An HMRC tax check code is a nine-character code you receive after answering a short set of questions online about how you pay tax on income from a licensed trade. You give the code to your licensing authority when you renew a taxi, private hire, or scrap metal dealer licence, and it proves you have gone through HMRC’s tax compliance screening. Without it, the authority cannot process your renewal at all.1GOV.UK. Complete a Tax Check for a Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence
When You Need One
The tax check applies to five licences in England and Wales: the hackney carriage driver licence, the private hire vehicle driver licence, the private hire vehicle operator licence, the scrap metal dealer site licence, and the scrap metal dealer mobile collector’s licence. Individuals, partnerships, and limited companies all fall within scope. You need a code when you renew an existing licence, or when you apply for a licence of a type you have previously held with any licensing authority.2Legislation.gov.uk. The Finance Act 2021, Schedule 33 (Licensing Authorities: Tax Information) Regulations 2022
What to Have Ready Before You Start
The check is done through your Government Gateway account. If you don’t already have one, you can set it up on GOV.UK with a user ID (up to 12 characters) and a password.3GOV.UK. HMRC Online Services: Sign In or Set Up an Account
Have these to hand before you sign in:
- Your Government Gateway sign-in details.
- Roughly when you first got your licence. An approximate number of years is enough; the exact date isn’t needed.
- The length of your most recent licence.
- How you pay tax on the income from your licensed activity — for example, through Self Assessment, a company tax return, or PAYE as an employee.
The online session can time out if you leave it idle, so gathering these details first saves you from starting over.1GOV.UK. Complete a Tax Check for a Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence
How to Complete the Check and Get Your Code
Sign in to your Government Gateway account and start the tax check for the licence type you’re renewing. HMRC asks what type of licence you’re applying for, roughly when you first got it, how long your most recent licence lasted, and your tax status for the relevant tax year. If you didn’t owe tax on the income from your licensed activity, you can say so.
Once you answer the questions, the system generates your nine-character code on screen. Write it down or copy it somewhere safe. You then pass it to your licensing authority, usually by entering it on the renewal application form.1GOV.UK. Complete a Tax Check for a Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence
How Long the Code Lasts
Your code is valid for 120 days from the date it’s created. If the licensing authority doesn’t check it within that window, you’ll have to run through the questions again and generate a fresh code.4GOV.UK. Confirm a Tax Check for Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence Applications The practical takeaway: don’t complete the check months ahead of submitting your renewal. Do it close to when you’re ready to file.
What the Licensing Authority Sees
When you hand over the code, the authority checks it against HMRC’s records through a secure service. That check tells the authority one thing: whether you completed the tax check or not. It doesn’t reveal your income figures, tax return contents, or any other personal tax information.4GOV.UK. Confirm a Tax Check for Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence Applications
The authority cannot consider your renewal until HMRC confirms the check is complete. It isn’t a step the authority can waive.5Legislation.gov.uk. Finance Act 2021, Schedule 33
First-Time Applicants Don’t Need a Code
If you’ve never held the type of licence you’re applying for, or your last licence of that type lapsed more than a year before your application, you count as a first-time applicant. You don’t complete a tax check and you don’t need a code. Instead, you confirm on your application that you’ve read HMRC’s guidance about the tax responsibilities that come with the licence. Miss that confirmation and the authority won’t issue the licence.6GOV.UK. Confirm Your Tax Responsibilities When Applying for a Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence
If You Don’t Complete the Check
Without a completed tax check, the authority has nothing to confirm with HMRC, and your renewal cannot move forward. Your current licence will run out, and once it does you lose the right to work in the licensed trade.7GOV.UK. New Tax Checks for Licence Renewal Applications The check itself is short and doesn’t audit your finances; it asks how you report your income, not what you earned.