Driver revising with a smartphone and an open handbook in the front seat of a car parked on a London street, with a black cab behind

SERU study notes

Licensing & Your Obligations (PHV)

Who can apply, your licence and badge, medicals, convictions and cautions, vehicle licences and discs, suspension and revocation, and the changes you must report.

What this topic covers

Who can apply, your licence and badge, medicals, convictions and cautions, vehicle licences and discs, suspension and revocation, and the changes you must report. The full SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app contains 55 questions on this topic, each referenced to its section of the TfL handbook.

Worked examples

Here are a few practice questions from this topic. Try answering each before reading the explanation.

Example 1

The minimum age to apply for a London PHV driver's licence is ____.

A. 21 ✓ correct
B. 18
C. 23
D. 25

Explanation: The handbook says you must be at least 21 when you apply; separately, the Act does not let TfL grant the licence to anyone under 21. Eighteen is below the stated minimum. Twenty-three and 25 are higher than the stated minimum, so a 21-year-old applicant would wrongly be turned away. (PHV Handbook s1: Licensing requirements / PHV (London) Act 1998 s13)

Example 2

Kwame's English test result shows level A2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR). Does he meet the English requirement for a PHV driver's licence?

A. No, he needs at least level B1 ✓ correct
B. Yes, A2 is the minimum level needed
C. No, he needs at least level C1
D. Yes, if he also passes the SERU assessment

Explanation: Applicants must show English at level B1 or above, so A2 is too low. A2 being the minimum is wrong because the stated level is B1. C1 is wrong because it is higher than the level asked for. Passing SERU is wrong as a fix: SERU gives the reading and writing evidence, but it does not lower the B1 level needed. (PHV Handbook s1: Licensing requirements)

Example 3

A police officer asks Dev to show his PHV driver's licence. The licence is at home. What does the handbook allow?

A. He may show it to the officer within seven days ✓ correct
B. He must show it to the officer within 48 hours
C. He must go home and bring it to the officer at once
D. He need only show it to a TfL officer, not the police

Explanation: A driver asked by a police officer or a TfL Authorised Officer can show the licence on the spot or within seven days at most. Forty-eight hours is not the period the handbook gives. Going home at once is not required, since seven days are allowed. Refusing the police is wrong because the rule covers police officers as well as TfL officers. (PHV Handbook s1: Private hire driver's licence)

Example 4

Priya is driving to collect a booked passenger. Her PHV driver's badge is in her bag, and TfL has not given her an exemption. Is this allowed?

A. No, she must wear it where it can be clearly seen ✓ correct
B. Yes, it is only needed once a passenger is on board
C. Yes, as long as she can show it if she is asked
D. No, she must place it on the dashboard instead

Explanation: Unless TfL has issued an exemption, the badge must be worn, and clearly visible, whenever a driver is working, and that includes travelling to pick up a passenger. Wearing it only with a passenger on board is wrong, because the journey to the pick-up counts as working. Showing it on request is not enough, as it must be worn. The dashboard is wrong because the badge is worn by the driver. (PHV Handbook s1: Your PHV driver's badge)

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More SERU study notes

Get all 55 questions on this topic in the SERU Revision: PHV & Taxi app.