Completing your application
How to apply
You can also download the following forms:
- Apply for a Private hire operator's licence
- Renew a Private hire operator's licence
- Apply for a Taxi operator's licence
- Renew a Taxi operator's licence
- Taxi partnership - amendment form
The information you have supplied on this form will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data. A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:
Applications must contain
- contain the applicant’s name and address
- the application fee
- details of the vehicle to be used for the business
- a valid insurance certificate
- a MOT certificate, if applicable
- a registration document (if this is not possible, a bill of sale is acceptable)
Your application must be accompanied by:
- Evidence of Entitlement to work in the UK
- Check on previous convictions for applicants seeking a new licence, and who were born or have been resident outside the UK for six months or more.
Detailed information of what should be submitted is included in these Guidance Notes.
Legislation regarding HMRC tax checks for licence applications.
Regulation Summary
Schedule of Conditions
Details of the Schedule of Conditions for a Private Hire Car Licence
Details of the Schedule of Conditions for a Taxi Licence
Fees
Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis, which at present is 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2027. The fee for a 3 year licence is £533.
Contact Details
Telephone: 01546 604355 or licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk
51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute Council
Legal and Regulatory Support
Licensing Section
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RT
Eligibility Criteria
A Taxi Licence shall be required for carrying on the trade as a taxi business.
A Private Hire Car Licence shall be required for carrying on the trade as a Private Hire Car business.
Drivers of these vehicles also require to hold a taxi or private hire car drivers licence.
You must not be disqualified from holding a licence and you must be a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence.
You must not have applied for the same licence within the last year, unless there has been a material change in your circumstances since your last application.
There can be more than one name stated on this licence.
The application process
We will:
- send a copy of the application to Police Scotland
- place a notice within the local authority office notice board, which states the applicant name and address and what type of licence is being applied for, that any objections or representations may be made to the local authority and how such representations should be made
- keep a register of applications in which they will enter the details of the receipt of the application, their final decision and reasons for the decision, the details of the terms of each licence granted and a note of any suspension, variation of the terms, or surrender of a licence
- all applications for taxi and private hire car licences will be considered by the Council’s Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee at a public meeting.
The register must be available for inspection by any member of the public at reasonable times and place and any member of the public must be permitted to make a copy of it. A fee will be required for this service.
Where the local authority fails to make a decision within 9 months of the application, the licence is held to be granted or renewed.
Objections and Appeals
If you have made an application for a license and it has been refused.
Please contact us in the first instance.
You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.
You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.
The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:
- erred in law
- based our decision on an incorrect material fact
- acted contrary to natural justice
- exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner
You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.
Appeals - Licence Holders
Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.
You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.
The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:
- erred in law
- based our decision on an incorrect material fact
- acted contrary to natural justice
- exercised our discretion in an unreasonable manner
You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.
Objections / Representations
Objections and representations must be made in writing and must be addressed to:
Licensing Section, 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute Council HQ, Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT. Each objection / representation must include a name, full postal address and signature.
Please note that objections and representations must be received within the 28 day period, this means within the time period for objections and representations as set out in the Civic Government Register.
Late objections / representations may be determined by the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee but will be decided by the Committee at the relevant meeting whether or not they will consider the late objection / representation.