How Do I Apply for a TLC License in Westchester County in 2027?

There is no single TLC license issued in Westchester County by New York City. For trips that both start and end inside Westchester County, you apply to the Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission, known as the WCTLC, for a for-hire driver permit, and you also need a WCTLC-permitted vehicle affiliated with a licensed base station. A New York City TLC license covers only cross-boundary, pre-arranged trips in Westchester, such as a pickup in White Plains for a drop-off in New York City. It does not authorize point-to-point work inside the county.

Picture a driver living in Yonkers who wants two kinds of work: weekday runs from Yonkers to New Rochelle, and airport runs from Westchester to JFK. The Yonkers to New Rochelle run starts and ends inside Westchester County, so it is point-to-point work needing the WCTLC driver permit, a WCTLC vehicle permit, and a base affiliation. The Westchester to JFK run starts in Westchester and ends in New York City, so it is a one-point trip that reciprocal recognition can cover when the driver and vehicle are licensed by the same qualified jurisdiction. This page separates those two doors so you apply to the right commission the first time.

Written by Sarah Thompson · Fact-checked by Alex Freeman, Editor-in-Chief · Last verified November 2026

Which authority licenses what in Westchester County

The WCTLC was established by local law in 1993, which added Chapter 123 to the Westchester County Charter, and in 1998 Chapter 270 of the Westchester County Administrative Code authorized it to license for-hire vehicles, drivers, and base stations providing transportation within Westchester County. It is a separate commission from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, with its own forms, fees, and permits. Under the WCTLC for-hire rules, a for-hire vehicle is a motor vehicle used to transport fewer than 20 passengers on a pre-arranged basis, excluding taxicabs, buses, wheelchair-accessible vans, and funeral cars. A point-to-point trip both originates and terminates within Westchester County, while a one-point trip either drops a passenger inside the county on a trip that started outside it or picks a passenger up inside the county, by pre-arrangement, for a destination outside it. Name your trips before you file anything, because that distinction decides which permit you need.

A driver permit alone does not put a car on the road. The WCTLC rules state that a driver shall not operate a for-hire vehicle unless the driver holds a valid WCTLC for-hire driver permit and the vehicle is affiliated with a base station licensed by the Commission, and the vehicle itself must hold a valid for-hire vehicle permit with a WCTLC decal on the windshield. Drivers affiliated with, or dispatched by, an out-of-county base station must not do point-to-point business in Westchester County. If you drive for a company, ask which base station, vehicle permit, and driver permit cover your trips before you accept a dispatch, and get the answer in writing.

How to apply for a WCTLC for-hire driver permit in 7 steps

Apply on the forms provided by the WCTLC. The requirements below come from Section 300 of the Commission’s for-hire rules and regulations, version 2.9, dated February 1, 2017, read with the current application guidance published through the Commission’s application pages. Forms and fees change, so confirm the current form version with the WCTLC before you file. The seven steps are:

• Hold a valid New York State Class A, B, C, or E driver license, or an equivalent license issued by New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania only, and have held a valid driver license for at least 6 months
• Complete a New York State DMV-certified Defensive Driving Course within 6 months before the date of your application and keep the proof of completion
• Complete the WCTLC driver application form, sign it, have your signature notarized as a new driver, and attach 3 notarized references from people not related to you who have known you for at least 1 year
• Show your original Social Security card and 2 forms of identification, one of which must be your chauffeur license, Class E or better, or its equivalent from your home state
• Complete fingerprinting done by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, which runs the criminal background check through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
• Submit the completed application by mail, drop-off, or in-person appointment to the WCTLC at 112 East Post Road, 3rd Floor, White Plains, NY 10601, with the application fee and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of your permit
• Take the drug test when the Commission instructs you to, after submission, and correct any deficiency the Commission notifies you of within 10 business days or the application is deemed denied

The drug test screens for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates, and phencyclidines, performed by an entity designated by the Commission that holds a New York State Department of Health clinical laboratory permit. Any applicant who tests positive for drugs or intoxicating liquors is denied a permit. By filing, you acknowledge that a criminal background history will be obtained and that a fitness hearing may follow the Commission’s review, and false statements may constitute grounds for denial. No permit is issued until all outstanding WCTLC fines are paid. The Chairperson or a designee may issue the initial driver permit for a one-year period, subject to denial, revocation, or suspension for cause. No published WCTLC processing timeline was found for this page, so do not promise yourself a start date until the permit is in hand; call the WCTLC at (914) 995-8400 to ask how long current applications are taking.

What a WCTLC driver permit costs

The fee schedule in Section 700 of the for-hire rules sets the driver permit for a new applicant, including the drug test, at $135 per year, and the renewal at $135. Current application guidance lists a fingerprint fee of $90 for new drivers only, payable by money order, company check payable to WCTLC, or credit card, and a late fee of $75 for renewal applicants who file late. Application fees are non-refundable. Renewal requires a renewal form, a copy of your current chauffeur license, an affidavit that you have not been convicted of violations or crimes since fingerprinting, proof of a defensive driving course completed within 33 months, another drug test, and a valid Social Security card; reference forms are not required for renewal. Vehicle and base-station fees sit on top of the driver fee: an in-county vehicle permit is $300 per year, an out-of-county vehicle permit is $275 per year, and a base station permit is $600 per year. Confirm every figure against the current application form before you pay, because the published fee schedule dates to the 2017 rules.

