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Taxi, private hire and driving instructors

Your taxi or driving instructor licence after a name change

Change your driving licence with DVLA, then tell whoever licensed you to drive for a living. In London that is TfL, which lists a change of name among the things to email it about. Elsewhere it is your council, under its own conditions: Manchester says to tell it immediately and charges £29 a licence. A driving instructor must update their ADI registration with DVSA within 7 days, GOV.UK says.

Who do I tell? Apply online – £18.50
  • TfL, councils, DVSA and the DVA
  • Every source linked
  • Checked November 2026
A smiling man in his fifties with grey hair and a neat grey beard, in a navy patterned jumper, standing with his arms folded beside a black London cab, a blank badge card hanging on a green lanyard round his neck

Your driving licence comes first

In England and Wales a council may license a private hire driver only if they have been allowed to drive a car for at least twelve months, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Scotland’s 1982 Act has the same rule for taxi and private hire car drivers, and TfL wants every given name on your identity documents shown on a private hire driver’s licence. So the name DVLA holds is the one the rest follow. Changing it is free on form D1, and GOV.UK says you can keep driving while you wait.

Who do I tell?

Find who licensed you, and what they ask for

Choose where you are licensed. Each answer gives who to tell, how, any deadline its source states, and what to send, with the source linked.

Where are you licensed?

Every licensing body, with its answer:

Licensed in London, by Transport for London

No deadline on TfL’s page

Email TfL’s taxi and private hire team

Who
Transport for London, Taxi and Private Hire
How
By email to drivers@tph.tfl.gov.uk, which TfL lists for “Change your name or address”
When
TfL’s page sets no time. It says your duties to tell it about changes came with your licence, so check those papers
Ask
What it needs to see, and how it replaces your licence and badge in the new name

A London private hire badge shows your name, and TfL wants every given name on your identity documents on your licence. Tell your operator too: it gives passengers your name.

A vehicle licence too? If a taxi or private hire vehicle is licensed to you, ask in the same email whether that licence needs your new name.

From TfL’s page for existing licensees, checked November 2026. London in full.

Licensed by a council in England or Wales

Set by each council

Tell the council that issued your badge

Who
Its taxi licensing team. GOV.UK’s find your local council gives the right one
How
Its own form or process, under conditions each council sets for itself
When
Whatever its conditions say. Manchester: “immediately”. Trafford’s page sets no time
Send
Manchester wants the Deed Poll itself (“photocopies are not accepted”), a DVLA mandate and a new DBS application. Trafford wants your DVLA licence in the new name

A vehicle licence too? The Act puts the proprietor’s name on every private hire vehicle licence. Leeds gives hackney carriage proprietors seven days to report a new name.

From the 1976 Act and three councils’ own pages, checked November 2026. The three councils, word for word.

Licensed by a council in Scotland

As soon as reasonably practicable

Notify the council that granted your licence

Who
The licensing authority, your council, which granted your taxi or private hire car driver’s licence
How
A notice of a material change of circumstances, with any fee the council charges for it
When
“As soon as reasonably practicable” after the change, the Act says
Ask
What form and proof it wants: the Act leaves both to the council

A vehicle licence too? The same paragraph of the Act binds the holder of any licence under it, so a taxi or private hire car licence in your name is covered as well.

From the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, Schedule 1, checked November 2026. Scotland in full.

Licensed in Northern Ireland

No deadline on nidirect

Your licence first, then DVA Online

Who
The Driver & Vehicle Agency, which licenses taxi drivers
How
Online only: nidirect says changes to a taxi driver licence go through DVA Online, and paper is no longer accepted
First
Your driving licence, on form DL1 by post. nidirect says your licence details must be right to use the online service
Ask
nidirect’s list of online changes does not name a new name, so email TaxiandBusLicensing@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

A vehicle licence too? DVA Online manages taxi vehicle licences as well, from the same account.

From nidirect on taxi driver licences and DVA Online, checked November 2026.

A driving instructor in England, Scotland or Wales

Within 7 days

Update your ADI registration with DVSA

Who
DVSA, which keeps the register of approved driving instructors
How
Online, with GOV.UK’s update your ADI registration service and the user ID on DVSA’s letters
When
“Within 7 days if you change your name or address”
Ask
GOV.UK does not say whether a new badge follows. Ask DVSA ADI registration at padi@dvsa.gov.uk

Seven days is shorter than DVLA’s wait for a licence by post, so post form D1 and update DVSA in the same week.

