South East · driver medicals

Taxi driver medical in Hastings

Which doctor Hastings will accept, how often you have to repeat it and which form they want. Councils disagree with each other on every one of those, so this is Hastings’s answer and nobody else’s.

What Hastings requires

• “The assessment must be carried out either by the applicant's General Practitioner or by a suitably qualified GMB registered medical practitioner who has access to the applicant's medical records”
• How long it lasts: Less than 3 months old. Two statements: 'Certificates provided must be less than 3 months old' (policy 4.8.4) and 'The Certificate must be not more than 3 months old' (Appendix A). Neither ties the clock to the grant date, so no grant-date trap is published
• How often: Every 6 years for drivers aged up to 45; every 3 years for drivers aged 45 to 65; annually for drivers aged 65 and over. Plus at new application, and more frequently if the Medical Practitioner considers it necessary or the Council reasonably requires it. Transitional rule for 45-65 year olds in place when the policy took effect: new certificate at next renewal unless their last medical was within 12 months of that renewal date
• Form: Council's own 'Medical Report' form (10 pages, HCPHV01), issued in the application pack or obtained from the Council. Pages 1 and 2 are removed before submission. Assessed to DVLA Group 2 Entitlement
• Possible exemption: Not stated - no HGV/PSV/PCV or DVLA Group 2 licence exemption is published. (References to 'exemption certificate' throughout this policy mean Equality Act 2010 / Taxi and PHV (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 exemptions from wheelchair and assistance-dog duties, not exemption from the driver medical.)

Taken from Hastings Borough Council Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing Policy (HCPHV01 Issue No1, June 2021), section 4.8 Medical Assessment + Appendix A + Appendix (driver conditions) para 11. Rules change and councils rewrite their pages without notice, so confirm before you book and pay. If something here is wrong please say and I will check it against the council and fix it.

How Hastings compares

Of the 315 UK licensing areas checked so far, Hastings is one of 105 taking that line, which is the most common arrangement in the country.

Who may sign it in nearby areas

Neighbouring authorities do not follow each other on this, and a certificate accepted in one is regularly refused in the next. Check the area whose badge you actually hold.

Licensing area	Who can carry out the medical
Rother	Your own GP, or a doctor with your records
Eastbourne	Any registered doctor with your records
Wealden	Your own GP, or a doctor with your records
Tunbridge Wells	Your own GP only
Ashford	Any GMC-registered doctor
Folkestone and Hythe	Any registered doctor with your records
Lewes	Any registered doctor with your records
Maidstone	Your own GP only

What it costs to be licensed in Hastings

The medical is one bill among several. See what Hastings charges for the driver, vehicle and operator licences, taken from the same published sources.

Every line above is taken from Hastings’s own published guidance and read by hand against that source. Nothing here is from trade press, a forum or an estimate. This is not medical or legal advice.

← Medical rules for every UK licensing area