Solihull taxi knowledge test

Practise for the Solihull test

• Solihull training course test practice48 questions in 60 minutes, 8 on each of the six subjects. Pass mark 36 (75%), as in the real course test.
• Driver conditions41 questions, Solihull only
• Vehicle maintenance41 questions, Solihull only
• Policy and suitability38 questions, Solihull only
• SafeguardingOne of the six subjects, with 8 of the 48 questions: safeguarding and child sexual abuse and exploitation risks, including county lines.
• Equality and disabilityOne of the six subjects, with 8 of the 48 questions: disability awareness and the Equality Act 2010.
• Customer care and safetyCustomer service is one of the six subjects, with 8 of the 48 questions. The subject also covers communication and language skills. Our topic is multiple choice, so it does not test your speaking or writing.
• Highway CodeOne of the six subjects, with 8 of the 48 questions: the Highway Code and road safety.
• Licensing lawPart of the subject on compliance with legislation, conditions and policy, with 8 of the 48 questions. Solihull's own conditions and policy are in our local topics.

Download every Solihull question and answer as a PDF

Steps to a licence in Solihull

1. Complete a practical driving assessment with the Blue Lamp Trust. The certificate must be less than 12 months old when you apply.
2. Get an enhanced DBS certificate with both barred lists, for a taxi or private hire driver under 'other workforce'. Join the DBS Update Service within 30 days of the certificate being issued.
3. Have a DVLA Group 2 medical with a GMC-registered doctor. The certificate should be dated within one month when you apply.
4. Complete the training course and pass its test.
5. Get a DVLA check code (valid for 21 days) and prove your right to work. If you hold a licence, or have held one in the last 12 months, also complete an HMRC tax check.
6. Email licensing@solihull.gov.uk for an appointment, and bring your driving licence, a passport-style photograph and your application form. You must have held a full UK driving licence for at least 12 months. The application charge is £61.50 (2026/27).
7. Hackney carriage applicants: buy the knowledge folder, then book and pass the knowledge test within 12 months of applying.
8. If all checks are satisfactory, pay the licence fee (£387 for three years, 2026/27) and collect your badge, licence and conditions.

Recent changes

• 1 July 2026: A new Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy came into force, with new licence conditions. New applicants no longer provide separate evidence of safeguarding or disability awareness training, as the Council's own course covers these. Renewing drivers must join the DBS Update Service and complete refresher training. (source)

What Solihull 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 soon to report a change to your right to work. The private hire driver conditions (Annex C, condition 4) say stop driving at once and tell the Council within 48 hours, while section 7.6 of the policy says to tell it immediately. Telling the Council at once meets both.
• How long the wait is after a first conviction for violence that is not classed as serious, such as common assault. Annex A 13.13 says 7 years (12 for a repeat), while the table in section 15 says 10 years (no new licence after a repeat). We do not test this figure.
• How the 48 questions split between spoken, written and multiple choice, and how many marks each subject needs. The Council gives only the total pass mark, so we cannot say whether there is a minimum for each subject.
• Where and how often the course runs. The booking site did not show dates or venues to us.
• What the £78.50 'Suitability Assessment resit' fee covers. The fee list has this as well as a £26 test resit, and does not explain the difference; it may be the price to retake the whole course. Ask the Licensing team.
• What is in the hackney carriage knowledge folder and how 'two-point locations' are asked. The folder is sold by the Council and is not public, so we have not written place or route questions.
• The conditions for hackney carriage drivers, and the byelaws. The policy prints conditions for private hire drivers, private hire vehicles, operators and hackney carriage vehicles, and mentions bylaws, but we did not find hackney carriage driver conditions or byelaws in the documents we read.
• How soon to report an arrest or investigation. The private hire driver conditions (Annex C) say 48 hours, while the suitability guidance (Annex A, 13.22) says 7 days. Our questions use 48 hours, the stricter limit in the conditions on the licence.
• The current hackney carriage fare table. A search result for an older Council page mentions one, but we did not find the table, so we have no fare questions.