Taxi plate (taxicab owner licence)

A taxi plate is the licence or authorization that lets an owner put a taxi on the road. In a taxi fleet sale it is one of the first things to confirm, because the vehicles alone do not give a buyer the right to operate. “Plate” is everyday language.

How British Columbia and Québec treat it

The Passenger Transportation Board, British Columbia’s regulator, says taxi operators must have a passenger transportation licence, with special authorization, to operate a taxi service. Both the transferor and the transferee must apply to the Board for approval to transfer the licence, and if the transfer is approved a new licence is issued under the transferee’s name. In Québec, the Act respecting remunerated passenger transportation by automobile says the owner of a qualified automobile may not transfer it unless the owner obtains the cancellation of the authorization granted by the Société for that automobile or, as the case may be, the striking off of the owner’s registration with a transportation system operator (section 76). This entry covers British Columbia and Québec only; check the rules in the province and city where the business is.

What to check or ask

• Which body issues the plate or licence: a city, a province or a transportation board.
• Whether the regulator must approve the buyer before the transfer takes effect.
• Whether the licence’s terms and conditions travel with it. In British Columbia they all transfer together.
• Whether the licence is held by the company being sold or by an individual.

For the wider deal, see buying a taxi fleet in Canada. For what happens when a licence has to be applied for again, see licence re-application.