Council Taxi Knowledge Tests: Formats, Pass Marks and Practice

A taxi knowledge test is the exam your local council sets before it will grant you a taxi or private hire driver licence. If you want to drive a hackney carriage (a taxi you can hail in the street) or a private hire car (pre-booked only) anywhere in England outside London, the council that licenses you will almost certainly test you first. This hub explains why councils test, what the tests usually cover, and how 15 councils compare, with a link to a full guide and free practice for each.

UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid, not part of any council. Facts below come from each council's own website and policy documents, checked in October 2026. Councils change fees every April and update their tests often, so always confirm details with your council's licensing team before you book.

What is a taxi knowledge test, and why do councils set one?

Outside London, councils license taxi and private hire drivers under two old but still central laws: the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 for hackney carriages, and Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 for private hire. Under sections 51 and 59 of the 1976 Act, a council must not grant a driver's licence unless it is satisfied that the applicant is a "fit and proper" person. In plain words: safe, honest and competent enough to be trusted with the public.

The knowledge test is one part of that judgement, alongside the DBS check, the medical and your driving record. It shows the council that you know the rules you will work under and can communicate in English.

The Department for Transport (DfT) shapes how councils do this. Its statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards, issued under the Policing and Crime Act 2017, say that protecting the public is the overriding objective of licensing. Councils must have regard to those standards. They expect councils to require safeguarding training, and say that any English test should cover speaking and writing. The DfT's best practice guidance adds that councils should publish one clear policy covering their fit and proper test, conditions, fares and fees.

Key fact: There is no national taxi knowledge test outside London. Each council sets its own format, pass mark, fee and retake rule, and you must pass the test of the council that licenses you.

What council knowledge tests cover

The detail differs, but almost every council taxi knowledge test draws on the same core:

Area	What you need to know	Free practice
Highway Code and road signs	Rules for drivers, stopping distances, signs and road markings	Highway Code for taxi drivers
Law and licensing	Hackney carriage vs private hire, plying for hire, the 1847 and 1976 Acts	Plying for hire
Council conditions and policy	Reporting deadlines, badges, plates, dress, conduct, vehicles	Your council's own page (below)
Safeguarding	Child sexual exploitation, county lines, vulnerable adults, who to call	Safeguarding questions
Equality and disability	Wheelchair users, assistance dogs, the Equality Act 2010	Equality Act for taxi drivers
Numeracy and fares	Reading a fare table, extras, change, timings	Council pages with fare examples
Local area	Stations, hospitals, hotels, main roads and routes	Council pages with geography tables
Customer service	Lost property, complaints, difficult passengers	Every council route

The shared core is the same whichever council you apply to, so the free council exam guide, the law and policy note and the Highway Code note on vulnerable road users help everyone. For examples of how these topics are asked, see our taxi knowledge test questions and answers.

Test formats

Councils run their tests in four main ways:

• Written paper in person: North Yorkshire, York, Wolverhampton (after a training day), Stroud.
• Computer test at a council office or centre: Sevenoaks, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool (partly or fully on computer).
• Online with remote invigilation: Cambridge (on the TestReach platform) and Reigate & Banstead's private hire test.
• Verbal: Milton Keynes' assessment is mostly spoken with a council officer; Stroud offers a verbal test on request; Birmingham's hackney test can be answered verbally.

The 15 councils compared

This table summarises what each council published when we checked in October 2026. "Not published" means the council does not state it; ask the licensing team.

Council	Test	Questions	Time	Pass rule	Fee	Attempts
Birmingham	Private hire Suitability Test (TTC Group)	18	Not published	All 6 plying-for-hire right; max 4 errors elsewhere	£75	Not published
Bristol	Knowledge test	100	Up to 90 min	Private hire 75%, hackney 90%; 40–50% per section	£69	Not published
Cambridge	Online knowledge test (TestReach)	100 in 8 sections	Up to 2 hours	80% in every section	£105; retest £75	3 in 12 months
Kirklees	English test, then theory course and test	Not published	Not published	80% per module plus key questions	£35 + £132.65	Not published
Liverpool	Street Knowledge Test	110	Not published	80 correct (about 73%)	£70 for 3 attempts	£30 for attempts 4 and 5
Milton Keynes	Driver Assessment, mostly verbal	59 (2019 guide)	60 min (2019 guide)	80%	Re-sit £129	At the council's discretion
North Yorkshire	Written test	60 (restricted: 30)	60 min (30)	80%	Not published	Retakes allowed
Nottingham	Electronic topography test	Not published	45 min	Not published	£50; retest £50	Not published
Oxford	Local Knowledge and Safeguarding Test	Hackney 65; private hire 55	90 min	80% in each section	Not on the test page	Retakes for a further fee
Reigate & Banstead	Private hire online test; hackney written test	Private hire 20	Private hire 45 min	Private hire 90% (18/20)	£51; hackney £74	No limit; full fee each time
Sevenoaks	Computer test	Hackney 58; private hire 56	Up to 90 min	80% per category; 100% on compulsory questions	£54	No limit; pay each time
Sheffield	Computer test	40 in 5 sections	60 min	80% in each section	£87	Not published
Stroud	Written test (verbal on request)	85	Up to 1.5 hours	67/85 plus 8/10 in law and in the Highway Code	£71	Retakes; fee each time
Wolverhampton	One-day course, then written test	28 incl. 8 key questions	Not published	75%	£50; £20 test-only second attempt	3, then a 12-month wait
York	Training day, then written test	30 on the example paper	Not published	26 correct	Set by the council's training unit	Up to 6 tests

Exam tip: Look for a per-section rule before you look at the overall pass mark. Five of these councils fail you for one weak section even if your total is high, so you cannot rely on local knowledge to carry a poor law score.

