Why Your Family Solicitor Can't Save Your Taxi Badge: The Case for a Specialist

You're a professional driver. You get a letter. It's from the local council, and it's not good. They're "reviewing your licence" following a customer complaint. Or maybe you've hit 6 points on your DVLA licence, and they're calling you in.

Your first instinct is to panic. Your second is to think, "I need a lawyer."

So you call the solicitor who handled your house purchase, or the one who helped with a family matter. They're a "solicitor," right? They can handle this.

This is, unfortunately, the first and most critical mistake a driver can make. It's a mistake that could cost you your entire livelihood.

The world of taxi and private hire licensing is not "motoring law." It's not even "criminal law" in the way most people understand it. It is a deep, complex, and highly niche field of administrative and public law. And if the person representing you doesn't understand that, you are walking into a career-ending ambush.

Your local solicitor understands "beyond a reasonable doubt." They don't understand the "fit and proper person" test. And that gap in knowledge is where your case will be lost.

We are TMC Solicitors. We are not generalists. We are a dedicated team of taxi licensing solicitors. This is what we do. We don't handle property law. We don't handle divorce. We handle one thing: protecting your badge, your business, and your future. We are the legal specialists you call when your entire livelihood is on the line, and we understand the battlefield in a way no high-street solicitor ever could.

The Two Battlefields: Why the Council is Not a Court

The fundamental error is in thinking a council licensing hearing is like a court of law. It's not. It's a completely different legal universe with different rules, different standards of proof, and a different objective.

Battlefield 1: The Criminal Court (What General Lawyers Know)

• The Aim:To punish a past crime.


• The Standard of Proof:"Beyond a reasonable doubt." The prosecution must prove you did it.


• The Law:National laws, set by Parliament (e.g., The Road Traffic Act).


• The Outcome:Fines, points, disqualification, or, in the most serious cases, prison.

Battlefield 2: The Council Licensing Committee (What We Know)

• The Aim:To "protect public safety" in the future.


• The Standard of Proof:"Balance of probabilities." The committee only has to believe it's "more likely than not" that something happened. In fact, they can often act on no proof at all, simply on a "concern."


• The Law:A complex mix of national law (The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976), national guidance (Statutory Standards), and, most importantly, the council's own local policy.


• The Outcome:Suspension, refusal, or total revocation of your professional licence.

A general solicitor will walk into that hearing and try to argue "beyond a reasonable doubt." They will be told, "We're not here to decide that. We're here to decide if this driver is 'fit and proper'." At that moment, their entire case, and your future, will collapse.

A team of taxi licensing solicitors knows this from the second they read your letter. Our entire strategy is built around the 'fit and proper' test, not a criminal one.

The Secret Weapon You've Never Read: The Council Policy

Every single licensing authority—from Transport for London (TfL) to Manchester City Council to your small local borough—has its own taxi licensing policy. This document, often 50+ pages long, is the "rulebook" for your area.

It sets out the council's exact stance on:

• How many points you can have before they take action (it's often lessthan the DVLA's 12).


• How they will treat "minor" speeding, mobile phone, or insurance offences.


• Their policy on "spent" convictions from 10, 15, or 20 years ago.


• How they will handle customer complaints, even if the police took no action.

Your local solicitor has never read this document. They don't even know it exists.

At TMC Solicitors, this policy is our starting point. Our team of taxi licensing solicitors collects and analyses these policies from all over the country. When you call us, we will find the council's own rules and use them as the basis for your defence.

We will ask:

• "Is the officer following their ownpolicy correctly?"


• "Is the evidence they're using allowedunder their policy?"


• "Are they applying their policy "fettered," i.e., in a rigid 'computer says no' way, without considering your unique human circumstances?"

More often than not, we find the council itself is not even following its own rules. This is the kind of expert legal argument that wins cases.

A Hearing is Not a Trial. It is a Persuasion.

When you go to a licensing hearing, you are not facing a judge. You are facing a "sub-committee," which is typically three local councillors. They are not legal experts. They are members of the public, like a headteacher, a shop owner, or a retired person.

A general solicitor will try to "make legal arguments" that will go straight over their heads. They will sound arrogant and will lose the sympathy of the room instantly.

Our taxi licensing solicitors are, above all, expert advocates and communicators. We understand our audience.

• We know how to be persuasive, not just argumentative.


• We know how to present you as a human being: a family man, a professional, a responsible member of the community.


• We build a "character case." We bring letters of reference. We show your safe driving record. We explain the context of what happened.


• We speak to the committee with respect, but we also challenge the licensing officer's report with surgical precision.

This is a skill learned from years of attending these specific, strange, and intimidating hearings. It is not a skill you can learn in a criminal court.

The Fight Isn't Over: The Magistrates' Court Appeal

What if the committee gets it wrong? They revoke your licence.

This is where the fight really needs a specialist. You have a right of appeal to the local Magistrates' Court.

This is a legal minefield. A general solicitor might be comfortable in a Magistrates' Court for a criminal trial, but a licensing appeal is a completely different procedure. It's a "re-hearing" of the case, and it involves a unique mix of public law, administrative law, and human rights arguments.

Our team of taxi licensing solicitors are in these courts, on these specific appeals, week in and week out. We know the procedures, we know the legal arguments, and we know how to challenge the council in a formal court of law.

Your livelihood is a specialist, valuable asset. It deserves a specialist, expert legal team. Don't be the driver who gambles their entire family's future on a general solicitor who is learning on the job.

If you have received that letter, your first call should not be to "a solicitor." It should be to the solicitors. Contact TMC Solicitors today. We are the taxi licensing solicitors who know how to fight, and win.