Vehicles-for-Hire & Transport · 7 min read · Last updated
Because Hamilton does not issue new taxi cab owner licences unless council authorises it, a transfer is how most plates change hands. This is a permanent move of an existing plate from one owner to another, and it is treated as a transaction: the transfer form states the value and must be witnessed by a Commissioner of Oath. The buyer attends in person with government-issued photo ID.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “Taxi Cab Owner means a person who is the owner of a taxi cab plate. LICENCE APPLICANT MUST APPLY IN PERSON with government issued photo ID.”
Who needs this licence?
A taxi cab owner is a person who is the owner of a taxi cab plate, and a transfer moves that ownership permanently from one person to another. Unlike a lease agreement, which temporarily hands over a limited interest and leaves ownership untouched, a transfer changes who holds the plate.
The person receiving the plate has to qualify in their own right. Completion of Business Skills college for taxi training and proof of involvement in the taxi cab industry for at least one year are both on the transfer checklist, exactly as they are for a new plate. A plate cannot be transferred to someone with no connection to the trade.
The licence applicant must apply in person with government-issued photo ID. Given that transfers are the main way plates change hands in a system where new licences are not ordinarily available, expect the City to look closely at the paperwork.
One difference from a new plate application is worth noting: the transfer checklist does not list a criminal record check or a driver abstract, where the new plate checklist does. That is a matter of what this particular checklist asks for, so if you are also applying to drive the cab, the driver licence brings its own requirements.
What documents do you need?
Seven items make up the plate transfer checklist, and the first one is unlike anything else in Hamilton's licensing system.
The transfer form must be completed and must include the value of the transaction, and it must be witnessed by a Commissioner of Oath. Recording the value on a sworn document reflects that a plate is a valuable asset and that the City keeps a record of what changes hands.
The vehicle documents follow: ownership, and a Safety Standards Certificate less than 36 days old when submitted. A Certificate of Insurance is sent to the City's taxi licensing email address directly by the insurance broker rather than being handed in by you.
The qualification items apply to the incoming owner: completion of Business Skills college for taxi training, and proof of involvement in the taxi cab industry for at least one year.
The file finishes with an inspection of the vehicle by a Licensing Officer. Nothing transfers until that inspection is done.
Zoning and premises requirements
A plate transfer raises no zoning question at all. The subject of the transaction is a licence and a vehicle, and neither sits at an address the City can zone.
Zoning applies to premises where a business operates. In the taxi system that is the brokerage, whose dispatch office requires a Zoning Verification Certificate or an open building permit under the taxi cab broker licence.
So there is no Zoning Verification Certificate, no addendum and no zoning fee on a transfer file. What replaces the premises scrutiny here is scrutiny of the transaction itself, through the sworn transfer form.
Inspections and approvals
An inspection of the vehicle by a Licensing Officer is required as part of the transfer. It is the last item on the checklist, and it is the City satisfying itself about the vehicle that will run under the plate in its new hands.
Before that, a Safety Standards Certificate less than 36 days old when submitted provides the provincial mechanical certification, obtained at a licensed inspection station.
Because both are dated requirements, sequence matters on a transfer. Book the safety inspection close to the transfer date rather than early, and expect the Licensing Officer's inspection to be scheduled around the appointment where the transfer is completed.
No premises inspection arises, since nothing about a plate transfer involves a building.
How much does it cost?
A plate transfer carries a processing fee, which attracts HST, and a licence fee for the transfer itself, which does not.
The transfer licence fee is its own amount, set apart from both the first-issuance fee for a new plate and the ordinary annual renewal fee. Read it as the cost of moving the plate rather than as a licence year.
The purchase price of the plate is a private matter between buyer and seller, but it is not private from the City: the transfer form records the value of the transaction and is sworn before a Commissioner of Oath.
Before any plate transfer, all outstanding fees for service and court fines must be paid, and the Issuer of Licences may refuse to issue a licence where they have not been. That condition can stall a transfer at the last moment, so both parties should check their standing early. The City's fee schedule sets the amounts and they are confirmed at the time of the transfer.
How to apply
Qualify first. Complete Business Skills college for taxi training and assemble proof of at least one year of involvement in the taxi cab industry before you agree terms with a seller.
Complete the transfer form with the seller, including the value of the transaction, and have it witnessed by a Commissioner of Oath.
Prepare the vehicle side as the incoming owner: ownership documentation, a Safety Standards Certificate less than 36 days old at submission, and an instruction to your insurance broker to send the Certificate of Insurance directly to the City.
Attend in person with government-issued photo ID, submit the package and pay the processing and transfer fees. Confirm beforehand that neither party has outstanding fees for service or court fines, then complete the Licensing Officer's vehicle inspection.
Renewals and staying compliant
A transfer is a one-time event and is not itself renewed. What you hold afterwards is a taxi cab owner licence, and that is what comes up for renewal.
From then on the ordinary owner renewal applies: ownership, a Certificate of Insurance sent in by your insurance broker, a Safety Standards Certificate less than 36 days old when submitted with a commercial safety for accessible vehicles, an inspection of the vehicle by a Licensing Officer before renewal, and Declarations A and B.
Outstanding fees for service and court fines must be cleared before a licence renewal in the same way as before a transfer, so the condition follows you into the licence rather than ending at the counter.
A licence re-instatement fee applies where a licence has been allowed to lapse, so diarise the renewal from the day the plate is transferred to you rather than waiting for a notice.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What must the taxi cab plate transfer form include?
The transfer form records the value of the transaction and must be witnessed by a Commissioner of Oath, which is unique to this transaction in Hamilton's taxi licensing.
2. Who must hold the Business Skills college taxi training and the year of industry involvement on a transfer?
The transfer checklist applies the qualification requirements to the applicant taking on the licence, so an incoming owner has to meet them personally.
3. What can stop a plate transfer at the last moment?
Before any plate transfer, all fees for service and court fines must be paid, and the Issuer of Licences may refuse to issue a licence where they have not been.
Skip the paperwork
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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.