Taxi Knowledge Test

Bristol taxi knowledge test

Based on Taxi and private hire driver tests and certificates (Bristol City Council, undated) and 7 other sources. Checked .

A 100-question multiple-choice knowledge test of up to 90 minutes, with separate hackney carriage (90% pass) and private hire (75% pass) versions.

How to bookTake the mock test

The test at a glance

CouncilBristol City Council
LicencesHackney carriage and private hire
Questions100 multiple choice, four answers each
TimeUp to 90 minutes
Pass markHackney carriage 90%; private hire 75%
Section minimum40% or 50% in each section, depending on the section (the Council does not say which)
SectionsSafety including CSE; clubs, pubs, restaurants and hotels; districts and places of interest; calculating change and road safety; policy and legislation; equality. Hackney adds offices and flats, and places outside Bristol
Fee£69 per booking
BookingBy phone on 0117 357 4900, after you apply for a licence

How to book

  • You must apply for a driver licence online first. You cannot book the test until your application is in.
  • Call 0117 357 4900 to book, and pay £69 when you book.
  • You cannot change a booking. If you cannot go, you have to book and pay again.
  • Current private hire drivers who want a hackney carriage licence must pass the test at the hackney carriage standard.

Bristol City Council: taxi driver tests and certificates

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

About the Bristol test

Bristol City Council licenses hackney carriage and private hire drivers separately, and each has its own knowledge test. Both tests have 100 multiple-choice questions with four answers each, and you have up to 90 minutes.

Both tests cover safety (including child sexual exploitation), clubs, pubs, restaurants and hotels, districts and places of interest, calculating change and road safety, policy and legislation, and equality. The hackney carriage test also covers offices, flats and places outside Bristol. To pass you need 90% for hackney carriage or 75% for private hire, and a minimum score in each section.

This page sums up what the Council publishes and gives you practice for each section. We are not the Council; check the Council's test page before you book.

Practise for the Bristol test

Download every Bristol question and answer as a PDF

Steps to a licence in Bristol

  1. Be over 18 and have held a full DVLA driving licence (or one you can exchange) for at least 12 months.
  2. Apply online for a hackney carriage or private hire driver licence and upload your DVLA licence. Declare all convictions, cautions and penalties, including spent ones.
  3. Complete an enhanced DBS check and join the DBS Update Service.
  4. Have a Group 2 medical with your own GP practice.
  5. Complete a DVLA mandate so the Council can check your driving record.
  6. Pass the Bristol knowledge test (£69).
  7. Complete the Council's safeguarding training. If it is not done before your first licence, you get a one-year licence and must finish it by your first renewal.
  8. Prove your right to a licence, complete the tax check and send a passport-style photo.
  9. The Gold Standard course and the advanced driving test are normally needed too, but are paused while the Council finds new providers.

Recent changes

  • : New fees from 1 May 2026: knowledge test £69, one-year driver licence £140, initial application fee £26. (source)
  • : At the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Forum, officers said the topographical sections of the private hire test would be replaced with topics such as disability awareness and planning routes with navigation devices, and that the existing test stays until a new test is approved. No later update has been published. (source)
  • : The Public Safety and Protection Committee approved removing geography questions from the private hire test, to be replaced with questions on disability awareness, legislation, policy and other topics. The current test continues until the new one is ready; no start date has been published. (source)

What Bristol doesn't publish

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

  • Which sections need 40% and which need 50%. The Council's test page and example questions say only that the minimum is 40% or 50% depending on the section. The June 2025 committee report could not be opened: the Council's committee website shows a bot check, and no archived copy exists.
  • How many of the 100 questions are in each section. The example questions are numbered (for example safety at question 5, offices at 31, places of interest at 54, equality at 75, outside Bristol at 85, flats at 95), which suggests the order of sections in the hackney test but not their sizes. Our mock split is an estimate.
  • When the new private hire test (without geography) will start, and its format. The Council's page (checked 29 October 2026) still says the current test continues until the new one is in place, and we found no update after the Taxi Forum of 18 June 2025.
  • Where the test is taken and any rules on resits. The example questions show an on-screen test with a timer, but the Council page does not give a venue or resit rules.
  • Whether the 2021-2026 policy has been replaced or extended. The Council still links to it.
  • Which venues, offices, flats and places the real test uses. The Council does not publish a list.

Bristol taxi test questions people ask

How many questions are in the Bristol knowledge test?

100 multiple-choice questions, each with four answers. You have up to 90 minutes.

What is the pass mark?

90% for a hackney carriage licence and 75% for a private hire licence. You also need at least 40% or 50% in each section, depending on the section.

Which sections need 40% and which need 50%?

The Council does not publish this. Its test page says only that each section has a minimum pass mark of 40% or 50%. Aim well above 50% in every section, and ask the Licensing Office when you book.

What extra sections are in the hackney carriage test?

Offices and flats, and places outside Bristol. The Council's examples ask which road an office block is on, which area a block of flats is in, and which main road a place outside the city is on. Practise them in our offices, flats and outside Bristol topic.

How do I book, and how much does it cost?

Apply for your licence online first, then call 0117 357 4900. The test costs £69, paid when you book. You cannot change a booking; if you miss it you pay again. See the Council's test page.

Is the private hire test changing?

Yes. In June 2025 the Council's Public Safety and Protection Committee approved removing questions about the city's geography from the private hire test and adding questions on disability awareness, legislation and policy. Until the new test is ready, the current test with place questions is still used. As of October 2026 the Council had not given a start date. The hackney carriage test is not changing.

What should I study?

The Council's licensing policy and conditions, Know Your Traffic Signs, stopping distances, how to help passengers with sight loss, and child sexual exploitation awareness. For the place sections, learn Bristol's main clubs, pubs, hotels, landmarks and districts. The Council's example questions show the style.

Do I need the Gold Standard course or an advanced driving test?

Normally yes, but both are paused while the Council finds new providers. You may be licensed without them for now, and will then have a set time to complete them once a provider is approved.

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.