North Yorkshire Taxi Knowledge Test

The North Yorkshire taxi knowledge test covers the biggest patch of any council test in England. North Yorkshire Council licenses drivers across an area that stretches from the Yorkshire Dales to the coast at Scarborough and Whitby, and from Selby in the south to Richmond in the north. That makes it unusual: many of its drivers work in market towns and rural villages, not a single city. The test reflects that, with a strong focus on the Highway Code, the council's policy and fares, and the local area where you will work.

This guide explains the two versions of the test (combined and restricted), what to study, the local rules from the council's policy, the area itself and how to practise. Facts come from the council's taxi driver licence page, its knowledge test guidance (April 2026) and its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy from 1 April 2026, checked in October 2026. UK Driver Licence Prep is an independent study aid, not part of North Yorkshire Council.

The North Yorkshire taxi knowledge test at a glance

Item	Combined licence	Restricted licence
Who	Most new hackney carriage and private hire drivers	Private hire drivers doing only council school and social care contracts
Questions	60	30
Time	60 minutes	30 minutes
Pass mark	48 correct (80%)	24 correct (80%)
Type	Written, multiple choice, in person	Written, multiple choice, in person
Topics	Policy, law, Highway Code, signs, fares, local area	Only what restricted drivers are allowed to do (no general fares questions)

Test rules

• Bring photo ID, such as a driving licence or passport.
• No phones or smart devices, no notes or books, and nothing else the invigilator doesn't allow. Trying to use anything unauthorised gets the test cancelled.
• You won't normally be allowed to leave the room during the test.
• Results come in writing within 10 working days: pass or fail, plus your overall score.
• The council won't give you a copy of the paper, say which questions you got wrong, or discuss answers. Its decision is final.
• If you fail, you may retake the test. The council doesn't publish a waiting period or a limit on attempts.
• Payments for knowledge tests are not refunded if your licence application is unsuccessful.

Key fact: Combined test: 60 questions, 60 minutes, 48 to pass. Restricted test: 30 questions, 30 minutes, 24 to pass. Both need 80%, which means at most 12 wrong on the combined paper and 6 on the restricted one.

The two-paper system: combined or restricted?

North Yorkshire offers a restricted private hire driver licence for one purpose only: driving on school and social care transport contracts arranged between private hire operators and North Yorkshire Council. A restricted licence holder may not provide any other kind of service.

The restricted test is shorter because it leaves out topics a restricted driver won't use, such as general hackney carriage work and fares. But there is a catch: passing the restricted test does not count towards the combined licence. If you later want to do ordinary taxi or private hire work, you must sit and pass the full 60-question combined test.

So choose carefully. If there is any chance you will want general work within the next few years, it usually makes sense to prepare for the combined test from the start.

What the North Yorkshire knowledge test covers

The council's guidance says the test checks three things: a basic understanding of English, a working knowledge of the council's licensing policy, and an understanding of the relevant law, naming the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (the law behind hackney carriages) and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (the law behind private hire).

It tells applicants to study:

1. the Highway Code;
2. North Yorkshire Council's taxi licensing policy;
3. the hackney carriage tables of fares;

and to get to know the local area where they plan to work.

What the example questions show

The April 2026 guidance includes ten example questions with an answer key. Without repeating them, the topics they cover are a good map of the real test:

Topic	What to know
Hackney carriage rank rules	Whether a driver may leave a hackney carriage unattended on a rank
Licensing requirements	How long you must have held a full driving licence before applying
Traffic signs	Speed limit signs and regulatory signs such as no entry
Fare sums	Adding an agreed extra to a fare
Hackney tariff maxima	The most that may be charged for extras and on special days
Private hire signs	Which words a private hire vehicle may not display
Insurance	How soon you must produce an insurance certificate when asked
Vehicle write-offs	Which insurance write-off categories can never be licensed

Download the guidance and do the ten questions under timed conditions before anything else; it is the only official sample. Then use our bank for volume.

North Yorkshire rules you must know

These come from the council's licensing policy and its guidance, paraphrased in our own words.

Reporting deadlines and duties

Event	Deadline
Accident affecting a licensed vehicle	As soon as practicable, and within 72 hours
Arrest, charge or conviction	In writing within 48 hours
Change of address	Within 7 days
Producing your insurance certificate when an authorised officer or the police ask	Within 7 days

Hackney carriage ranks

• It is an offence to leave a hackney carriage unattended on a taxi rank. You may only wait on a rank while standing for hire.
• Ranks are for standing for public hire only, not for collecting bookings or parking.
• The number of vehicles on a rank must not exceed the number of spaces it is appointed for.

Fares

• The hackney carriage table of fares is set by the council and is a maximum.
• It is an offence to charge more than the table allows for a journey within the area.
• Drivers may agree a lower fare, as long as it is not more than the table allows.

Private hire vehicles

• Words such as "taxi", "cab" or "for hire" may not be used on a private hire vehicle or a private hire operator's licence.
• Only hackney carriages may ply for hire or use ranks.

