Knowledge and locality test for taxi and private hire drivers
Before we can approve your taxi or private hire driver application, you must pass tests on road safety and the local area (knowledge and locality tests).
You are tested on the following:
- Road safety (knowledge test)
- Local area (locality test)
Please note that the locality test is no longer required for private hire drivers but it is still required for hackney carriage (taxi) drivers.
The knowledge test is still required for both.
Private hire drivers will be required to do an oral English proficiency test which will be included as part of the knowledge test.
Our Guidance for the knowledge and locality test (PDF, 161 KB) document covers the full details of what's included in the tests and examples of the questions asked.
Road safety (knowledge test)
The test takes up to 60 minutes.
You are tested on your knowledge of:
- the law
- general highway code signs and road markings
- our Hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy including conditions and the Hackney taxi fares
Local area (locality test)
For taxi (hackney carriage) drivers the test takes up to 30 minutes.
During the locality test you are expected to:
- be able to use an A-Z map
- be able to describe routes within County Durham
- know the location of all of our Vehicle Testing Centres
- give accurate locations of a number of landmarks within County Durham
- describe the location of three landmarks and a route either to or from each of those landmarks
- be able to identify, from a list, a number of areas not located within County Durham
How much the tests cost
The knowledge test is £17 and the locality test is £27.
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