Hackney carriage vehicle licence

Sunderland City Council currently limit the number of hackney carriages in the city and there are approximately 349 licensed at this time. Any new licences issued by the council will be for wheelchair accessible vehicles only.

The city is split into two zones where hackney carriages can ply for hire, the Sunderland zone (Yellow, Orange or Red plates) and the Hetton, Houghton and Washington zone (Green plates).

To licence a vehicle for Hackney Carriage use it must comply with various council standards and criteria listed in the policies below: 

• Statement of Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing Policy 2023 (pdf)​​​​​​​

In particular, please see the sections Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Specifications .pdf and Schedule of Conditions Attached to Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences .pdf.

There is currently a waiting list for new hackney carriage licences.  To be placed on the waiting list please complete our application form for either:

• Sunderland zone (PDF) [18KB] (opens new window)
• Hetton, Houghton and Washington Taxi Waiting List (PDF) [19KB] (opens new window)

Guidelines on vehicle mechanical inspections and retest arrangements

Guidelines on vehicle mechanical inspections

The current annual fee for a Hackney Carriage vehicle licence is £250.60 plus the cost of 2 mechanical inspections at £60 each.
If you are a current Hackney carriage vehicle licence holder and require a test appointment for your vehicle, you can book your appointment online.

Book your vehicle test

If you are unable to attend an appointment you have already made, you can rearrange this up until the day before.

Re-arrange a vehicle test appointment

Please do not try and book an appointment if you are applying for a new Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence as we are currently operating a waiting list for new Hackney Carriage vehicle licences. If you pay for a test appointment for a new vehicle, we will be unable to issue a refund.

If you are a current Hackney Carriage vehicle licence holder and need to renew an existing licence you need to access to e renewal Hackney Carriage vehicle licence from:

Renew an existing Hackney carriage vehicle licence 

to access the form you will need to input the reference number that was included in your renewal email.