How to Hack Up a Yellow Taxi: Step by Step

In short: To hack up a yellow taxi you (1) ask TLC to certify the vehicle to your medallion, (2) bring the documents to a Long Island City appointment, (3) take the car to a TLC-licensed taximeter shop for paint, lights, signs, partition or camera and meter, and (4) drive it to TLC's Woodside facility for the hack-up inspection, where TLC installs the medallion. Since October 18, 2024 the car must be a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) from TLC's approved list, even on a non-accessible medallion.

The same steps apply when you change the car on a medallion you already own (TLC calls that a "vehicle transfer"). This page follows TLC's own step list and rules, with the documents and TLC fees for each step.

Which car you can use

TLC rule 67-06(a) is short: "Only Accessible Taxicab Models may be Hacked-Up." Your medallion's class then limits which accessible model (rule 67-05):

New or converted. Under 67-06(b) a car can go into taxi service the first time only if it is:

• new: fewer than 500 miles on the odometer and one of the maker's two latest model years; or
• a used non-accessible car converted into an accessible one under the conversion rules (since October 25, 2025, NHTSA-approved modifiers as well as manufacturers may do these conversions, per TLC's 2025 Annual Report).

TLC's hack-up page also allows a used WAV if its make, model, year and converter are approved. A car with more than 500 miles gets an extra DMV inspection at Woodside and must pass both. The approved list (models, years, converters) is an image on the hack-up page; our summary is in approved wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Questions about a model: inspections@tlc.nyc.gov.

Don't buy the car yet if you plan to use the ATLAS pilot; TLC tells ATLAS applicants to wait for loan approval.

The steps

Step 2: documents for Long Island City

From TLC's Taxicab Medallion page. Bring originals and make sure each is filled in and signed.

Book the appointment through TLC's online system. The phone number you book with must match the number TLC has on file, or TLC won't process the visit. Agents can bundle 3 to 6 medallions in one "Medallion Bulk" appointment.

Step 4: the taximeter shop

Only a TLC-licensed taximeter shop may install the meter. The hack-up rules (chapter 67) require, among other things:

• Taxi yellow paint (Dupont M6284 or equivalent), approved signs, an approved roof light with wiring for auxiliary turn signals (67-07);
• a sealed, tamper-resistant taximeter that shows the total fare with all extras at trip end (67-09);
• a partition or an in-vehicle camera system (67-10, 67-12; TLC's hack-up page says one of the two is required for medallions);
• distress signal lights, credential holders, air conditioning and the technology system (67-11 to 67-15);
• rear windows passengers can open and close, and easy-clean upholstery (67-08).

The shop gives you a Meter Mile Run printout; bring it to Woodside.

Step 5: what to bring to Woodside

Your taxi with all equipment and decals, registration, FH-1, rate card and medallion, bill of sale or invoice, photo ID, power of attorney if you're not the owner, the Meter Mile Run printout, your CMVT receipt from NYC Finance, the vehicle transfer receipt from Long Island City, your approval letter if you are a new owner, and used-car inspection papers if the car comes from another medallion.

TLC fees for a hack-up

Where hack-ups get stuck

Most delays come from paperwork and timing, not the car. Plan around these, all taken from TLC's pages and rules:

• The wrong phone number. If the number you book the Long Island City appointment with doesn't match TLC's records, TLC says the transaction "will not be processed". Update your contact details with TLC first.
• Missing papers or payments at the appointment. TLC tells agents that if payments are not made in LARS or documents are missing at the appointment, the visit won't be processed and a new appointment is needed. Use the checklist above and pay ahead.
• Unpaid CMVT. You need the Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax receipt at Woodside. Pay NYC Finance before you go; see CMVT for TLC vehicles.
• Insurance that doesn't match. The FH-1 must be in the owner's name, and the certificate must show the vehicle you are certifying. A change of carrier must be reported to TLC within 72 hours (rule 58-13(c)).
• Your old car's retirement date. If your current non-accessible taxi is near its scheduled retirement, start early. A taxi owner can ask once for a hardship extension of up to six months, in writing at least 30 days before the retirement date, by showing economic or personal hardship (rule 67-18(d)). Single-medallion owners applying to ATLAS may get an extra four-month extension while their application is reviewed, but TLC says it is not automatic.
• New owners have seven days. After TLC approves a medallion purchase, the medallion must be in service on a hacked-up taxi within seven days (rule 58-43(b)(7); $250 fine). Have the accessible car and meter-shop slot lined up before closing. See buying a medallion.
• A failed inspection. Each re-inspection costs $35, and Woodside only does hack-up inspections from 9:15 AM to 3:00 PM. Arrive early with every item on the Woodside list.

Moving a taxi to another medallion ("re-hack")

A hacked-up accessible taxi can move to a different medallion only in three cases (67-06(d)): a lender repossession within 24 months of hack-up, a transfer between medallions of the same owner or agent, or when an independent medallion is sold together with its car. The car must pass inspection. See re-hack.

After the hack-up

• Grants. Apply for the Taxi Improvement Fund within six months of hack-up: $20,000 per new VIN plus quarterly payments. See TIF grants.
• No set retirement for WAVs. An accessible taxi has no scheduled retirement date while it passes inspections (67-18). Non-accessible taxis already on the road keep running until their retirement date (67-05(d)); see can my taxi be a non-accessible car?.
• Keep the medallion renewed every two years: medallion renewal guide.
• Hiring drivers? Point them to how to start driving a yellow taxi. More on the medallions hub and the yellow taxi driver page.