Vehicles-for-Hire & Transport · 6 min read · Last updated
The limousine driver licence is about you, not about a vehicle or a premises. Anyone who drives a limousine in Hamilton needs one, and you have to attend in person with government-issued photo ID to get it. What you walk away with is a municipally issued photo ID card that you carry while working.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “Limousine Driver means any person who drives a limousine. Applicant MUST APPLY IN PERSON with government issued photo ID.”
Who needs this licence?
A limousine driver licence is required of any person who drives a limousine. It is a personal licence: it travels with you rather than with a car or a company, and it stays valid if you change employers.
It is separate from the limousine owner licence, which covers the vehicle and its plate. A driver who also owns the limousine needs both, which is why the owner checklist asks for a driver abstract when the applicant is also applying as a limo driver.
You must apply in person with government-issued photo ID, and you must renew in person the same way. There is no route that avoids attending, because the licence is issued as a photo card that ties the licence to the person holding it.
What documents do you need?
The driver checklist is short but time-sensitive, and two of the four items expire quickly.
You submit the completed business licence application form. Alongside it goes a driver abstract dated within 36 days of application, which is the City checking your driving record rather than simply that you hold a licence.
A Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check, also dated within 36 days and issued by the police service board in your city of residence, covers the background side. Third party clearances will not be accepted, so a report from a commercial screening service is not usable.
The checklist also records your driver licence class, so have your provincial licence with you. Because both the abstract and the police check run on 36-day windows, order them together and submit while both are current, or you will find yourself paying for one of them twice.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning does not apply to you as a limousine driver. This licence attaches to a person, and a person does not have a zoning designation.
Zoning applies to premises. If a limousine business operates from an address, it is that address, and the business that runs from it, that must satisfy the zoning by-law, not the individual drivers who work there.
There is no Zoning Verification Certificate on the limousine driver checklist and no fee for one, so nothing in this application depends on where you live or where the vehicles are stored.
Inspections and approvals
There is no inspection on the limousine driver checklist. Nothing is examined on site, because there is no site and no vehicle attached to this licence.
The vetting happens on paper instead. Your driver abstract and criminal record check are the equivalent of an inspection for a personal licence, and both have to be current within 36 days rather than simply on file.
Vehicle condition is handled through the limousine owner licence, which carries a safety standards certificate and an inspection of the vehicle by a Licensing Officer. If you drive a limousine you do not own, those obligations sit with the owner rather than with you.
How much does it cost?
A new limousine driver application carries three charges: a processing fee, the licence fee and a photo fee for the municipal ID card. HST applies to the processing fee and the photo fee; the licence fee is not taxed.
At renewal the processing fee falls away. You pay the licence fee each time, and the photo fee only in the years a new picture is required, which is every three years.
A late renewal brings a licence re-instatement fee, which is charged as a late fee on top of the ordinary renewal.
One further condition applies before any renewal or plate transfer goes through: outstanding fees for service, court fines and similar amounts must be paid. The Issuer of Licences may refuse to issue a licence where they have not been. All current amounts come from the City's fee schedule and are confirmed when you attend.
How to apply
Order your driver abstract and your criminal record check together, and plan to attend within 36 days of both. This timing is the single most common reason a driver has to come back a second time.
Complete the business licence application form in advance and bring your provincial driver licence so your licence class can be recorded.
Attend in person with government-issued photo ID. You cannot send someone on your behalf and you cannot complete this licence by mail.
Have your photograph taken for the municipally issued ID card, and pay the processing fee, licence fee and photo fee. The card is what you carry while driving.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal must be done in person with government-issued photo ID, exactly as the first application was.
Bring a fresh driver abstract dated within 36 days. Declarations A and B need to be completed as well, which is your confirmation that the information the City holds about you is still accurate.
The photo ID card is printed annually with an updated expiry date, and a new picture is required every three years. That is why the photo fee appears on some renewals and not others.
Renew before the expiry date. A late renewal carries a licence re-instatement fee, and any outstanding fees for service or court fines must be cleared before the renewal can be issued at all.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. How must a limousine driver licence application be submitted in Hamilton?
The licence is issued as a municipal photo ID card, so the applicant must attend in person with government-issued photo ID, both to apply and to renew.
2. How current must your driver abstract and police check be?
The checklist requires both the driver abstract and the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check to be dated within 36 days, which means ordering them together.
3. How often is a new photograph required for the municipal ID card?
The card is printed annually with an updated expiry date, but a new picture is required every three years, which is when the photo fee applies.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.