PCO NOTICE 05/09

by **Admin** Wed 11 Mar 2009 - 18:50

Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle drivers:
Holders of European Community/European Economic Area driving licences
In order to be licensed as a taxi or PHV driver, an applicant must hold a full driving licence issued in the UK, the European Community (EC) or one of the other countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).
In addition to the above, from 1 April 2009 the Licensing Authority will require all taxi and PHV drivers who hold a EC/EEA driving licence to have a GB counterpart document.
Any individual making an application for a taxi or PHV driver’s licence on or after this date will be required to obtain a GB counterpart prior to the issue of a licence.
When licence holders apply for a counterpart they will be registered with the DVLA and allocated a GB driver number. Any driving convictions and endorsements subsequently incurred by the licence holder in the UK will be recorded by the DVLA.
Having a GB counterpart benefits drivers by allowing them to take part in the fixed penalty system for road traffic offences rather than having to attend court and incur a greater penalty as well as costs. In addition, if a driver loses or has his or her national driving licence stolen, they would probably not be able to get a duplicate from the country it was issued in. However, once registered with the DVLA they will be able to apply for a GB licence.
Currently licensed drivers who hold a EC/EEA licence will be required to obtain a GB counterpart when they apply to be re-licensed. If a licensed driver cannot obtain a GB counterpart before their existing licence expires, the new licence will be issued on condition that a GB counterpart is obtained and produced to the PCO within 3 months.
In order to obtain a UK counterpart, the applicant must be resident in the UK. Any driver who is unable to satisfy this requirement may be licensed on condition that a UK counterpart is obtained within 3 months of the licence being issued.
All non-UK licence holders will still be required to provide a copy of their EC/EEA driving licence with their application.

The full list of EC/EEA states is:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Norway

GB counterparts can be obtained free of charge from the DVLA on submission of form D9 which can be downloaded from http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/forms/d9.pdf. The DVLA advises that it takes approximately 3 weeks from receipt of application to issue a GB counterpart.
Mary Dowdye
2 March 2009

Head of Standards & Regulations