Your situation
DBS check for taxi and private hire drivers
Set how long you will drive and how often your council wants a new check: the total.
DBS cost over your taxi or private hire licences
Cheaper without the Update Service
£53
| 3 new checks at £41 | £123 |
| One check + Update Service | £176 |
Only if your council accepts Update Service status checks; some ask for a new certificate anyway.
A taxi or private hire driver applying for or renewing a licence can be asked by the licensing authority for an enhanced DBS check with both the children's and the adults' barred lists. The DBS guidance for the "other" workforce lists taxi and private hire licences among the few roles that reach both lists without being regulated activity, and the application must be submitted by the licensing authority or organisation in the Other workforce. The DBS fee is £41 since 5 October 2026, down from £49.50; a council or its chosen umbrella body may add an admin fee. How often a new check is needed is set by each council, often at each licence renewal or on a fixed cycle, and many accept the Update Service between checks. At £15 a year, the subscription lets the council check your certificate online. The calculator above compares a new check at each renewal with one check plus the subscription. Driving adults who cannot travel alone to hospital is a different case: patient transport drivers reach the adults' list, but the guidance excludes taxi drivers from that activity.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
Cost over several licences
| Years driving | New check every | Checks without Update Service | Without | With Update Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 year | 3 | £123 | £86 |
| 6 | 3 years | 2 | £82 | £131 |
| 9 | 3 years | 3 | £123 | £176 |
| 12 | 3 years | 4 | £164 | £221 |
| 10 | 1 year | 10 | £410 | £191 |
The subscription is cheaper when the council would otherwise ask for a new check more often than every 2 years or so: 2 years of subscription cost £30, against £41 for one check before any admin fee. If your council insists on a new certificate at every renewal whatever your status, the subscription saves nothing.
The rule in the guidance
The DBS guidance for the "other" workforce says that when renewing or applying for a taxi or private hire vehicle licence, the licensing organisation can ask applicants to apply for an enhanced check with both barred lists, submitted in the Other workforce. The same section covers pedicab licences in London. It is the licensing authority, not the driver, that is entitled to the check.
Patient transport and school runs
Two driving jobs follow other rules. Driving adults who cannot travel alone to or from health care, personal care or social work is regulated activity with adults, so drivers and assistants of patient transport services reach the adults' barred list, but the adults guidance expressly leaves taxi and private hire drivers out of that activity. Driving children for a school or an organisation on more than three days in 30 days is regulated activity with children. A taxi driver doing contracted school runs can therefore be asked for a check by both the council and the contracting authority. The barred list page explains both lists.
Before you apply
Ask your council three things: which umbrella body or route it uses, whether it accepts the Update Service between checks, and how often it wants a new certificate. Those answers, not the national fee, decide your total. A driver licensed by two councils may be asked for a check by each of them.
Keep each council's answer in writing.