The councils one by one

Birmingham

Two different tests. Private hire applicants sit a short 18-question Suitability Test run by TTC Group, in which all six plying-for-hire questions must be right. Hackney applicants face one of the hardest tests in England: routes and two-point locations, with 90 of 100 geographical answers needed. Birmingham taxi knowledge test.

Bristol

One 100-question test with two pass marks: 75% for private hire and 90% for hackney carriage, plus a minimum in each section. The council has approved removing geography from the private hire test, but no date was set when we checked. Bristol taxi knowledge test.

Cambridge

Taken online at home, watched by a remote invigilator. Its 100 questions sit in eight sections and you need 80% in each one, which makes it one of the strictest tests on this list. Cambridge taxi knowledge test.

Kirklees

No local topography test. Instead, an English test followed by a theory course and test based on the West Yorkshire and York training standards, with 80% needed in each of four modules and some questions you must get right. Kirklees taxi theory test.

Liverpool

The longest test we cover: 110 multiple-choice questions on the city and region, with 80 correct to pass. You must complete the Liverpool Standard training first, and the £70 fee covers three attempts. Liverpool street knowledge test.

Milton Keynes

Not a written exam but a Driver Assessment with a council officer, mainly spoken, with one short written task such as filling in a receipt. The officer can fail you on public safety grounds even if you reach 80%. Milton Keynes taxi driver assessment.

North Yorkshire

A written test of 60 questions in 60 minutes, or 30 in 30 for a restricted licence for school and social care contracts, both with an 80% pass mark. The council's guidance includes 10 example questions. North Yorkshire taxi knowledge test.

Nottingham

An electronic test in five sections, including premises and locations and shortest routes, sat in 45 minutes. The council does not publish the number of questions or the pass mark. Nottingham taxi topography test.

Oxford

Different papers for hackney (65 questions) and private hire (55), with 80% needed in every section. Some sections have only five questions, so two wrong answers in one of them is a fail. Oxford taxi knowledge test.

Reigate & Banstead

The private hire test is short, online and lets you use a map or Google Maps in the navigation section, but needs 90%. Hackney applicants sit a harder written test at the Town Hall. Reigate & Banstead taxi knowledge test.

Sevenoaks

The council publishes its full list of possible questions without answers. Compulsory questions need a perfect score, and every other category needs 80%. Sevenoaks taxi knowledge test.

Sheffield

Forty questions in five sections of 5 or 10, with 80% in each. You need a Level 2 Certificate and safeguarding training before you can even book. Sheffield taxi knowledge test.

Stroud

Only dual hackney and private hire badge applicants take it: 85 questions including basic maths, with separate minimums for law and the Highway Code. It can be taken verbally on request. Stroud taxi knowledge test.

Wolverhampton

A one-day course run by Worcestershire County Council's driver training team, ending in a 28-question test with eight key questions. Wolverhampton licenses a very large number of private hire drivers, so this is the most searched council test. Wolverhampton private hire test.

York

A Knowledge and Safeguarding training day ending in a written test; you need 26 correct and may sit up to six times. City of York Council publishes an example paper and a list of route locations. York taxi knowledge test.

Rules that catch people out

Per-section minimums and must-answer questions

Council	Extra rule
Birmingham (private hire)	All 6 plying-for-hire questions right
Cambridge	80% in each of 8 sections
Kirklees	80% per module, and key questions must be right
Oxford	80% in each section
Sevenoaks	100% on compulsory questions, 80% per category
Sheffield	80% in each of 5 sections
Stroud	At least 8/10 in law and 8/10 in the Highway Code
Wolverhampton	8 key questions; the council does not say whether all must be right, so treat each as essential

Not every council tests geography

Kirklees and Milton Keynes have no separate topography test, though Milton Keynes asks a few route questions in its assessment. Elsewhere local knowledge can be a large share of the marks: Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham's hackney test lean heavily on places and routes.

Key fact: Councils that test routes usually want the shortest legal route, not the quickest. Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield all say so in their guidance.

Not on the list?

If your council is not one of these 15, start on its licensing pages: search for "[council name] taxi licensing knowledge test". Look for the policy document, the licence conditions and any study guide or sample paper. Then ring the licensing team and ask the questions this page answers for other councils: how many questions, how long, what pass mark, what fee and how many attempts.

Our practice still helps. The Highway Code, law, safeguarding, equality and customer service questions are shared by every council route, so you can use any council's topic practice for the core, for example Highway Code practice or safeguarding practice. Pair it with your own council's conditions and a local map. The practice hub lists every route.

If you are not yet sure which licence you want, read how to become a taxi driver and our comparison of private hire vs hackney carriage. London is different again: TfL licenses London drivers through the SERU and other assessments, not a council test.

How our council practice works

Each of the 15 councils has its own practice route with a free diagnostic, a free full mock in that council's format and a 20-question quick practice. Council banks hold between 2,217 and 2,314 questions each. About 2,000 are shared core questions; the rest are written for that council's policy, fares and area. Where a council does not publish a time limit, question count or pass mark, our mock uses a stated assumption, and each council page says which.

Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10, section practice and every study note for all 15 councils and the TfL tests, from £6.99 a week. See pricing. There is no pass guarantee, and no council question bank is published, so nobody can offer the questions you will see on the day. What we offer is practice on the same topics, in the same format, with an explanation for every answer.

Your study plan

1. Today: open your council's page above and take its free diagnostic.
2. This week: download your council's policy and licence conditions and read them with the free council exam guide.
3. Next week: revise the Highway Code and the safeguarding and equality rules, which every council tests.
4. Weeks 3 to 5: learn your area with a map: stations, hospitals, hotels, main roads and the routes between them. Practise fare sums if your council tests them.
5. Before booking: sit your council's free mock 1 under the timer and aim for 85% in every section, three times in a row.