Birmingham Taxi Knowledge Test: Private Hire and Hackney

The Birmingham taxi knowledge test is really two tests. If you want a private hire licence to drive for an operator such as Uber, Bolt or a local firm, you sit a short Suitability Test run by TTC Group. If you want a hackney carriage licence to drive a black cab that can pick up from ranks and street hails, you sit Birmingham City Council's own topographical test, one of the longest and strictest in England. This guide explains both, the rules behind them and how to practise.

Birmingham City Council licenses taxi and private hire drivers under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, and must be satisfied that every driver is "fit and proper". The knowledge test is part of that check. UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid, not part of the council or TTC. Facts below come from the council's published guide, policy, conditions and fare table, checked in October 2026. Always confirm details on the council's taxi pages before you book.

The two Birmingham taxi knowledge tests at a glance

	Private hire Suitability Test	Hackney carriage knowledge test
Run by	TTC Group (book directly with TTC)	The council's knowledge tester
Parts	Legal; licence conditions; plying for hire	Legal questions, 100 geographical questions, 20 routes, 80 two-point locations
Questions	18 multiple choice (6 per part)	6 legal; routes from a bank of 342; locations from a bank of 1,680
Pass rule	All 6 plying-for-hire questions right; at most 4 errors across legal and conditions, and no more than 2 in either	All 6 legal questions right; at least 90 of the 100 geographical questions
Time	Not published	2 hours verbal, or 3 hours written (written candidates also take a verbal communication test)
Fee (council fee table)	Private hire verbal test £75	Folder £50; knowledge test £150; written or verbal test £75
Refunds	Knowledge and verbal test fees are not refundable	Not refundable

The council does not publish a time limit for the private hire test, a limit on attempts or any retake fee beyond its fee table. Our Birmingham mock tests use the private hire format: 18 questions in 30 minutes, with 15 correct as the pass line. That time limit is our assumption, not a council rule.

Key fact: In the private hire test you cannot drop a single plying-for-hire question. Five right out of six in that part is a fail, however well you do elsewhere.

The Birmingham private hire test in detail

The private hire test used to include an A to Z map section. That was removed in June 2018, and the council's 2023 Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy now calls the remaining test the Private Hire Suitability Test. It checks that you can communicate in English to a reasonable standard and that you understand the rules you will work under.

Part 1: legal

Questions about the law behind private hire licensing: what a private hire vehicle may and may not do, insurance, the difference between a hackney carriage and a private hire vehicle, and offences such as touting. The free law section practice and our taxi and private hire law note cover the national framework.

Part 2: licence conditions

Questions taken from Birmingham's private hire driver and vehicle licence conditions: badges, plates, signs, reporting deadlines and conduct. These are the most Birmingham-specific questions, and the tables later on this page summarise the conditions most worth learning. Practise them in Birmingham local policy.

Part 3: plying for hire

Six questions, all of which must be right. Plying for hire means offering your vehicle for immediate hire to someone who has not booked through a licensed operator, for example accepting a street hail or waiting on a taxi rank. Only hackney carriages may do this. For a private hire driver it is a criminal offence, and the insurance will not cover the journey. The council's policy says a first plying-for-hire conviction normally means at least six months' suspension, and with no insurance it normally means revocation. Our guide to plying for hire explains the law in more detail.

Exam tip: Every plying-for-hire question has the same answer underneath: a private hire passenger must be booked through a licensed operator before the journey. If an option lets you take a passenger who has not booked that way, it is wrong.

The Birmingham hackney carriage knowledge test

The hackney test is a test of the city itself. Alongside six legal questions, which must all be correct, you answer 100 geographical questions and need at least 90 right.

• Routes: you describe routes between two points, chosen from a bank of 342. The council asks for the shortest distance route, not the quickest.
• Two-point locations: you say where a premises is using at least two points of reference, such as the road it is on and a nearby junction or landmark. Locations come from a bank of 1,680.

The test takes two hours if you answer verbally or three hours written, and written candidates also take a verbal communication test. The council's guide says about half of candidates fail to complete it and about 65% pass first time, so most hackney applicants spend months learning the city with a map before they book.

Our Birmingham bank includes local area and route questions to build that knowledge, but it does not replace route learning. Use Birmingham local area practice alongside a street atlas and time on the roads.

Birmingham rules you must know

These come from the council's private hire conditions, its 2023 policy and its driver guide. They are the kind of rules the conditions part of the private hire test asks about.

Reporting deadlines

Event	Deadline
Conviction, caution, summons or arrest	7 days in writing under the private hire conditions (the 2023 policy says 72 hours for existing licence holders)
Lost or stolen vehicle plate	3 days in writing
Lost or stolen badge	Report to the police and give the report number within 3 days
Illness you must tell the DVLA about	3 days in writing
Found property	To a West Midlands Police station within 72 hours; send the receipt copy within 3 days
Accident affecting safety or appearance	72 hours
Insurance lapses	72 hours, and return the plates
Vehicle sold	14 days
Badge or plates after expiry, suspension or revocation	Return within 7 days

The two documents disagree on convictions. Your licence conditions are what bind you, and reporting within 72 hours satisfies both, so treat 72 hours as your working rule and expect the test to use the conditions.

