Milton Keynes Taxi Driver Assessment

People search for a "Milton Keynes taxi knowledge test", but Milton Keynes City Council doesn't have one in the usual sense. There is no written paper and no computer test. Instead, every new applicant for the council's combined hackney carriage and private hire driver licence sits a Driver Assessment: a conversation with a council officer, mostly spoken, with one short written task.

That changes how you prepare. You still need to know the law, the council's conditions and the city, but you also need to explain your answers out loud, clearly and in English. This guide covers the format, the pass rule, the local rules most likely to come up, Milton Keynes' grid road system and how to practise answering verbally.

Facts come from the council's Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy (February 2026, version 14), its Driver Assessment Suitability guide (December 2019) and its 2026 to 2027 fee list, checked in October 2026. UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid, not part of the council.

The Milton Keynes Driver Assessment at a glance

Item	Detail
Who	All new applicants for the combined driver licence
Run by	A council officer
Where	In person, or online by Teams or Zoom
Style	Mainly verbal, to check spoken English; one written exercise (for example completing a receipt)
Questions and time	59 questions in 60 minutes (2019 pre-assessment guide)
Pass mark	80%, but the tester may fail you on public safety grounds regardless of score
Deadline	Attend no later than 3 months after submitting your application
Re-sit fee	£129 (2026 to 2027 fee list)
First assessment fee	No separate line on the fee list
Attempts	Re-takes at the council's discretion; no published limit

Key fact: The 80% pass mark is not the whole story. Milton Keynes' guide gives the officer discretion to fail anyone on public safety grounds. A confident, correct answer on safeguarding matters more than squeezing past 80%.

What the council does and doesn't publish

The 59-question figure comes from the council's 2019 Driver Assessment Suitability guide, which the council's FAQ still points applicants to. Its five listed sections add up to 53, not 59, and it predates the 2026 policy that allows online assessments. So treat the numbers as a guide to the style, not a promise of the exact format on your day. The council does not publish a per-section pass mark, a limit on attempts or a separate fee for the first assessment.

What the Driver Assessment covers

The five sections in the 2019 guide

Section	Questions	Topics
General	24	Public safety, vehicle checks, receipts, CCTV, customer service, safeguarding, disability awareness
Hackney carriage	11	Standing on ranks, refusing journeys, meters, routes
Private hire	10	Pre-booked fares, insurance, customer care, charging, seat belts
Route knowledge	5	Shortest route between two places, picked at random from a published list of 20
Numeracy	3	Basic sums, such as sharing a fare

The topics the 2026 policy requires

The current policy says the assessment covers, as a minimum: all applicable legislation, compliance with licence conditions, disability awareness, safeguarding (including county lines, child sexual exploitation and domestic abuse), spoken and written English, customer service and the areas of Milton Keynes. The policy also describes the assessment as an introduction to being a licensed driver, where the officer can give advice, not a substitute for reading the policy yourself.

If your spoken English isn't strong enough

If the officer decides your spoken English isn't at an acceptable standard, the policy says you must take an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course and come back when your English has improved. If you are clearly unsuitable, the council may refuse your application after one attempt. A re-take is at the council's discretion, usually where more reading or training could help.

How to answer a verbal assessment

Most knowledge tests let you choose from four options. A verbal assessment doesn't. You have to produce the answer yourself, out loud, which is harder and catches people who only recognise answers.

1. Answer the question first, then explain. "No. A private hire driver can only pick up a passenger who has booked through an operator." Lead with the rule, then the reason.
2. Use the exact numbers. If the rule is 48 hours, say "within 48 hours", not "quickly". Officers listen for the specific detail.
3. Say what you would do, step by step. For safeguarding scenarios, describe actions in order: notice, record, report, and to whom.
4. Ask if you didn't understand. "Could you repeat the question, please?" is better than answering a different question.
5. Practise aloud. Read a question from our bank, cover the options, say your answer, then check. Do it daily.

The council's guide gives examples of the kind of thing it asks, such as what must be shown on the outside rear of a licensed vehicle, where you wear your badge, what goes on a receipt, and the steps a driver takes with a safeguarding concern. Prepare a spoken answer for each.

Exam tip: For the written task, practise writing a full receipt by hand: date, pick-up and drop-off, fare, vehicle or plate number, driver badge number and your signature. Neat, complete and correct is the goal.

If English is not your first language, the speaking advice in our TfL English test guide is useful practice. That page is about TfL's London test, not Milton Keynes', but the skill of giving a clear spoken answer is the same.

Milton Keynes rules you must know

Reporting deadlines

Event	Deadline
Conviction (including a fixed penalty), arrest, bail, caution or police warning	48 hours
Serious illness or injury	5 days, in writing
Change of address or name	14 days, in writing
Stopping work for an operator	2 working days
Damage affecting the vehicle's safety or appearance	72 hours
Change of vehicle registration or colour	48 hours
Returning after 3 months or more outside the UK	Tell the council before you start work

Lost property: two different deadlines

The driver licence conditions say take unclaimed property to the nearest police station within 24 hours and get a receipt. The older hackney carriage byelaws say 48 hours. Follow the stricter 24-hour condition, which satisfies both.

Conduct, dress and plates

• Dress professionally: no bare chests or shoulders, no offensive slogans, no hoods hiding your face.
• No phone use while driving, and no hands-free calls with a passenger on board.
• No smoking or vaping by anyone in the vehicle.
• Only a Milton Keynes hackney carriage may ply for hire. Every private hire journey is pre-booked through a Milton Keynes licensed operator.
• Keep noise down in residential areas between 11pm and 7.30am, switch off the engine while waiting, and don't use the horn to call passengers.
• Plates are displayed at all times while the vehicle is licensed. Private hire vehicles carry two council door signs saying they are for advance booking only and are not insured unless pre-booked, and never a roof sign.

