How an FHV License Gets Revoked for Non-Use

In short: TLC must revoke an FHV vehicle license if, for 60 days or more, the owner does not keep (1) a base affiliation, (2) the required insurance, or (3) the required inspections (Rule §59A-08(c)). Staying with a suspended base for 60 days counts too. The only TLC-approved pause is the 90-day storage program. Because new licenses are WAV-only, a non-use revocation usually means you cannot get a regular license again.

This page explains the three 60-day clocks, what to do when your base gets suspended or drops you, and a monthly routine that keeps all three clocks at zero.

The rule, word for word

A For-Hire Vehicle License must be revoked for non-use if: (1) For 60 or more days, the Licensee fails to maintain a Base affiliation ... or fails to transfer from a base that has been suspended or (2) For 60 or more days, the Licensee fails to maintain insurance coverage ... or (3) For 60 or more days, the License holder fails to comply with the inspection requirements ...

Note the word must. This is not a fine you can pay; the result is losing the license.

The three clocks

1. Base affiliation

An FHV must be affiliated with a validly licensed base to be dispatched (§59A-11(e)). Your affiliation can end in several ways:

• The base ends it. A base can terminate an affiliation with an agreement signed by both of you, or by certified mail to your mailing address with copies to TLC (§59B-25(d)). Read your mail.
• It ends automatically when the base license is revoked, expires, or is suspended for more than 30 continuous days, and when your own vehicle license expires or is revoked (§59B-25(d)(2)). A long base suspension can therefore leave you unaffiliated without any action on your part.
• The base is suspended. The suspended base must notify all affiliated owners within five days (§59B-06(e)(3)). If you stay with it for 60 days, that is non-use.

TLC publishes a list of Unaffiliated Vehicles on its website (linked from the Licensed Green Cab page). If your car appears there, start a base transfer immediately. See FHV base affiliation.

2. Insurance

The owner must keep the required insurance "at all times" (§59A-12(a)). If your insurer sends a cancellation notice, you must surrender the license and decals to TLC on or before the termination date, unless you send proof of new coverage that starts the day the old policy ends. Changes of carrier or coverage must be reported to TLC in writing within seven days, not counting weekends and holidays (§59A-12(b), $100 fine). An insurance gap of 60 days triggers non-use revocation. TLC UP's Licensee Snapshot shows the insurance period and policy number TLC has on file (renewal page). More: FHV insurance requirements.

3. Inspections

FHVs must be inspected three times a year, at least once every four months (§59A-26(a)): the TLC licensing inspection at Woodside every two years, and the others at any DMV-registered station. Vehicles seating 10 or more, or modified after manufacture, need NYS DOT inspections twice a year. Missing inspections is a $100 fine and suspension until the car passes; 60 days out of compliance is non-use. If you miss a TLC appointment (more than one hour late), your base has to request a new one, and the missed appointment counts as a failed try (TLC FHV inspection guide). See TLC vehicle inspection.

If your base drops you or is suspended: what to do this week

1. Confirm the facts. Check whether the base is suspended or revoked, and whether TLC shows your car as unaffiliated. Keep a screenshot with the date.
2. Find a new base. Any licensed base may accept your car; ask before you file. If your car is a WAV, bases of any class can dispatch it.
3. File the base transfer. It is a $25 transfer under §59A-07(f)(1). Submit once; TLC does not review duplicate requests.
4. Keep working only when it's legal. A vehicle may only be dispatched while it is affiliated with a validly licensed base and dispatched under §59A-11(e). Driving passengers in between can create new violations.
5. Count the days. Write down the day the affiliation ended. Your target is to be affiliated again well before day 60.

An example of the clocks overlapping

Imagine a base is suspended on March 1. It mails owners on March 4, inside its five-day duty. One owner is abroad until April 10 and doesn't see the letter. Because the suspension lasts more than 30 continuous days, the affiliation ends automatically. On April 10 the owner also finds the insurer cancelled the policy on March 20 for non-payment. By April 30 the owner has been with a suspended base for 60 days, which alone meets §59A-08(c)(1). The insurance clock (from March 20) would reach 60 days on May 19. Fixing only the insurance would not save the license; the base problem had to be solved first. The dates here are an illustration of how the rule counts, not a real case.

What counts as proof

If TLC or OATH looks at your case, dates decide it. Keep:

• the base's suspension notice or termination letter, with the envelope date;
• your base transfer confirmation email and LARS receipt;
• every insurance declaration page and FH-1, plus the email you sent TLC with the new coverage;
• DMV inspection receipts and stickers, and TLC inspection reports;
• TLC UP screenshots showing status on key dates.

Storage is the legal pause

Storage requires surrendering the plates and filing in TLC UP within 60 days; details in the FHV storage program. Surrendering plates without using storage ends the license early (§59A-06(d)). For travel, see can I pause my TLC plates while abroad?.

A monthly routine that prevents non-use

If you get a notice

Non-use can show up first as a suspension or a summons, for example under rule 59A-08(c)(2) for insurance (see 59A-08(c)(2)), or a case under the City's own nonuse law, Admin Code §19-504(g), which is a separate basis for revoking a vehicle license. Respond before the deadline on the notice, bring proof of the dates you fixed each problem, and consider a lawyer: once a license is revoked, TLC may also count that revocation against future applications (§59A-08(d)). Related: vehicle penalty points, how long does it take to get TLC plates?, new WAV licenses, renewal and the vehicles hub.