Hire Vehicle Driver - DBS Disclosure
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was set up by the Government to facilitate safer recruitment and licensing in order to protect children and vulnerable adults. Applicants for a hackney carriage (taxi) or a private hire driver licence will be subject to what is known as an Enhanced Disclosure from the DBS.
The DBS will access Government and Police records to produce the disclosure document. All applicants applying for an Enhanced Disclosure will be subject to a Police National Computer (PNC) check. The disclosure result will show details of any convictions, reprimands, warnings or cautions. The Enhanced Disclosure also includes a check of police records held locally for any relevant and impartial additional information. The check will also involve a search from the lists of those that are barred from working with children and/or vulnerable adults.
The DBS will send the Disclosure Result to the applicant. A copy of the result will not be sent to the Council. You will need to present your copy to the Licensing Team as soon as you receive it.
Disclosure and Barring Service - Update Service
This Authority requires taxi and private hire drivers to use the DBS update service. This is in line with the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards issued by the Department for Transport.
The DBS update service lets you keep your DBS certificate up to date online and allows the Licensing Authority to check a certificate online. The update service will allow you to reuse your DBS certificate when applying for licence renewal.
Detailed information and guidance regarding the update service can be found at:
Registration on the update service lasts for 1 year and costs £16 per year (payable by debit or credit card only).
Further Information
Our guidance booklet, on the subject of DBS Disclosures, can be found under Related Documents at the bottom of this webpage.