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Taxi driver licensing cost drops as Enhanced DBS fee falls by £8.50 and annual Update Service charge is cut
A reduction in Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) fees has taken effect today, cutting the Government charge for an Enhanced DBS check from £49.50 to £41 and lowering the annual Update Service subscription from £16 to £15.
The change has direct relevance to taxi and private hire licensing. Department for Transport statutory standards call for licensed drivers to undergo enhanced criminal-record checks and recommend use of the DBS Update Service so licensing authorities can routinely identify relevant changes.
Warrington Borough Council is among the licensing authorities that has already updated its taxi guidance to reflect the new charges. The council requires its licensed drivers to maintain an active Update Service subscription throughout their licence and confirms that the £41 Enhanced DBS fee and £15 annual subscription apply from 5 October.
The Enhanced DBS reduction amounts to £8.50, or about 17%, compared with the previous £49.50 government fee. Drivers maintaining an Update Service subscription will save a further £1 each year.
The Disclosure and Barring Service said it reviews its charges annually and sets fees according to the cost of delivering each service. The organisation is funded through the fees it charges and said Enhanced checks receive the largest reduction in this year’s changes.
Basic and Standard DBS checks have also fallen from £21.50 to £20. Volunteer Standard and Enhanced checks remain free. The changes were approved by the DBS board, Home Office, HM Treasury and the safeguarding minister before being given legal effect through secondary legislation.
The £41 figure is the DBS charge itself and should not automatically be treated as the total amount every taxi driver will pay. Registered bodies and organisations processing applications can impose separate administration charges, which the DBS says it neither sets nor regulates.
Warrington, for example, directs taxi applicants and existing drivers through TaxiPlus for DBS applications and status checks. The council’s guidance confirms the underlying DBS reductions but operators and drivers should check locally for any additional processing costs.
The change does not reduce the level of vetting undertaken. DBS said the lower charges do not affect the quality or rigour of its checks.