From GOV.UK’s manage your ADI registration, checked November 2026. Instructors in full.

The order of things

From your signature to a badge in your new name

Five steps, with the second and third started together, because some licensing bodies want to hear sooner than DVLA can post a new card.

Start these two together 1 2 3 4 5 Sign yourDeed Poll Your new namestarts the dayyou sign it Post form D1to DVLA Free, and youcan keep drivingwhile you wait Tell whoeverlicensed you TfL, your council,the DVA or DVSADVSA: 7 days Show yournew licence If they ask tosee it, asTrafford does Your DBScertificate A new check ifthey ask, asManchester does 1 Sign your Deed Poll Your new name startsthe day you sign it Start these two together 2 Post form D1 to DVLA Free, and you can keepdriving while you wait 3 Tell whoever licensed you TfL, your council, the DVAor DVSA. DVSA: 7 days 4 Show your new licence If they ask to see it,as Trafford does 5 Your DBS certificate A new check if they ask,as Manchester does
From GOV.UK on changing the name on a licence and ADI registration, and the councils’ pages below, checked November 2026. In Northern Ireland a licence changes on form DL1, to the DVA. A lorry or bus licence goes on form D2: lorry, bus and coach drivers.

Your DBS certificate. DBS’s guide for employers says an Update Service status check is made with “the current surname of the DBS certificate holder, as shown on their DBS certificate”, and its worked example has an employer asking for a new certificate when someone changes their name. Manchester asks for a new DBS application with every change of name. Ask whoever licenses you whether yours needs one. The DBS guide.

London

Taxi and private hire drivers licensed by TfL

TfL’s page for existing licensees lists “Change your name or address” among the things to email it about, at drivers@tph.tfl.gov.uk. That page sets no deadline. It says the obligations to tell TfL about changes “were included with your licence”, so the letter that came with yours is the place to look.

Your licence

Every given name on it

TfL requires “all given names on any official identity documents” to be shown on a private hire driver’s licence, and expects those documents to agree in spelling and order. A new name on your passport or DVLA licence, but not on your TfL licence, is exactly the mismatch it means.

TfL, private hire driver’s licence

Your badge

Passengers check the name on it

A London private hire badge displays your name, photograph, licence number and expiry date, TfL’s driver handbook says, and your operator must give passengers your name so they can check it against the badge. Tell your operator about the new name too, and ask TfL how it replaces the badge.

TfL, private hire driver’s handbook

Black cab drivers

The same email address

TfL’s handbook for taxi drivers gives seven days to report a new home address, on a form from your online account or from that email address, and says nothing about a new name. Taxi drivers must also keep their DBS Update Service subscription, which TfL checks every six months.

TfL, taxi (black cab) driver handbook

England and Wales

Three councils’ own words on a change of name

Outside London your licence comes from the council, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Section 51 lets a council attach “such conditions as they may consider reasonably necessary” to a private hire driver’s licence, and makes it keep a register of each driver’s name. So the rules on a new name are the council’s own, and they differ.

Manchester City Council

Immediately

“If you change your name you must inform us immediately and your records will be updated.”

Send
A change of name notification with a DVLA mandate, a DBS disclosure application, and your Deed Poll: “photocopies are not accepted”
Fee
£29 a licence, covering a document appointment, the licence and the badge
Time
It aims for 10 working days once it has everything

Manchester’s change of name page

Trafford Council

No deadline stated

“If you have a current Trafford private hire or hackney carriage driver licence you can apply to update your name.”

Send
An amended passport or right to work document, your DVLA driving licence showing the new name, and your Deed Poll or marriage certificate
Fee
£23.60
Badge
You collect the new one and hand back the old

Trafford’s change of name page

Leeds City Council

Seven days, vehicle owners

“Once licensed if the Proprietor changes their name or address during the currency of the licence they must inform the Council in writing within seven days of such a change taking effect.”

Covers
Hackney carriage proprietors: condition 13.1 of its vehicle conditions
Drivers
Its private hire driver conditions give seven days for a new address and do not mention a new name

Leeds hackney carriage conditions

Five things to ask your own council

  1. Is there a deadline in my licence conditions for a change of name?
  2. Do you need to see my new DVLA licence first, or will a DVLA check do?
  3. Do you want the original Deed Poll, and will a certified copy do?
  4. Is there a fee, and do a new licence and badge follow?
  5. Do I need a new DBS certificate in my new name?

