Milton Keynes City Council driver assessment

Milton Keynes City Council does not run a written or computer knowledge test. Instead, new applicants for its combined (hackney carriage and private hire) driver licence pass a Driver Assessment with a council officer. It is mainly verbal, to check your spoken English, with a short written exercise such as completing a receipt. This note covers the assessment and the local rules you should learn. Always check the council's website before you book, because details can change.

Assessment format

Item	Detail
Who	All new combined driver licence applicants
How	Mainly verbal, with a council officer, in person or via Teams/Zoom
Written part	1 question needing a written answer (for example, completing a receipt)
Questions and time	59 questions in 60 minutes (2019 pre-assessment guide)
Pass mark	80%, but the tester may still fail you on public safety grounds
When	No later than 3 months after you submit your application
Re-sit fee (2026-27)	£129.00

Sections in the 2019 guide

Section	Questions	Topics
General	24	Public safety, vehicle checks, receipts, CCTV, customer service, safeguarding, disability
Hackney carriage	11	Ranks, refusing journeys, meters, routes
Private hire	10	Pre-booked fares, insurance, customer care, charging, seatbelts
Route knowledge	5	Shortest route, chosen at random from a list of 20
Numeracy	3	Basic sums such as sharing a fare

Key fact: Re-takes are at the council's discretion. A clearly unsuitable applicant can be refused after one attempt, and poor spoken English means an ESOL course before you return.

What the council does not publish: the 2019 guide dates from before the 2026 policy, so its numbers may not match current practice, and its listed sections add up to 53 rather than 59. The council does not state a per-section pass mark, a limit on attempts or the fee for the first assessment.

Getting licensed

• Hold a driving licence for at least 12 months; no minimum or maximum age.
• DBS and DVLA checks go through TaxiPlus; the DBS Update Service is checked every 6 months.
• Group 2 medical on application and every 3 years until 65, then yearly.
• Council safeguarding and equality course (£54.50) at each 3-year renewal; other courses are not accepted.
• Combined licence: £305.00 initial, £285.50 renewal. Renew two months before expiry - the council need not remind you.

Reporting deadlines

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

Key fact - lost property: 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 within 48 hours. Follow the stricter 24-hour condition.

Conduct, dress and plates

• Dress professionally: no bare chests or shoulders, no offensive slogans, no hoods hiding the face.
• No phone use while driving, and no hands-free kit with a passenger. No smoking or vaping by anyone.
• Only an MK hackney carriage may ply for hire. Every private hire job is pre-booked through an MK licensed operator.
• Avoid noise in residential areas between 11pm and 7.30am; switch off the engine when waiting; no horn to call passengers.
• Plates are displayed at all times while licensed. Private hire vehicles show two council door signs ("Advanced Booking Only / Not pre-booked not insured") and never a roof sign.
• CCTV is encouraged. Where it is a licence condition, the council controls the data.

Vehicles

• Maximum age: diesel 12 years, petrol 13, hybrid 14, zero emission no limit. The council aims for an all-electric fleet by 2030.
• New hackney licences since December 2023 go only to wheelchair accessible, zero emission vehicles. Hackney carriages are black, with a lit "Taxi" roof sign and card payment.
• Tyre tread at least 2 mm; BS 8599 first aid kit.

Fares

The council's Executive sets the hackney table of fares (current table approved 1 April 2025) as the maximum metered charge. The council does not control private hire fares.

Worked example

Fare £26.40, passenger pays £30 and says keep £2: £30.00 − £26.40 = £3.60; £3.60 − £2.00 = £1.60 change.

Local area study tips

• Learn the grid: H roads run roughly east-west ("Ways", such as H6 Childs Way, H8 Standing Way); V roads run north-south ("Streets", such as V4 Watling Street, V7 Saxon Street).
• Central MK: Milton Keynes Central (Elder Gate), Christ the Cornerstone (Saxon Gate), Magistrates' Court (Silbury Boulevard), Theatre and MK Gallery (Midsummer Boulevard), Xscape.
• Practise the 20 routes, such as station to Xscape and Coachway (near M1 junction 14) to the station.
• Outer areas: Bletchley Park, Stadium MK and Marshall Arena (Denbigh), University Hospital (Eaglestone), Wolverton, Stony Stratford, Newport Pagnell, Woburn Sands.

Safeguarding and equality

• A child is anyone 17 or under. Report concerns immediately to Crimestoppers or the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH); failing to report can cost your licence.
• Know county lines warning signs: young people travelling alone at unusual hours, paying cash.
• Carry assistance dogs free unless the council granted an exemption beforehand; exemptions last no longer than 6 months. Never refuse or overcharge a wheelchair user.

Quick check

• Who runs the assessment? (A council officer)
• What is the pass mark? (80%, with tester discretion)
• What is the re-sit fee? (£129.00)