Taxi Knowledge Test

Birmingham taxi knowledge test

Based on Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, Version 1 (Appendix 3 Private Hire Suitability Test; Appendix 4 Private Hire Driver and Vehicle Conditions of Licence) (Birmingham City Council, published 18 April 2023) and 8 other sources. Checked .

Private hire drivers take the Private Hire Suitability Test: 18 multiple-choice questions in three sections of 6. Hackney carriage drivers take a Knowledge Test of law, routes and places.

How to bookTake the mock test

The test at a glance

CouncilBirmingham City Council
LicencesHackney carriage and private hire
Private hire testPrivate Hire Suitability Test (formerly the private hire knowledge test), run by TTC Group
Private hire questions18 multiple-choice questions with 4 answers each: 6 on the law, 6 on licence conditions, 6 on plying for hire
Private hire pass rulesAll 6 plying for hire questions right. No more than 4 wrong in the law and conditions sections together, and no more than 2 wrong in either one. So at least 14 out of 18.
Private hire maps and routesNone. The A to Z part of the test was removed on 20 June 2018.
Hackney carriage Knowledge Test6 questions on the law and conditions, all of which must be right, plus 20 routes and 80 two-point locations, of which at least 90 of the 100 must be right
Hackney carriage time allowed2 hours for a spoken test or 3 hours for a written test (a written test also needs a spoken communication test)
Hackney carriage Knowledge Test fee£150, plus £50 for the knowledge test folder
Hackney carriage written/verbal test£75
Private hire verbal test£75
Driver licence (3 years)£277 new, £225 renewal

How to book

  • Private hire: book the Suitability Test, or TTC's optional training course, by emailing TTC Group at birminghamcityprivatehire@ttc-uk.com. The council's licensing policy, its licence page and its bulletin of 3 February 2022 all give this address.
  • The council's driver guide (April 2022) says you pay for the knowledge test by phoning the licensing office on 0121 303 8442, and that private hire test appointments are made once you have paid. Ask TTC how to pay when you email.
  • Hackney carriage: book the Knowledge Test by emailing licensing@birmingham.gov.uk. The tester will then contact you to arrange it.
  • Fees are from the council's fee list, last updated 20 March 2026. All knowledge and verbal tests are non-refundable.
  • Birmingham's website blocks automated access, so we read these pages from Internet Archive copies made in May and June 2026. Check the live pages before you pay.

Birmingham City Council: apply for a hackney carriage or private hire licence

This site isn't the council. Booking and payment happen on the official site.

About the Birmingham test

Birmingham has two different tests. Private hire drivers take the Private Hire Suitability Test, which used to be called the private hire knowledge test. TTC Group runs it for the council. It has 18 multiple-choice questions in three sections: the law, the council's licence conditions and plying for hire. There are no map or route questions.

Hackney carriage drivers take the Knowledge Test. It has 6 questions on the law and licence conditions, plus 100 route and place questions drawn from the council's £50 knowledge folder.

The details on this page come from the council's licensing policy (approved April 2023), its guide to driver licensing and its 2026 fee list. Birmingham's website blocks automated access, so we read Internet Archive copies of these pages made in May and June 2026. Anything we could not confirm is listed at the end of this page.

Private hire drivers: practise each section of the test: legal information, licence conditions and plying for hire. Then try the 18-question mock, which uses the same pass rules as the real test.

Hackney carriage drivers: we do not offer a mock of the Knowledge Test. The route and place questions come from the council's paid folder, which we have not checked, and every route answer would need a real routing check. Buy the folder and practise with a map.

Practise for the Birmingham test

Download every Birmingham question and answer as a PDF

Steps to a licence in Birmingham

  1. Read the council's guide to driver licensing before you contact anyone or pay.
  2. Prove your right to live and work in the UK, and show your National Insurance number.
  3. Show a full driving licence that you have held for over two years.
  4. Show two documents posted to your home address in the last 10 weeks, such as a council tax or utility bill.
  5. Pass the knowledge test: the Private Hire Suitability Test (book with TTC Group) or the Hackney Carriage Knowledge Test.
  6. Get an enhanced DBS check. If you have lived abroad since you were 18, also get a certificate of good conduct from each country.
  7. Pass a Group 2 medical with the council's occupational health doctors.
  8. Pass the Birmingham City Council driving test.
  9. Complete the council's disability and safeguarding training.
  10. Private hire only: get an offer of work from a Birmingham-licensed operator.
  11. Send the application form with all your certificates. When it is approved, pay and collect your badge.

