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NEW JERSEY TAXI / LIMOUSINE
LICENSING
Contrary to popular belief by many on vacation and travel
websites, message boards and other forums, Taxicabs, Livery
vehicles and Limousines are legally licensed, registered and
insured in the state of New Jersey. This portion of our
website will give clarification to passengers in regards to the
processes of New Jersey State and Local regulations for Taxi and
Limousine Licensing.
New Jersey Towns only make available a limited number of
slots for In-town taxi / limousine companies and another limited
number of slots for out-of-town taxi/limousine companies.
Permits are necessary to operate within the town and the local
Police Departments can identify by sight each individual
company.
Out of Town Companies
LICENSED and INSURED out-of-town companies without
a valid permit for a town have to provide sufficient proof that
the passenger called their company directly, or a significant
fine will be issued to both the driver ($250 to $500) and the
taxi / limousine company ($500 - $1000). Presentation of
proof also depends upon the officer issuing the fine, some may
simply issue a warning and take the passenger out of the car
while some officers may issue the maximum
fine.
Illegal Taxis / Gypsy Cabs
Taxis / limousines operating in a town must have the
following:
1. Valid Plates OXY for Taxi and OL for
Limousine. (TLC plates are not authorized to pick up
passengers who hail them in New Jersey)
2. Valid Taxi/Limousine Permit to operate in that
specific town. Must be
prominently displayed on the windshield.
3. Current registration with the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Vehicle registration is renewed each year in
March, new registration stickers are placed on the license
plates of the car. They should say
4. Valid Taxi / Limousine Driver License (Hack
License). A hack license must be prominently displayed
within the vehicle.
5. Illegal taxis, or limousines, will
be impounded by the local police department and hefty fines will
be issued to the unlicensed driver and unlicensed owner of the
vehicle.
6. Look out for regular
non taxi/livery plates:
ABC 12A Or, simulated OL plates: DL 12345
D L plates are specialized Organ
Donor plates and not limousine plates.
7. Beware of
extremely low pricing. If it is too good to be true, it
probably is. The driver may try to add additional unforeseen
charges to your cab fare and may not know how to get you to your
destination.
8. Check the
Yellow Pages online and do a reverse lookup. If the number
is not registered as a business number in the Yellow Pages,
chances are the company may not be legitimate. Click
now to check an advertised number.
| Example |
|
|
|
| Company |
Telephone |
Yellow
Pages Listing? |
Link
to Business Profile |
| Secaucus Taxi |
201-866-7780 |
Yes |
Secaucus
Taxi |
| Metro Cab, Boston MA |
617-782-5500 |
Yes |
Metro
Cab |
| Liberty Cab, Buffalo NY |
716-877-7111 |
Yes |
Liberty
Yellow Cab |
9. Call the Town
Clerk's office to find out if the taxi is legally
registered and authorized to pick up in that town.
NYC TAXIS IN NEW
JERSEY
1. Yellow cabs can refuse to take passengers
anywhere in New Jersey unless it is Newark International
Airport.
2. Not many Yellow cabs know where New Jersey towns are
located
3. Yellow cabs and livery cars (TLC plates) are not
authorized to pick up passengers in New Jersey who hail them.
TAXI / LIMOUSINE
LICENSING PROCESS
Taxi and Limousines License
Requirement
1. Company Formation
Taxi Cab companies can be Sole Proprietorships, LLC,
Partnerships, S Corps or C Corps registered with New Jersey
State Department of Revenue.
2. Insurance
Before a Taxi/Limousine company can be registered they must
first obtain Taxi or Limousine insurance. The
coverage for a Taxi is $50,000 and the coverage for a Limousine
is $1.5 million, per vehicle. Which will run a taxi
company $7000 a year and a limousine company $10 - 15,000 a year
per vehicle.
Driver information (Name, address, DOB and Driver's License
Number) must be submitted to the Insurance company for
driving history investigation before clearance is issued for the
driver to operate the vehicle.
After the insurance coverage has been obtained, proof of
coverage must be presented to the municipality.
3. Registration with
headquarters municipality
Proof of incorporation or business certificate, proof of
insurance per vehicle and proof of vehicle ownership must be
presented to the Town Clerk's office in the municipality where
the taxi, or limousine, company is headquartered. The
registration fee per vehicle must be paid before the
municipality license will be issued.
4. Registration with the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
Proof of incorporation or business certificate, proof of
insurance per vehicle, proof of vehicle ownership and notarized
proof of registration with a New Jersey Municipality must be
presented to the local Department of Motor Vehicles. An
application for a Corporation Code must be filled out before a
Corp Code will be issued. After the Corp Code has been
obtained, and the registration fee per vehicle is paid, the
Department of Motor Vehicles will register each vehicle.
See
Motor Vehicle Commission Business Vehicles
5. Issuance of Taxi or
Limousine Plates
After the taxi or limousine company has obtained their
specific insurance coverage, registered with a municipality,
obtained a DMV Corp Code, and registered with the Department of
Motor Vehicles, the specific license plates which denote a
vehicle as either a Taxi or Limousine are issued.
OXY for Taxis
OL for Limousines
6. License Renewal
The entire process above, with the
exception of obtaining a Corp Code, must be completed every year
if a taxi, or limousine, company wants to stay in
business. Each driver's information must be submitted to
the insurance company for clearance each year.
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