Taxi Operators

The taxicab operator licence is required to manage a taxicab or multiple taxicabs. A taxicab owner can only designate one taxicab operator to manage their taxicab. Taxicab operators can manage more than one taxicab at a time.

Individuals, partnerships or corporations

Original documents required for all applications (and renewal transactions).

Two pieces of government-issued identification (one must be photo ID)

  • Canadian Passport (Photo ID)
  • Driver’s Licence (Photo ID)
  • Canadian Birth Certificate
  • Citizenship Card
  • Permanent Resident Card
  • SIN Card (Social Insurance Number)
  • Valid Work Permit

Note:

  • First and last names must match on all identification
  • We do not accept Health Cards
  • Identification is required for all officers/directors listed on the Articles of Incorporation, Corporate Profile or Federal Form 6

The Licence and Permit Issuing Office at the East York Civic Centre is closed due to COVID-19. Businesses requiring licences and/or permits from the City of Toronto can apply via a new online application portal.

Licence application and renewal fees must be paid online. Please have all required documents ready to upload before starting the application, as it requires 10-15 minutes to complete and cannot be saved. Download a step by step guide on how to submit a new application.

Submit Application

If you have already submitted an application you may upload additional documents using your upload token.

Upload Documents for Existing Request

To help the taxicab and limousine industry, during the 2021 budget process, Toronto City Council approved reducing the Accessibility Fund Program fee by 75 per cent for 2021. The new fee was applied on March 12. Anyone who paid the 2021 fee prior to this date will receive a credit that will be applied against future licensing fees.

Application fee: $510.00

Accessibility Fund Program fee: $31.33

You will need to pay a total of $541.33 when applying for your taxicab operator licence.

Learn more about the Accessibility Fund Program and how it will support the availability of accessible service and offset the higher cost of providing wheelchair accessible service.

Partnerships and corporations must also provide the following:

  • a business location/address
  • a copy of provincial business name registration or signed franchise agreement
  • a partnership agreement

Or

  • a copy of Articles of Incorporation (Note: If there has been a change to the list of officers and directors, please also provide a current Corporate Profile Report.)

If the president, director or officer of the corporation are unable to apply in person at the Licence and Permit Issuing Office, a designate may apply on their behalf. The designate must:

  • have an original letter advising of their signing authority on the corporation letterhead
  • provide two pieces of identification for themselves
  • provide two pieces of identification for each officer and director of the corporation, or, if original identification is not available, notarized photocopies of the identification.

Applicants must provide an original Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check issued by a Canadian Police Service within 280 days prior to the application.

Provide a list of licenced vehicle owners and their respective plate numbers that the operator manages.

The City shall deny an application for, or a renewal, for all businesses required to be licenced under this chapter that has:

    1. Been convicted at any time of a sexual offence against a minor or a person with a disability under any of sections 151 to 153.1 of the Criminal Code;
    2. Been convicted of any sexual offence under the Criminal Code in the preceding ten years;
    3. Been convicted of an offence under the following Criminal Code sections in the preceding five years:
      1. 84 to 117.15 (Firearms and Other Weapons);
      2. 264.1 to 286.1 (Offences Against the Person);
      3. 321 to 378 (Offences Against Rights of Property);
      4. 379 to 462 (Fraudulent Transactions, Wilful and Forbidden Acts of Certain Property, Offences Relating to Currency);
      5. 462.3 to 462.5 (Proceeds of Crime).
    4. Been convicted at any time of an offence under the following Criminal Code sections:
      1. 83.01 to 83.33 (Terrorism);
      2. 219 to 248 (Major Offences Against the Person);
      3. 267, 268, 270.01, 272, 273 (Major Assaults or Major Sexual Assaults).
    5. Been convicted of an offence under the following Controlled Drugs and Substances Act sections in the preceding ten years:
      1. 5 (Trafficking);
      2. 6 (Importing and exporting);
      3. 7 (Production);
      4. 7.1 (Possession for use in production or trafficking).
    6. Been convicted of any offence under section 4 (Possession or obtaining) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in the preceding five years;
    7. Been convicted of five or more offences under Chapter 545 or 546 of the Toronto Municipal Code in the preceding three years;
    8. Any overdue by-law fines, unless the applicant provides proof that such fines have been subsequently paid.

Despite these screening criteria, if a licence has been previously issued or renewed and the applicant’s or licensee’s record discloses no new breach of the screening criteria, the licence may be issued or renewed without the matter being referred to the Toronto Licensing Tribunal.

These screening criteria do not apply to any offence for which a licensee or applicant has been granted a criminal record suspension (i.e. a pardon) by the Parole Board of Canada.

Your licence will expire annually on the anniversary of the date that the licence was first issued.

To help the taxicab and limousine industry, during the 2021 budget process, Toronto City Council approved a 50 per cent reduction in renewal fees and 75 per cent reduction in the Accessibility Fund Program fee for 2021. The new fees were applied on March 12. Anyone who paid the 2021 fees prior to this date will receive a credit that will be applied against future licensing fees.

The renewal fee is $153.00

The Accessibility Fund Program fee is $31.33

You will need to pay a total of $184.33 when renewing your taxicab operator licence.

Learn more about the Accessibility Fund Program and how it will support the availability of accessible service and offset the higher cost of providing wheelchair accessible service.

A renewal notice, identifying any documents required to renew the licence, will be mailed to the address on file.

The Licence and Permit Issuing Office at the East York Civic Centre is closed due to COVID-19. Existing licensees can now renew their licences via a new online renewal portal. Licence renewal fees must be paid online.

Renew Licence

Please have all required documents ready to upload before starting the renewal, as it requires 10-15 minutes to complete and cannot be saved. Download a step by step guide on how to renew a licence or permit.

Payments received after the licence expiry date are subject to late fees in addition to the annual licence fee. Find your outstanding business licence or permit renewal invoice.

If you fail to renew your licence within 90 days of the specified renewal date, your licence will be cancelled and you will have to reapply.