Vehicles-for-Hire & Transport · 5 min read · Last updated
Be clear about what this is before anything else: the taxi cab priority list is a queue, not a licence to operate. Being on it does not let you drive a cab, own a plate or dispatch anyone. It records your place in line for a future taxi cab owner licence, maintained by the Director of Licensing, and it currently accepts no new applications.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “Priority List maintained by the Director of Licensing. THE PRIORITY LIST IS CLOSED. NO NEW APPLICATION CAN BE ACCEPTED. Renewal Date: September 30”
Who needs this licence?
The priority list is maintained by the Director of Licensing, and it exists because taxi cab owner licences are not ordinarily available. No new owner licences are issued unless authorised by by-law or council, so the list records who is waiting when they are.
The list is closed. No new application can be accepted, which means this page is written for people already on the list rather than for anyone hoping to join it. If you are not on it, the practical route to holding a plate is a taxi cab owner transfer from an existing holder.
It is worth repeating what a place on the list is not. It confers no right to operate a taxicab, no plate and no permission to drive. Driving requires a taxi cab driver licence, and operating a plate requires a taxi cab owner licence. The list is queue placement and nothing more.
What documents do you need?
There is no application checklist for the priority list, and that is a direct consequence of it being closed. Nothing is submitted to join, because nobody can join.
What the list requires instead is upkeep. Your place is held by renewing annually and paying the priority list fee by the renewal date of September 30.
One further condition applies across the taxi system and reaches this one too. Before any plate transfer, licence renewal or new or renewed lease, 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. Keep your account with the City clear so that nothing blocks you when a plate finally becomes available.
If your contact details change, tell Licensing. A list that runs for years is only useful if the Director of Licensing can reach the people on it.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning has no application to the priority list. A place in a queue has no premises, no vehicle and no address.
Zoning applies to where a business actually operates. In the taxi system that means the brokerage, whose dispatch premises must satisfy the zoning by-law through the taxi cab broker licence.
If a plate does eventually come to you, zoning still will not enter the picture. The taxi cab owner licence covers a vehicle rather than premises, so it carries no zoning requirement either.
Inspections and approvals
Nothing is inspected. There is no vehicle, no premises and no operation attached to a place on the priority list.
Inspections arrive later, if and when a plate becomes available to you. A taxi cab owner licence requires a Safety Standards Certificate less than 36 days old when submitted and an inspection of the vehicle by a Licensing Officer, both at application and before each renewal.
That is a useful thing to know while you are waiting. The vehicle you plan to put into service will have to meet those requirements at that point, including a commercial safety if the vehicle is accessible.
How much does it cost?
The priority list carries a priority list fee, and HST applies to it. That fee is what keeps your name on the list for another year.
There is no processing fee, no licence fee and no inspection fee, because nothing is being licensed or inspected.
Missing the renewal date brings a late administrative priority list fee, made up of a late fee plus HST. It is charged instead of the licence re-instatement fee used for actual licences, which reflects that this is an administrative position rather than a licence.
The City sets both amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them when you renew. Because the fee recurs every year for as long as you wait, treat it as an annual cost of holding your position.
How to apply
You cannot apply. The priority list is closed and no new application can be accepted, so there is no route onto it at present.
If you are already on the list, what matters is renewing on time. The renewal date is September 30 each year, and the priority list fee is paid to keep your place.
If you are not on the list and want to hold a plate, look at the taxi cab owner transfer route, where an existing owner transfers a plate to you. That route has its own requirements, including Business Skills college taxi training and proof of at least one year of involvement in the taxi cab industry.
Also consider whether the accessible priority list is relevant to you, since it is a separate list maintained for accessible taxicab owner licences with its own fee.
Renewals and staying compliant
The renewal date is September 30. Renewing means paying the priority list fee to hold your position for another year.
The consequence of missing it is stated plainly and it is serious. After December 31 of each year, anyone on the priority list who has failed to renew must be removed from the list, following a hearing before the Licence Committee.
Between September 30 and that point, a late administrative priority list fee applies, so a late renewal is possible but it costs more. Do not treat the December date as the real deadline; it is the point at which removal proceedings follow.
Removal means losing a place that may have taken years to reach, and since the list is closed to new applications, it cannot simply be rejoined. Two calendar reminders, one in August and one in September, are a reasonable precaution.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What does a place on the taxi cab priority list give you?
The priority list is maintained by the Director of Licensing as a queue for owner licences, and it authorises no operation of any kind.
2. Can you join the taxi cab priority list today?
The guide states that the priority list is closed and that no new application can be accepted, which leaves a plate transfer as the practical alternative.
3. What happens to someone on the list who fails to renew?
After December 31 each year, anyone who has failed to renew must be removed from the priority list following a hearing before the Licence Committee.
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.