The taxi suitability test is the NTA’s check of a vehicle before it is licensed as an SPSV, and again at each renewal. Its official name is the Initial Suitability Inspection; drivers call it the suitability test. It costs 45 euro, it is separate from the NCT, and it is done at an NTA vehicle licensing centre. This page is the checklist we would want before turning up, taken from Chapters 3 and 4 of the NTA Manual 8.1 (pages 46 to 71) and nationaltransport.ie. It also happens to be examinable: several Industry questions come from these pages.
How to book the suitability test
By phone, on the NTA SPSV Information Line, 0818 064 000. Only the licence applicant can make the booking. Have your PPSN (first licence) or CCSN (change of vehicle), your insurance and NCT details and your tax clearance to hand: the age of the car and the tax clearance are both checked on the call, and you are offered a centre and a slot. The 45 euro fee is paid at booking. You can cancel or move the appointment free up to two working days before; the working day before carries a late fee, and a no-show loses the fee. The same number books the driver entry test, which is a different appointment: how to book the SPSV driver test covers that one.
Who needs one
Anyone putting a vehicle on an SPSV licence: a new licence, a change of vehicle on an existing licence, or the yearly renewal. The NTA currently issues new vehicle licences only for wheelchair accessible taxis, wheelchair accessible hackneys, local area hackneys and limousines; an existing standard taxi licence cannot be sold or transferred, but its holder can move it to a replacement car, and that car goes through the inspection as a change of vehicle.
If you are only getting your driver licence and plan to rent a licensed taxi, none of this applies to you yet. The rental car has already passed.
Fees
| Licence | Licence fee | Initial Suitability Inspection |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair accessible taxi | 125 euro | 45 euro |
| Wheelchair accessible hackney | 125 euro | 45 euro |
| Limousine | 1,000 euro | 45 euro |
| Local area hackney | 50 euro | none |
| Renewal, any category (yearly) | 150 euro, or 75 euro for wheelchair accessible taxi or hackney. Late renewal up to 24 months after expiry: 500 euro. | |
The Suitable Vehicle List
Before you buy, check the NTA’s Suitable Vehicle List, a make-and-model PDF on the vehicle licensing page that says which cars meet the size rules for each SPSV category (the current edition is dated May 2026). If your car is not on it, or the entry is incomplete, contact the NTA on 0818 064 000 before buying. Do not rely on a dealer’s word. The same page links the Initial Suitability Inspection Manual, which lists every check below in the inspector’s order.
Before you buy the car
- Age. Rules depend on the licence category, whether it is a new licence or a change of vehicle, and when the licence was first issued. Appendix A of the Manual has the tables. Age is checked at booking: if the car will be over the limit on the inspection date, you will not get an appointment.
- Basics every SPSV must meet. Mechanically propelled, four wheels (some limousines excepted) and four doors, up to eight passengers not counting the driver, gross weight under 3,500 kg, designed for passengers rather than goods, so no crew-cab or pick-up.
- Glass. Windscreen and all passenger side windows must pass 70% of visible light. A tint band at the top of the windscreen is allowed up to 125 mm. Tip from the Manual: a Roman numeral V beside the European approval number on the glass means it is too dark and will fail.
- Roof. Permanent solid roof for taxis and hackneys; a factory sunroof is fine.
- Seats. No side-facing seats except in limousines. Minimum seat dimensions, height and spacing are set out in the Initial Suitability Inspection Manual.
- Boot. At least 420 litres, able to take a folded wheelchair of 735 x 330 x 805 mm, with a luggage cover or guard. Some hybrids and EVs get relaxed boot rules, but not all.
- Heating. The cabin must hold 20°C when it is minus 5 outside.
- Bull bars, if fitted, must comply with EC Regulation 78/2009.
Paperwork to have valid on the day
- NCT certificate issued within the last 90 days. In date is not enough: it must have been issued within 90 days of the inspection.
- Insurance certificate for SPSV use, in exactly the name on the application. The Manual gives the example: “James Murphy” passes; “Jim Murphy”, “James Murphy Jnr”, “James J. Murphy” or “Séamus Ó Murchú” on the insurance does not.
- Tax clearance, checked again at booking.
- Proof you own the vehicle or have a legal right to use it (lease or hire purchase).
- Your PPSN when booking a first licence, or your CCSN (the customer number on NTA letters) for a change of vehicle.
- For a converted vehicle, including every wheelchair accessible vehicle: the Technical Assessor’s Full Report on the NTA template, dated no more than 60 days before the inspection. For a stretched or kit limousine: the Basic Report, same 60-day rule.
- Changing vehicle? Bring the tamper-proof licence discs peeled from the old car’s front and rear windows.
Note the two clocks: NCT within 90 days, assessor’s report within 60 days. Book the inspection, then get the NCT, not the other way round.
Equipment fitted before the inspection (taxis)
- Taximeter with printer, installed and programmed with the registration number, the licence number, the current National Maximum Taxi Fare and the correct date and time. Mounted where passengers can read it, without blocking the driver’s view or an airbag. It is sealed later by the Legal Metrology Service at a separate appointment; keep that appointment letter in the car until it is sealed.
- Roof sign with a built-in light: on when available for hire, off when hired, no extra lights. Firmly attached, removable, readable front and back, and off the car when it is parked in a public place and not working.
- Door branding on both front doors, carrying the licence number and fitted only by an NTA-approved supplier. The rear panel shows the licence number front and back; the spare space may carry area stickers or dispatch operator details, otherwise it stays blank. Wheelchair accessible vehicles show the accessibility symbol prominently, and on the roof sign (taxi) or door (hackney).
- Cashless payment device, linked to you as driver rather than to the car. Taxis must accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and digital wallets with no surcharge. Not carrying a functioning cashless payment device is a 200 euro fixed payment offence; refusing a card payment is also 200 euro.
Hackneys and limousines have no meter, roof sign or door branding; the tamper-proof licence discs on the windows are their only external marking.
On the day
- Clean inside and out. The Manual says the paint must be the same colour all over and no bodywork repairs may be in progress.
- Boot empty of personal items; the required safety items easy for the inspector to reach.
- All windows, door locks and interior lights working.
- Be on time. Cancel or move an appointment free up to two working days before. The working day before, there is a late fee. On the day, no changes, and a no-show loses the whole fee.
Pass, and the inspector adds the vehicle to the Register of Licensed SPSVs, fits the tamper-proof discs front and rear, and hands a licence certificate to whoever brought the car. The licence runs 12 months, or 6 months once the car is over 10 years old. You may operate from that moment; until then, the conditional offer letter is not a licence, and using an unlicensed vehicle as an SPSV is an offence.
What the test asks from this chapter
Expect numbers: 70% light transmission, 125 mm tint band, 420 litres, 3,500 kg, eight passengers, 90-day NCT, 60-day assessor report, 20°C at minus 5, 45 euro inspection, 150 and 75 euro renewal, two working days to cancel. All of them, with the Manual page, are on the key numbers sheet, and Chapters 3 and 4 have their own practice topics.