The vehicle permit and the base station

A first-time vehicle-permit application is made on WCTLC forms and must show proof that the applicant is the registered owner or lessee of the vehicle, a registration certificate showing WCTLC for-hire vehicle plates or the livery registration of another jurisdiction, together with the inspection sticker on the vehicle, proof of adequate insurance, and a base-station authorization letter from each affiliated base station, sealed or notarized, showing the plate number and VIN. First-time vehicle applicants are fingerprinted by WCTLC personnel for a fee, and where the applicant is an entity, all officers, principals, and stockholders owning 10% or more of the stock are fingerprinted. The vehicle must be inspected annually or bi-annually, as appropriate, by a DMV-authorized inspector, and the owner must check brakes, lights, signals, and seat belts daily.

A for-hire vehicle capable of carrying more than 5 but fewer than 20 passengers must maintain personal injury liability coverage of no less than $500,000 per accident where one person is injured and $1 million per accident for all persons injured in that accident, while all other for-hire vehicles must maintain New York State minimum personal injury liability insurance. The owner must surrender the vehicle permit and decal if insurance terminates without a replacement policy, and must notify the WCTLC in writing within 7 days of any change of carrier or coverage. An out-of-county vehicle permit authorizes only one-point trips, and a vehicle affiliated with an out-of-county company is expressly prohibited from point-to-point operations in the county, while an in-county permit authorizes both kinds of trip. If you run your own operation, you also need the base-station side: the base-station application materials list a $600 application fee and a $5,000 bond for the benefit of Westchester County, and all sole proprietors must complete a base-station application.

Does a New York City TLC license cover Westchester work

Partly, and only for trips that touch New York City. The Inter-Jurisdictional Pre-Arranged For-Hire Vehicle Operation Act of 2006, Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 498, effective November 14, 2006, established reciprocity between qualified jurisdictions, and both New York City and Westchester County are qualified jurisdictions. A New York City for-hire vehicle and driver may do pickups or drop-offs in Westchester for trips ending or beginning in New York City, provided the vehicle holds a valid license or permit from the New York City TLC, the Nassau County TLC, or the WCTLC, and the driver holds a valid license from the same jurisdiction. That covers a New York City pickup with a Westchester drop-off, a White Plains pickup for a Brooklyn drop-off, interim stops with the same passengers within 24 hours of the initial pickup with no additional passengers, and transit through Westchester on a trip beginning and ending outside the county.

Reciprocity does not allow a New York City driver to operate point-to-point in Westchester County. A driver must not provide for-hire transportation between two points wholly within Westchester County unless both the vehicle and the driver are licensed by the WCTLC. Every trip between New York City and a qualified jurisdiction must be pre-arranged, with no street-hail pickups, and a record of each trip must be made before the trip starts, carried in the vehicle for inspection, and kept for at least one year. Enforcement is strict: a June 21, 2022 legal memorandum on the summonses New York City licensees were receiving in Westchester reported an average of 6 to 9 summonses per administrative stop, with fines that can total up to $2,500 in aggregate, including a $500 penalty for an out-of-county vehicle operating point-to-point in the county. Carry proof of your New York City TLC vehicle and driver licenses and your trip record on every trip that begins or ends in Westchester County.

If you want the New York City TLC license as well

Some drivers hold both licenses, because the New York City license opens New York City work that a WCTLC permit does not. It is a heavier application. You must be at least 19, hold a valid DMV chauffeur license in Commercial Classes A, B, or C or For-Hire Class E, hold a valid Social Security number, owe no fines or fees to the New York State DMV or the TLC, and have no more than 5 points on your DMV license within a 15-month period back from your most recent conviction date. You start online through LARS, the TLC licensing system, then take a drug test, have fingerprints and a photo taken through IdentoGO using service code 15425Y, complete a 6-hour defensive driving course, complete the 3-day, 24-hour New TLC Driver License Course at an authorized school and pass the TLC Driver License Exam, complete Passenger Assistance and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle training, have a licensed physician complete the TLC medical certification form, and watch a 10-minute sex trafficking awareness video. Every step must be completed within 90 days of the application date or the application is denied, and all fees are non-refundable.

The New York City TLC lists the license fee at $252 for a 3-year license, the drug test at $34, fingerprinting and photo at $90.25, the 3-day course at $245 to $250, wheelchair-accessible vehicle training at $50 to $125, the exam at $49 per attempt, and the defensive driving course at $25 to $75. Adding the low end of each listed figure comes to $745.25, assuming one exam attempt and a defensive driving course you still need to take. Once all requirements are complete, staff review the application, approval is confirmed by email, and the physical license is mailed and should arrive within 2 weeks of approval. Out-of-state applicants face an extra step effective October 1, 2025: they must take the ID-5 form to a New York State DMV office so the DMV can generate or validate a Client ID number, then upload the FS-6T receipt to TLC UP before the application is processed.

