Your Base Agreement: What It Must Say Under TLC Rules

In short: If you drive for a for-hire base (a black car, livery or luxury limousine base, or Uber or Lyft), the base must put every term, fee and pay formula in a written, signed base agreement, give you a copy, and charge you nothing that is not in it. It must pay your earnings within one week of each trip, give you a receipt for every payment or deduction, never take your tips, and keep the records for three years. These rules are in TLC rule 59B-18(f), with fines and orders to pay you back.

This guide covers the money side of your relationship with a base. Choosing or switching a base is covered in FHV base affiliation. Rule text is from TLC Rules chapter 59, updated February 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

What counts as a "base agreement"

TLC defines it broadly (rule 59B-03(b)): any terms you must accept to get dispatches, any costs or fees you must pay the base, and any schedules or formulas used to calculate your earnings. So app terms of service, a fee sheet from a car service, and a pay formula on a website can all be part of your base agreement. Rule 59B-18(f)(1) adds terms you must accept to get paid, including by a payment company the base uses.

What the agreement must contain

If something is missing, ask the base in writing for a corrected copy. Keep your own copy of every version you sign.

What a base can and cannot do with your money

Receipts you are owed

For every financial transaction, the base must give you a written receipt (59B-18(f)(5)). It must show the date, who received the money, the amount, the purpose, and which rule section or agreement term allows the payment or deduction. For your earnings, it must also show:

• what passengers paid for the trips in that period;
• the calculation used, including the minutes and miles paid on each trip;
• for Uber and Lyft, the minimum per-minute and per-mile rates in effect for that period.

The fine is $200 for each missing receipt. Our guide to Uber and Lyft pay statements shows where these items appear in the apps, and what receipts must my base give me? is the short version.

Records and your 1099-K

• Three years. The base must keep your signed agreement and amendments, itemized records of all earnings paid, and itemized records of all payments you made. It keeps them for three years from when the agreement ends or from your last dispatched trip, whichever is later (59B-18(f)(6)).
• 1099-K extras from Uber and Lyft. If a high-volume service must send you a Form 1099-K, it must also give you the total mileage for the trips it covers and an itemized list of what was deducted from the gross amount (59B-18(f)(7)).

A worked example (made up, to show the rule)

Say your agreement with a car service lists two fees: a weekly dispatch fee and a radio rental fee, both withheld from your pay. One week your receipt shows a third deduction called "admin fee." Here is how the rules apply:

1. The admin fee is not in the agreement, so under 59B-18(f)(3)(i) it is an overcharge, even if it is small.
2. The receipt must name the agreement term that allows each deduction (59B-18(f)(5)(ii)(E)). A fee with no term behind it cannot meet that.
3. Ask the base in writing to return it. If it will not, send the agreement and the receipt to TLC's Driver Protection Unit. If TLC proves the violation at a hearing, the hearing officer must order the base to pay you back.

The same logic works for app drivers. If an amount appears on your Uber or Lyft statement that you cannot match to the app's driver terms, ask in writing through in-app support and keep the answer.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Which fees are weekly, which are per trip, and which only happen in certain cases (for example, a late return)?
• Is the fee taken from my earnings, or do I have to pay it separately?
• What exactly must I and my car meet to keep getting dispatches?
• How and when will I be paid, and where will I see my receipts?
• Will the base ever ask me to pay a ticket? (It cannot, unless the summons is written to you or a filed franchise or co-op agreement allows it.)

Penalties and getting your money back

These are penalties against the base, decided at a hearing. In most money violations the hearing officer must order the base to pay you back.

Exceptions to know

• Unions. The 59B-18(f) rules do not apply where a collective bargaining agreement governs the relationship (59B-18(f)(8)).
• Franchise and co-op black car bases may set different payment times and may pass on summonses if their filed agreement says so, but only if they do not dispatch for a high-volume service.
• Car leases from a base must also follow the lease rules in 59A-21 (59B-18(g)). If you rent a TLC car, see renting a TLC car: costs.

If you are thinking about starting a base yourself, these are duties you would take on; see how to open an FHV base. Bases also have vehicle duties: for example, rule 59B-29(c) bars a base from dispatching a car without a valid DMV inspection sticker with at least eight months left. For what a ticket is, see our glossary entry on summonses. Short answers: can a base charge fees not in my agreement? and how fast must my base pay me?.