Private hire conduct

• Never pick up a street hail or wait on a taxi rank.
• Don't take return bookings from passengers yourself; tell them to book through the operator.
• Private hire vehicles may not use any bus lane in Birmingham.
• Don't gather with more than two other private hire vehicles in a residential area.
• Wear your badge at all times when working, and don't use the horn to announce your arrival.
• Take the shortest route unless the passenger agrees otherwise.

Plates, signs and vehicles

Rule	Detail
Rear plate	Fixed so that tools are needed to remove it
Operator signs	On the two front doors, with "BE BOOKED, BE INSURED"; only one operator's sign at a time
Council signs	On both rear doors
Vehicle age	Under 8 years when first licensed; not renewed after 12 years
New or replacement vehicles	Must be ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) from 1 January 2026
Window tints	Only the manufacturer's original tints
CCTV	Council approval needed before fitting; an inward-facing dashcam does not replace CCTV

Key fact: "BE BOOKED, BE INSURED" on the operator door signs is the plying-for-hire rule in four words. Learn the sign wording and where each sign goes.

Birmingham hackney carriage fares and a worked example

Hackney carriages in Birmingham charge by the council's table of fares (the table in force from 1 April 2025):

• Tariff One starts at £3.20.
• Tariff Two applies on Friday and Saturday from 22:00 to 07:00, and on Boxing Day.
• Tariff Three applies on Christmas Day.
• Extras include 20p for each extra passenger, 20p for each item of luggage carried outside the passenger compartment, and a £40 soiling charge on Tariffs One and Two.

Worked example. Three passengers with two suitcases in the boot, and the meter shows £14.60 on Tariff One. Add two extra passengers at 20p and two items of luggage at 20p: £14.60 + £0.40 + £0.40 = £15.40.

Fare sums like this appear in council tests across England, and our Birmingham bank includes them under fares and numeracy. Private hire fares are set by your operator, not the council.

Safeguarding, equality and the "fit and proper" test

Birmingham requires every new driver to pass a disability and safeguarding course, booked through the Disability Resource Centre, which includes child sexual exploitation. The council's committee asks a simple question about each applicant: would it trust a vulnerable relative to travel alone with this driver?

Equality rules come from the Equality Act 2010:

• All Birmingham hackney carriages must be wheelchair accessible. Drivers of vehicles on the council's list under section 167 must help wheelchair users and cannot charge extra.
• You must carry an assistance dog. A medical exemption needs occupational health confirmation and never removes your duty to carry the disabled passenger.

The safeguarding and equality questions in our bank draw on the same rules. Practise them in Birmingham safeguarding and equality, and see GOV.UK's statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards for why councils test this so closely.

Getting licensed in Birmingham: the other steps

The knowledge test is one step. The council's guide to driver licences lists the rest:

1. Hold a full driving licence for more than two years.
2. Pass the Birmingham City Council driving test. A taxi driving test passed elsewhere is not accepted.
3. Pass the disability and safeguarding course.
4. Meet the DVLA Group 2 medical standard.
5. Get an enhanced DBS check with both barred lists, and join the DBS Update Service.
6. Pass the knowledge test for the licence you want.
7. For private hire, show an offer of work from a Birmingham-licensed operator.

Driver licences are normally issued for three years. If yours expires, you have to apply again from the start, so renew in good time.

Learning Birmingham's geography

Even the private hire test assumes you know the city, and the hackney test depends on it. Start with landmarks and the roads they are on:

Place	Road or area
Library of Birmingham	Broad Street
St Philip's Cathedral	Colmore Row
Birmingham Hippodrome	Hurst Street
Queen Elizabeth Hospital	Mindelsohn Way
Heartlands Hospital	Yardley Green Road
Birmingham Children's Hospital	Steelhouse Lane
Villa Park and Aston Hall	Aston
Cadbury World	Bournville
Good Hope Hospital	Sutton Coldfield

Then learn the A4540 Middleway ring road and the main radial roads out of the centre: the A45 Coventry Road, A41 Soho Road, A441 Pershore Road and A435 Alcester Road. Most routes in the hackney test start by getting you onto the right radial.

How our Birmingham practice matches the real test

Our Birmingham route has 2,275 questions: about 2,000 shared council questions on the Highway Code, signs, law, safeguarding and equality, and around 200 written for Birmingham's conditions, fares and area. The ten mocks follow the private hire Suitability Test: 18 questions across law, local policy and safeguarding, with 15 correct to pass.

What it does well: drilling the conditions and plying-for-hire rules until you get every one right, with an explanation and source for each answer. What it can't do: test your routes the way the hackney examiner does. For that, use the bank's local area questions as a start and practise routes on a map. The free Birmingham knowledge test note summarises everything on this page for revision.

Your study plan

1. Today: take the free Birmingham diagnostic, 18 questions across every section.
2. This week: read the council's private hire conditions and our free Birmingham note. Learn the reporting deadlines table.
3. Next week: drill plying for hire and conditions until you score 100% on them, because the test allows no mistakes there.
4. Before booking with TTC: sit the free Birmingham mock 1 under the timer.
5. Then: if you want more papers, Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10 and section practice for £6.99 a week. See pricing.

For the bigger picture across England, read our council taxi knowledge test guide. If you also work across the Black Country, compare the Wolverhampton private hire test.