Vehicle inspections for taxis and private hire vehicles

All taxis (hackney carriages) and private hire vehicles must pass an inspection carried out by an authorised mechanic before a vehicle can be licensed.

Vehicle Age Policy

To ensure that all operating vehicles are in exceptional conditional and remain safe for the use of the general public, we have:

an age limit for vehicles to be granted a new licence
a requirement for regular testing of the vehicle

New vehicle applications

A vehicle must be less than 7 years old when first licensed. WAVs are exempt from this condition.

When to get your vehicle inspected

Vehicles must be tested before a vehicle licence is granted.

The inspection schedule depends on the age of the vehicle:

vehicles up to 7 years old must be tested on application and every 6 months afterwards
vehicles over 7 years old must be tested on application and every 4 months afterwards

For example:

vehicles up to 7 years old are tested on application, at 6 months and again at 12 months for renewal
vehicles over 7 years old are tested on application, at 4 months, at 8 months and again at 12 months for renewal

Once a vehicle is more than 1 year old, it must have a valid MOT certificate from an approved MOT test centre.

It is your responsibility to make sure inspections are completed in line with your vehicle plate renewal dates.

You may only present a vehicle for testing up to 28 days before the inspection due date. Vehicle tests are valid for 28 days.

Vehicle licences that are not tested in accordance with this policy may be suspended or revoked.

Authorised garages

We have an authorised testing centre that will carry out the necessary inspections.

No other garage or MOT centre is authorised to carry out these tests.

To book, please contact the garage directly.

Cumberland Council