If you’ve received an accompanying letter with your TfL Private Hire Drivers Licence and it mentioned the following conditions TA1, TA2, TA3 or TA4, you may be wondering what they mean. Well, the TA stands for Transitional Arrangements and you may have more than one applied to the letter or your private hire driver’s licence.
When it comes to transitional arrangements for Private Hire driver’s licence applicants, TfL is referring to the transitional arrangements they have put in place since they changed the English language Requirement (ELR) from drivers having to do a B1 English test or provide evidence of existing qualifications to the new SERU assessment and Speaking & Listening test with TfL.
Here are the 4 transitional arrangements set by TfL for Private Hire Driver applicants. We will go through them so you can better understand how the conditions affect your private hire licence.
TA1 – Transitional Arrangements Number 1
If you are an existing private hire driver in London who did not provide any evidence for the English language requirement by 30 September 2021, you fall into TA1. This means you have until 30 September 2023 to take and pass the SERU assessment and English speaking and listening test.
TA2 – Transitional Arrangements Number 2
Drivers who did provide evidence for the English language requirement by 30 September 2021 fall into TA2. This means your evidence is still being reviewed by TfL and it can have the following outcomes.
- Satisfactory: You won’t need to do the Speaking & Listening test with TfL; however, you will still be required to complete the SERU assessment by 31 March 2025.
- Unsatisfactory: This means your evidence of ELR was not accepted and you will need to take and pass both the English language speaking and listening test and the SERU assessment by 30 September 2024.
The requirement may be listed on your private hire driver’s licence as a condition.
TA3 – Transitional Arrangements Number 3
If you applied for your private hire licence on or after 1 October 2021, you fall into TA3. This means you will not have taken any English language Requirement tests. Therefore, you will still need to complete both the SERU assessment and English language speaking and listening test by 30 September 2024.
It is important to highlight that TA3 only applies to drivers who applied between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2023. Any drivers who applied from 1 April 2023 onwards are required to take and pass both the SERU assessment and English language speaking and listening test before being licensed.
TA4 – Transitional Arrangements Number 4
For all drivers who applied for their Private Hire Drivers licence after 1 April 2023, you fall under TA4, and this means you must take and pass both the SERU assessment and English Speaking and Listening test before you get issued your private hire driver’s licence by TfL.
It’s crucial you understand which transitional arrangements affect you, so you can make sure all the required tests are completed before that date. Not completing the SERU assessment or English language speaking and listening test can result in you losing your private hire licence.
The upcoming transitional arrangement date is 30 September 2023, so if you are an existing driver who did not provide any evidence for the English language requirement, you will be invited by TfL to attend your SERU assessment and English language speaking and listening test.