Vehicles

Rule	Detail
Maximum age	Diesel 12 years, petrol 13, hybrid 14, zero emission no limit
Fleet aim	All-electric by 2030
New hackney licences	Since December 2023, only wheelchair accessible, zero emission vehicles
Hackney appearance	Black, with an illuminated "Taxi" roof sign and card payment
Tyres	At least 2 mm of tread
First aid	A kit meeting BS 8599

Hackney carriage fares are set by the council's Executive as a maximum (the current table was approved on 1 April 2025). The council does not control private hire fares.

A numeracy worked example

The assessment includes a few basic sums, asked out loud. Two typical shapes:

Change with a tip. The fare is £26.40. The passenger hands you £30 and says "keep £2". Change before the tip: £30.00 − £26.40 = £3.60. Take off the £2 tip: £3.60 − £2.00 = £1.60 change.

Sharing a fare. Three passengers share an £18.00 fare equally: £18.00 ÷ 3 = £6.00 each.

Say the working as you go ("thirty minus twenty-six forty is three sixty...") so the officer can follow you. Practise more in Milton Keynes fares and numeracy.

Milton Keynes grid roads and local knowledge

Milton Keynes is laid out on a grid, which makes route questions easier once you understand it.

H and V roads

Type	Direction	Named	Examples
H roads (horizontal)	Roughly east to west	Ways	H6 Childs Way, H8 Standing Way
V roads (vertical)	Roughly north to south	Streets	V4 Watling Street, V7 Saxon Street

The numbers go up as you move across the city, so knowing that H6 is north of H8 and V4 is west of V7 lets you work out direction from road numbers alone.

Central Milton Keynes

Learn these first: Milton Keynes Central station (Elder Gate), Christ the Cornerstone church (Saxon Gate), the Magistrates' Court (Silbury Boulevard), the Theatre and MK Gallery (Midsummer Boulevard) and Xscape.

The 20 routes

The 2019 guide lists 20 pick-up and destination pairs; five are chosen at random and you describe the shortest route. They include routes from the station to Xscape, Stadium MK and Bletchley Park, from the central shopping centre to Stony Stratford and Newport Pagnell, from Ikea in Bletchley to Woburn Sands, and from the Coachway (near M1 junction 14) to the station. Practise all 20 aloud with a map, naming each grid road in order.

Outer areas

Bletchley Park, Stadium MK and Marshall Arena (Denbigh), Milton Keynes University Hospital (Eaglestone), Wolverton, Stony Stratford, Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands.

Safeguarding and equality

Safeguarding carries real weight in Milton Keynes, both in the assessment and in the council's training. A child is anyone aged 17 or under. Report concerns immediately to Crimestoppers or the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH); the council warns that failing to report can cost you your licence. Know the signs of county lines exploitation, such as young people travelling alone at unusual hours and paying cash. The DfT's statutory taxi and private hire vehicle standards explain why every council now tests this.

On equality: carry assistance dogs free of charge unless the council has granted an exemption beforehand (exemptions last no more than six months), and never refuse or overcharge a wheelchair user. Practise in Milton Keynes safeguarding and taxi law. The shared national rules are covered in our council taxi knowledge test guide and the free taxi law note.

Getting licensed in Milton Keynes: the other steps

1. Hold a driving licence for at least 12 months. The policy sets no minimum or maximum age.
2. Apply online through the council's portal with every document; incomplete applications are rejected.
3. Complete DBS and DVLA checks through TaxiPlus. The council checks the DBS Update Service every six months.
4. Pass a Group 2 medical on application, then every three years until 65 and yearly after that.
5. Pass an approved taxi driving test.
6. Attend the council's safeguarding and equality training (£54.50), repeated at each three-year renewal; other providers' courses are not accepted.
7. Pass the Driver Assessment within three months of applying.
8. Pay the licence fee: £305 for a new three-year combined licence, £285.50 to renew (as of October 2026).

Renew at least two months before expiry; the council doesn't have to remind you.

How our Milton Keynes practice matches the assessment

Our Milton Keynes route has 2,272 questions: about 2,000 shared council questions plus questions written for Milton Keynes' policy, conditions, grid roads and fares. The ten mocks follow the 2019 guide's shape: 59 questions in 60 minutes, with 48 correct (just over 80%) to pass, weighted towards policy, law, safeguarding, routes and numeracy.

The honest difference: our mocks are multiple choice, and the real assessment is spoken. Use the mocks to learn the rules, then practise saying the answers without looking at the options. The free Milton Keynes note summarises the local rules, and the free printable sheet lets you practise on paper, covering the options as you go.

If you are also looking at nearby councils, compare the strict section-by-section test in Cambridge.

Your study plan

1. Today: take the free Milton Keynes diagnostic.
2. This week: read the council's 2026 policy (driver conditions and Part 2) and the free Milton Keynes note. Learn the reporting deadlines table.
3. Every day: answer ten questions out loud without looking at the options, and practise two of the 20 routes on a map.
4. Before your assessment: sit the free Milton Keynes mock 1, drill local policy, and aim for 85% or more on three mocks in a row.
5. Then: if you want more papers, Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10 for every test from £6.99 a week. See pricing.