Recent changes

  • : The council's fees report for 2026/27 proposed no change to taxi test fees: hackney carriage Knowledge Test £150, knowledge test folder £50, hackney carriage written/verbal test £75, private hire verbal test £75. The fees take effect from 1 April 2026 if approved. (source)
  • : The council approved its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy. It calls the private hire test the Private Hire Suitability Test (formerly the private hire knowledge test) and sets out its format in Appendix 3. (source)
  • : The A to Z (map) part of the private hire test was removed. The test now has three sections: law, licence conditions and plying for hire. (source)

What Birmingham doesn't publish

We couldn't confirm these from the council's own pages, so ask the licensing team if they matter to you.

  • How long the Private Hire Suitability Test lasts, and whether it is on paper, on screen or read out by the tester. The council's documents do not say.
  • The fee for the Suitability Test. The council's fee list has a "Private Hire verbal test" at £75 and no other private hire test fee. We could not confirm that this is the Suitability Test fee, or whether TTC Group charges anything more. We found no Birmingham page on TTC Group's own website.
  • How you pay for the private hire test now. The driver guide from April 2022 says you phone the licensing office on 0121 303 8442, but newer pages only say to email TTC Group.
  • That the hackney carriage Knowledge Test allows 3 attempts. Other sites report this, but the council's documents do not say it.
  • Whether anything has changed since May 2026. Birmingham's live website blocks automated access, so we read Internet Archive copies of the policy (13 May 2026), the driver guide, the legal information and the licence conditions (10 May 2026), and the fee list (19 May 2026). The private hire legal information is undated and its file was created in 2016.

Birmingham taxi test questions people ask

Are the Birmingham hackney carriage and private hire tests different?

Yes. Private hire drivers take the Private Hire Suitability Test: 18 multiple-choice questions on the law, licence conditions and plying for hire, with no maps. Hackney carriage drivers take the Knowledge Test, which adds 20 routes and 80 two-point locations to 6 questions on the law and conditions.

How many questions are in the Private Hire Suitability Test, and what is the pass mark?

18 multiple-choice questions with four answers each, in three sections of 6. You must get all 6 plying for hire questions right. You may get up to 4 wrong in the law and conditions sections together, but no more than 2 in either. So you need at least 14 out of 18.

How do I book the Birmingham private hire test?

Email TTC Group at birminghamcityprivatehire@ttc-uk.com. TTC runs the test for the council and also offers an optional training course. The council's 2022 driver guide says you pay by phoning the licensing office on 0121 303 8442, so ask TTC how to pay when you email.

What should I study for the private hire test?

The council says the answers are in two documents: its private hire legal information and its private hire licence conditions. Learn the time limits in the conditions carefully, as the council says the questions must be answered accurately, especially where numbers or time limits are involved.

How much is the private hire test?

The council's fee list shows a "Private Hire verbal test" at £75. It does not list any other private hire test fee, but we could not confirm that this is the Suitability Test fee, so check with TTC before you pay.

How much is the Birmingham hackney carriage Knowledge Test?

The council's fee list shows £150 for the hackney carriage Knowledge Test and £50 for the knowledge test folder. It also lists a hackney carriage written/verbal test at £75.

Can I practise the 1,680 hackney carriage two-point locations here?

No. Those questions are in the council's paid knowledge folder, with 342 routes. We have not checked the folder, and every route answer would need a real routing check. Buy the folder from the council and practise with a map of Birmingham.

Can a Birmingham private hire driver wait on a taxi rank?

No. A private hire vehicle must not park or stand on any taxi rank, and the council says drivers who do will be prosecuted. Private hire vehicles also may not use any bus lane in Birmingham.

Sources

Councils update their tests and policies, often yearly. If something here no longer matches your council's guidance, the council is right; please tell us so we can fix it.