Checked on each council’s site, November 2026. Every other council sets its own conditions, so read yours before relying on these.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Different laws, the same first step

In both, your driving licence comes first: DVLA in Scotland, the DVA in Northern Ireland.

Scotland

As soon as reasonably practicable

Your taxi or private hire car driver’s licence comes from the council under section 13 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. Schedule 1, paragraph 9, says a licence holder must notify the licensing authority of a material change of circumstances “as soon as reasonably practicable after it has taken place”.

It counts as one a material change in the particulars given in your application, and an application gives your full name. The notice goes with whatever fee the council charges, so ask it for the form.

Schedule 1, on legislation.gov.uk, checked November 2026

Northern Ireland

Your licence on form DL1, then DVA Online

nidirect says a new name on a Northern Ireland driving licence cannot be done online: it goes to the DVA on form DL1, by post. Taxi driver licences are the DVA’s too, and changes to one must be made online through DVA Online, where your driver licence details need to be right before you can use it.

nidirect sets no deadline for a taxi driver licence, and its list of online changes does not name a new name, so ask the DVA at TaxiandBusLicensing@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk.

nidirect on keeping your licence up to date and taxi driver licences, checked November 2026

A smiling woman with curly auburn hair and round glasses, in a coral patterned blouse, holding a clipboard to her chest beside a small white car with a roof sign and a red L plate
Driving instructors

Your ADI registration, within 7 days

GOV.UK puts it plainly: “You must update your ADI registration within 7 days if you change your name or address.” DVSA’s online service for it lets you change your name, signed in with the user ID printed on DVSA’s letters, which is not your ADI number, and your password. Lost the user ID? DVSA sends it again if you ask, for which you need your driving licence number.

DVLA’s own wait for a licence sent by post is 3 weeks, so do not hold the DVSA update back for the new card: post form D1 and update your registration in the same week.

  • Your badge. GOV.UK does not say whether a new one follows a change of name. Ask DVSA ADI registration at padi@dvsa.gov.uk when you update.
  • Your listing. The same service runs your entry on GOV.UK’s “find driving schools, lessons and instructors” listing, which shows your name if you agreed to it.
  • Northern Ireland. GOV.UK points instructors there to a different process, on nidirect.

From GOV.UK’s manage your ADI registration, update your ADI registration and contact DVLA, checked November 2026.

Questions & answers

Taxi and instructor licences, answered

Who do I tell about a new name on my taxi or private hire licence?

Whoever granted it. In London that is TfL, which lists a change of name among the things to email it about at drivers@tph.tfl.gov.uk. Elsewhere in England and Wales it is the council that issued your badge, and in Scotland your council too. In Northern Ireland it is the DVA, through DVA Online. Every one of them relies on your driving licence, so post form D1 to DVLA as well. Find yours.

How soon do I have to tell my council about a change of name?

As soon as its licence conditions say, and they differ. Manchester City Council says immediately. Leeds gives hackney carriage proprietors seven days. Trafford's page sets no time. In Scotland the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 says as soon as reasonably practicable. TfL's page sets none and points to the papers sent with your licence. Three councils, word for word.

Do I need a new DBS check after changing my name?

Ask whoever licenses you. Manchester asks for a new DBS application with a change of name. DBS's guide for employers says an Update Service status check uses the surname as shown on the certificate, and its worked example has an employer asking for a new certificate after someone changes their name.

How does a driving instructor change the name on their ADI registration?

Online, within 7 days of the change, GOV.UK says, using DVSA's update your ADI registration service and the user ID printed on DVSA's letters. GOV.UK does not say whether a new badge follows, so ask DVSA ADI registration at padi@dvsa.gov.uk. Post form D1 to DVLA in the same week. Instructors in full.

Should I change my DVLA licence before my taxi licence?

Start with it, but do not wait for the new card if your licensing body sets a short deadline. Trafford asks to see your DVLA licence in the new name, Manchester asks for a DVLA mandate, and nidirect says your licence details must be right before you use DVA Online. Form D1 is free, and GOV.UK says you can keep driving while DVLA has your licence.

Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.

Keep reading

Related answers

Changing your driving licenceForm D1 by post, free and never online, plus Northern Ireland.Read this Lorry, bus and coach driversForm D2, a free tachograph card on D777B, then DVSA for your Driver CPC card.Read this What DVLA accepts as proof of a new nameAn unenrolled Deed Poll, the original only, with one document in your new name.Read this

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