to restrict out-of-area working over the years, drivers are legally allowed to undertake pre-booked work which starts, travels through and ends in any area of the country."

On Future Changes:

"Any changes to this will require a change in the legislation and the council is not aware of any government plans to do so. Should this change, all licence holders will be contacted in advance."

Along with, Council also reminded of the changes related to:

Certificates of Good Conduct Now Mandatory

Taxi and private hire drivers who have lived outside the UK for three months or more since turning 18 are now required to provide a Certificate of Good Character or equivalent documentation as part of their licence application or renewal process.

This new measure applies to both new applications and renewals. The council’s licensing officers are working to streamline the process, but applicants are advised to secure the necessary certificate in advance to avoid delays.

Updated Medical Certificate Requirements

A revised medical certificate template is now available on the City of Wolverhampton Council’s website. This new form must be used for all applications submitted through to 31 December 2025.

Notable changes include a requirement for the examining medical practitioner to confirm they have reviewed the applicant’s full medical records on the day of the examination. Applicants using a non-GP practitioner must obtain and present their complete medical records from their GP.

The updated form also incorporates the DVLA D4 medical form, which must be completed and submitted alongside the application. To simplify the process of uploading the form, the council recommends compressing image files by converting them to PDFs, compressing the PDFs, and then reconverting them to JPEGs if needed. For persistent issues, applicants can email the completed form, along with their application reference number, to [email protected] for manual processing by the licensing team.