Vehicles

Rule	Detail
Write-off categories A, B and S	Never licensed
Write-off categories C, D and N	May be licensed with an engineer's report on the repairs
Smoking and vaping	Hackney carriages must be smoke-free at all times, with no-smoking signs; drivers may not use e-cigarettes in licensed vehicles
Trailers	Only with the council's permission and an extra plate
Roof racks	Not allowed on hackney carriages

Exam tip: Write-off questions come down to one split. A, B and S can never be licensed. C, D and N can be, with an engineer's report. Learn it as "A, B, S: never".

A fare worked example

The council's guidance shows the kind of sum to expect. Here is the same shape, worked through:

A private hire passenger has agreed a fare of £4.80. On the way, they ask you to collect a friend, and you agree an extra £1.50. The total is £4.80 + £1.50 = £6.30.

A second example: a hackney fare on the meter is £12.40 and a permitted extra of £2.00 applies. The passenger pays with a £20 note. Total: £12.40 + £2.00 = £14.40. Change: £20.00 − £14.40 = £5.60.

Before the test, find and learn the hackney carriage table of fares for the area where you will work, from the council's taxi fares page. Practise sums in North Yorkshire fares and numeracy.

Knowing a big, rural area

One council, many towns

North Yorkshire Council became a single unitary council on 1 April 2023. It replaced North Yorkshire County Council and seven district and borough councils: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby. It is the largest council area in England by size. The City of York is a separate council with its own test: see our York taxi knowledge test guide.

You will still hear drivers talk about a "Harrogate taxi licence" or a "Scarborough taxi licence". Since 2023 those are all North Yorkshire Council licences, applied for through the same council.

Towns and main roads to know

Former district	Main towns	Key roads
Harrogate	Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon	A61, A59, A1(M)
Scarborough	Scarborough, Whitby, Filey	A64, A165, A171
Craven	Skipton, Settle	A65, A59
Hambleton	Northallerton, Thirsk, Bedale	A19, A168, A684
Richmondshire	Richmond, Catterick, Leyburn	A6108, A1(M)
Ryedale	Malton, Pickering, Helmsley	A64, A169, A170
Selby	Selby, Tadcaster	A19, A63, A64

Learn the area where you will work in detail first: the station, hospital, main hotels, schools and the routes between your town and its neighbours.

Why sat nav isn't enough here

In a city, sat nav rarely lets you down. In rural North Yorkshire it can: mobile signal drops on the moors and in the Dales, one postcode can cover a scattered group of farms, and the shortest route on screen may be a narrow, steep or single-track lane that is unsuitable in snow or for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. Knowing the main A roads and the sensible routes between towns makes you safer and fairer to passengers, and the local area questions reward it. Practise in North Yorkshire local area.

Getting licensed in North Yorkshire: the other steps

From the council's taxi driver licence page, as of October 2026:

1. Have held a full driving licence for at least 12 months.
2. Apply on the council's form and pay the fee: new three-year licence £445, one-year £255; renewals £300 and £135.
3. Enhanced DBS check (£49.50) and the DBS Update Service. If your application isn't decided within four months of the certificate date, you need a new check unless you subscribe to the Update Service.
4. Certificate of good conduct if you lived overseas for six months or more in the ten years before applying.
5. Group 2 medical, carried out no more than one month before you apply.
6. Practical driving assessment from a council-approved provider (an enhanced assessment if you will drive wheelchair-accessible vehicles).
7. Safeguarding and disability awareness training from approved providers within the last three years. The council accepts classroom courses only, not e-learning.
8. Pass the written knowledge test. The council sends details once it has your application.

The council also checks the national register of refusals and revocations (NR3) when deciding whether you are "fit and proper", the legal test every taxi driver must meet.

How our North Yorkshire practice matches the real test

Our North Yorkshire route has 2,232 questions: about 2,000 shared council questions on the Highway Code, signs, law, safeguarding and equality, and the rest written for North Yorkshire's policy, fares and area. The ten North Yorkshire mocks match the combined test exactly: 60 questions in 60 minutes, with 48 to pass. They are weighted towards the Highway Code, as the council's guidance suggests.

For the restricted test, use the same bank but focus on the Highway Code, signs, policy and safeguarding, and practise at a pace of one question a minute.

What our practice does well: volume and explanations, with a source for every answer. What it can't do: replace your own knowledge of the town and roads where you'll work. The free North Yorkshire note summarises this page, and the free printable sheet gives you questions and an answer key on paper. For the Highway Code side, read our Highway Code for taxi drivers guide. The national picture is in our council taxi knowledge test guide.

Your study plan

1. Today: take the free North Yorkshire diagnostic, then do the council's ten example questions under a 10-minute timer.
2. This week: read the council's licensing policy, focusing on driver conditions, vehicle conditions and signs. Drill Highway Code and road signs.
3. Next week: learn the table of fares for your area and drill local policy. Practise fare sums daily.
4. Before the test: sit the free North Yorkshire mock 1 under the 60-minute timer, and aim for three mocks in a row at 85% or more.
5. Then: if you want more papers, Pro unlocks mocks 2 to 10 and section practice for £6.99 a week. See pricing.