Frequently Asked Questions

Your PCO licence is valid for 3 years. You should receive a PCO licence renewal pack in the post about four months before it expires, but it's always a good idea to set a reminder to contact TfL. Especially because the PCO renewal process can take up to 8 weeks.

You must be at least 21 years old to be an
approved PCO driver.

If this happens, TfL will notify you via email. The notification should include a confirmation that your application has been refused, the reason(s) for the refusal, as well as your right to appeal
the decision - including what you need to do
and by when. You can normally appeal the
decision in 21 days.

As part of your PCO Licence application,
you need to prove that you are medically
fit to drive through a medical test. The test will check your reactions, coordination, memory and so on. See more on: DVLA Group 2 medical standards. To take the test, you can
contact your GP or book with an external
centre (provided they have access to
your full medical history). TfL advises that
the cost is around £80. The test result is
only valid for 6 months, so make sure you
apply before it expires.

The pco licence allows you to work as a
private hire vehicle minicab driver or
chauffer. It is also known as the Private
Hire Driver Licence. PCO stands for Public Carriage Office they are part of
Transport for London (TfL).

You need to pass the Topographical Skills
assessment to complete your PCO
Licence application. The test ensures you
are able to use an A-Z Guide to locate
places, as well as to plan routes (of
varying distance) from one point to
another.

PCO stands for Public Carriage Office - they are part of Transport for London (TFL).

It generally takes between 12-20 weeks for your PCO application to be fully processed. It's
always a good idea to start gathering your
documents as early as possible.

You will need to hold your license for a minimum of 3 years to apply.