“Hackney licence” covers two separate licences: one for the driver and one for the vehicle. The driver side is the same SPSV driver licence a taxi driver holds. The vehicle side is where hackneys differ from taxis, and where most people searching this get a surprise: the NTA is not issuing new standard hackney vehicle licences. Here is what a hackney is, what you can and cannot license today, and what each route costs, from the NTA Official Manual 8.0.
What a hackney is
SPSV stands for Small Public Service Vehicle, any licensed vehicle carrying up to eight passengers. There are six categories: taxi, wheelchair accessible taxi, hackney, wheelchair accessible hackney, local area hackney and limousine. A hackney is a pre-booked SPSV. The customer books it in advance, the fare is agreed before the journey starts, and the driver must give a receipt at the end. Limousines follow all hackney rules.
Hackney versus taxi
| Rule | Taxi | Hackney |
|---|---|---|
| Hailed on the street | Yes | No, pre-booked only |
| Taxi ranks | Yes, must be available for hire while there | Not allowed to stand for hire |
| Bus lanes | Yes, while operating as an SPSV (with-flow lanes only) | No |
| Fare | Taximeter, National Maximum Taxi Fare | Agreed with the customer before the trip; must not charge more than agreed |
| Roof sign and door branding | Mandatory | None; no signs or ads unless NTA-approved (80 euro fixed payment) |
| Paperwork on board | Meter receipt printed and offered | Booking document for every hire (booker’s name and contact, pick-up, drop-off, agreed fare) and a receipt offered at the end |
| Licence disc colour | Yellow | Blue (silver for limousines) |
| Driver licence | SPSV driver licence | Same SPSV driver licence |
Two fixed payments are specific to hackney work: 100 euro for not offering a receipt and 80 euro for not carrying the booking record. The booking document and receipt are not needed when the passenger has a pre-existing payment account, or for a limousine on a wedding or funeral.
Which hackney licences you can actually apply for
The Manual is direct about it: the NTA is currently accepting new vehicle licence applications only for wheelchair accessible taxis, wheelchair accessible hackneys, local area hackneys and limousines. That leaves two hackney routes for a new applicant.
Wheelchair accessible hackney
- Vehicle licence 125 euro plus the 45 euro Initial Suitability Inspection; the car must be under 6 years old at first licensing.
- Boarding aids or ramps, wheelchair anchorages and seatbelts; the accessibility symbol on a passenger door.
- Must be able to carry at least one wheelchair user and one other passenger, give booking priority to people with disabilities, and keep a record of all bookings.
- Renewal 75 euro a year, half the standard rate. The WAV grant scheme, run through the NTA in annual rounds, offsets part of the purchase price.
Local area hackney
This licence exists for places a taxi will not serve: a village or rural area where the local authority agrees there is an unmet need. It is cheap to get and tightly restricted.
- Vehicle licence 50 euro, no inspection fee, car under 10 years old at first licensing.
- You must supply a letter from a local business, company or charity confirming the need for the service, plus an analysis report showing real need, done by or for the local authority, and the local authority’s written confirmation.
- The licence names the area. You may only pick up passengers there, usually within 5 to 7 km of the approved local area, and you must not offer or advertise services outside it.
- You cannot hold any other SPSV vehicle licence at the same time.
- Renewed yearly at 150 euro, but only for three years from the first grant; after that you apply from scratch with all the documents again.
The driver licence that goes with it is also special. A local area hackney driver does not sit the SPSV Driver Entry Test, but must already hold the local area hackney vehicle licence, can only drive local area hackneys, and the driver licence lasts three years and cannot be renewed.
Standard hackney
No new licences. An existing standard hackney licence stays attached to its vehicle licence holder; it cannot be sold, and it passes to another person only through the nominated-successor process when the holder dies. If you are offered a “hackney plate” for money, that is not a route the NTA recognises.
The driver licence: same as for a taxi
To drive a hackney, wheelchair accessible hackney or limousine you need the ordinary SPSV driver licence. That means the SPSV Driver Entry Test (90 euro a sitting: 54 Industry Knowledge questions in 54 minutes and 36 Area Knowledge questions in 36 minutes, 75% in each), the free Safeguarding and Disability Awareness course, the 250 euro licence fee and the Garda application with form PSV 15. The whole route, in order, is in how to become a taxi driver in Ireland; it is identical for a hackney driver. The one thing to think about when you book the test is the county: the Area Knowledge module is for the county you choose, and it is the county you will be licensed to work in.
Costs at a glance
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| SPSV Driver Entry Test | 90 euro per sitting (not needed for a local area hackney driver) |
| SPSV driver licence | 250 euro, valid up to 5 years (local area hackney driver licence: 3 years, not renewable) |
| Wheelchair accessible hackney vehicle licence | 125 euro + 45 euro inspection; renewal 75 euro a year |
| Local area hackney vehicle licence | 50 euro; renewal 150 euro a year, three years maximum |
| Standard hackney vehicle licence | Not issued; renewal for existing holders 150 euro a year |
| Late renewal of any vehicle licence | 500 euro, up to 24 months after expiry |
Insurance is the cost none of these tables show and the largest one; pre-booked-only work is sometimes quoted lower than taxi work, but budget for a first policy in the thousands either way. The full breakdown of every fee, including what a failed test costs in lost weeks, is in the SPSV licence cost guide.
Is a hackney the right choice?
Choose a hackney route if your work is pre-booked by nature: school runs, contracts with a hotel or a nursing home, a rural area with no taxi, or wedding and event work with a limousine. Choose the taxi route if you want to work ranks, the airport and street hails in a city; in that case the vehicle licence comes with a car that already holds one, or with a new wheelchair accessible taxi. Either way the driver licence and the test are the same, so preparation starts in the same place: the practice questions for your county.