Taxis, municipal cars, and app-based services are different doors

Do not file a for-hire application for taxi work, or the reverse. Chapter 270 applies to for-hire vehicles providing transportation within Westchester County but does not apply to taxicabs, buses, or wheelchair-accessible vehicles, nor to for-hire vehicles licensed by a local municipality that regulates for-hire vehicles and operating exclusively within that municipality. A taxicab in Westchester is registered with the New York State DMV as a Taxi, bears Taxi plates, carries no more than 5 passengers for compensation, and is licensed as a taxicab by either a local municipality within the county or by the WCTLC. Municipal cars are licensed by a local municipality to operate within its boundaries, or by the WCTLC, under separate municipal car rules dated June 2016. Some municipalities use a WCTLC shared-service process for licensing taxi drivers, so for taxi work, first ask your city, town, or village clerk or police department whether the municipality licenses its own taxis or routes applications through the WCTLC.

App-based transportation network company work is a third door. Under New York State TNC law, Westchester County had the ability to opt out and did not, so Uber and Lyft may provide point-to-point service in Westchester as a TNC, may take a passenger to a New York City location to drop off, and may not pick up a fare in New York City, according to the June 21, 2022 memorandum. That statement is dated 2022, so confirm the current TNC position with the New York State DMV or the TNC before relying on it. The DMV chauffeur license underpinning all these doors starts at age 18: to drive taxis and other livery vehicles in New York State you must be 18 or older and hold a Class A, B, C, or E license, and Class E covers a vehicle rated at 26,000 pounds or less used to transport 14 or fewer passengers for hire, excluding stretch limousines. The New York City TLC minimum age of 19 is stricter, so an 18-year-old can hold the DMV license and still be too young for the New York City TLC license.

Trips that test the boundary between the two licenses

The boundary is easiest to see in real trips. A pre-arranged pickup in Manhattan for a drop-off in Westchester is the classic reciprocal trip, and the same logic runs in reverse when a Westchester pickup heads for New York City. Drivers who work airport transfers live on this boundary every day: a trip from JFK to Manhattan stays inside New York City, a LaGuardia to Times Square cab ride does the same, and a Manhattan to Newark trip crosses into New Jersey, where interstate rules rather than Westchester reciprocity decide what is covered. Cross-county work inside New York State raises the same question in a different county, as with a JFK to Hicksville car service run into Nassau County or a JFK to Chestnut Ridge taxi fare question for a Rockland County destination. None of those trips is point-to-point inside Westchester, so none of them is the trip a WCTLC driver permit exists to authorize.

The permit question also follows the business model, not just the map. A car and driver for hire working pre-arranged jobs through a base station, an airport black car service meeting flights by reservation, and a driver taking jobs through a black car app all need the license that matches where the pickup happens and where the trip ends, and a JFK to Arden Heights limo service trip and a JFK to Port Jervis limo service trip show how far afield a single New York City pickup can range, and each such trip still needs the permit check this page describes: where it starts, where it ends, and which commission licenses that pattern. If you are a rider rather than an applicant, none of this paperwork is yours to file: book a pre-arranged car, confirm the pickup point and destination in writing, and use the booking band on this page. If you are an applicant, list the trips you actually intend to drive, mark each one point-to-point or one-point, and apply for the permit that covers the trips on your list.

What to confirm before you file

Three things are unknown from the published sources and must be confirmed directly with the WCTLC: how long a new driver-permit application currently takes, whether the current application form asks for anything beyond the Section 300 list in the 2017 rules, and whether any fee has changed since the 2017 fee schedule and the current guidance figures quoted here. The published WCTLC driver requirements list no classroom course or written exam of the New York City kind, but confirm that on the current form rather than assuming it. Call the WCTLC at (914) 995-8400, write to 112 East Post Road, 3rd Floor, White Plains, NY 10601, or visit the Commission’s application pages through tlc.westchestergov.com, and ask for the current new-driver application and criminal background check forms. For the New York City license, start at the TLC driver license page on nyc.gov and file through LARS. Keep copies of everything you submit, keep your trip records for at least one year, and do not drive a trip your permits do not cover while an application is pending.

Questions travelers ask

Sources

• Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission — Official For-Hire Rules and Regulations, February 1, 2017, version 2.9, accessed 2026-11-12
• New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission — Get a TLC Drivers License, accessed 2026-11-12
• Matthew W. Daus, Windels Marx — Reciprocity for New York City TLC Licensees in Westchester County, June 21, 2022, accessed 2026-11-12
• Uber — Westchester TLC License application guidance, accessed 2026-11-12
• New York State DMV — Get a License to Drive a Taxi or Livery Vehicle, accessed 2026-11-12
• Westchester County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 270 — For-Hire Vehicles, accessed 2026-11-12
• Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission — Municipal Car Rules and Regulations, June 2016, version 3.3, accessed 2026-11-12
• Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission — Base Station Application, form WCPD320, revised October 2014, accessed 2026-11-12

JetBlack Transportation · 34 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001 · +1-646-214-4828 · Licensing facts verified November 2026 and subject to change — confirm current forms, fees, and processing times with the licensing commission before you apply