How to Start Driving a Yellow Taxi in NYC

In short: With a TLC Driver License you can already drive a yellow taxi; you just need access to a car with a medallion. There are four ways in: lease a shift from a fleet or owner (capped at $105–$129 per 12-hour shift), take a DOV lease where you also buy the car ($952 + $275 a week), lease only the medallion and bring your own approved car ($952 a week), or buy a medallion (about $105,000 in a regular 2026 sale, plus an accessible car). TLC caps what owners can charge, and they must pay you your card fares every day on a shift lease.

The license guide stops at the license. This page picks up from there: choosing a path, knowing your rights, and what happens on your first shift. It explains rules; it is not legal or financial advice.

Before you start

You need a TLC Driver License. TLC's 2025 Annual Report says it is "a single license" for taxi, green cab, black car, livery and limousine. To get one you must be at least 19, hold a chauffeur's license (NY Class E or a commercial class), and pass a drug test, defensive driving, the 24-hour course and wheelchair-accessible vehicle training, among other steps (TLC). Full steps: how to get a TLC license. WAV training matters for taxis: since October 18, 2024 every new taxi hack-up must be wheelchair accessible.

Four ways to drive a yellow cab

Lease caps are per rule 58-21(c). The medallion-only and DOV caps include a $77 a week credit to you when the owner gets accessible-taxi payments from TLC's fund. Read more: DOV lease-to-own, taxi lease caps, buying a medallion.

Daily drivers get a weekly ceiling. If you pay by the shift, aren't made to pay more than one shift ahead, return the car after each shift and can skip a shift with timely notice, you can't be charged more than $630 for six or more day shifts (or $737 for night or mixed shifts) in any seven days. If you lease seven shifts, you can be charged for seven.

Your rights on a lease

From rule 58-21 and the Fleet and DOV Driver Bills of Rights:

• Card money, fast. On a shift lease the owner must pay you daily all credit-card and e-payments from your shift, minus only the $1 Taxicab Improvement Surcharge, at no cost to you (58-21(f)). Weekly drivers may choose weekly payment.
• Maintenance is the owner's job on a shift or weekly medallion-and-car lease; it can't be charged to you. You don't pay the Commercial Motor Vehicle Tax.
• Limited extras. Allowed: gas surcharge only if the owner supplies the fuel, a security deposit (up to one lease term, or one week for longer leases), discounted E-ZPass tolls, a late-return charge up to $25 an hour (no more than one shift's cost), a credit card processing surcharge of up to $7 a shift or $49 a week, parking and red-light tickets you can challenge, and MTA tax. No tips to the owner.
• Pro-rated if the car is unavailable for a reason that isn't your fault, including late return from the previous shift.
• Receipts for every payment and credit, with the TLC rule that allows each charge.
• Overcharges: $500 fine first time, $1,000 and/or medallion suspension after that, plus repayment to you. Contact TLC's Driver Protection Unit at 718-391-5539 or driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov.

How many drivers share a taxi?

In July 2026, 13,038 different drivers drove a yellow taxi while 10,062 taxis worked, according to TLC's monthly indicators. On a medallion-only or DOV lease, up to three drivers may share a lease if the drivers ask. See how many drivers can share a medallion lease.

What a first shift involves

1. Pick up the car and check it. Make sure the rate card, medallion, roof light and partition or camera are in order. Note any damage before you drive, so it isn't charged to you later.
2. Log into the meter and tablet. Every taxi has a TLC-approved taximeter and a technology system for card payments and trip records. TLC lists three authorized technology providers: Creative Mobile Technologies, Curb Mobility and Helix Technologies.
3. Know the fare. The meter starts at $3.00, then 70 cents per 1/5 mile above 12 mph or per minute in slow traffic. Surcharges include the $1.00 improvement surcharge, $0.50 MTA tax, $2.50 congestion surcharge in Manhattan south of 96th St, $0.75 congestion-zone toll south of 60th St, $2.50 weekday rush hour (4–8pm) and $1.00 overnight (8pm–6am). Manhattan–JFK is a $70 flat fare. (Rates as of Oct 12, 2026, from TLC's taxi fare page.)
4. Tolls go on E-ZPass. TLC: "Drivers must use an E-ZPass when taking a toll bridge or tunnel. Discounted E-ZPass tolls will be added to the passenger fare." Owners must keep an E-ZPass account (58-27(a)); if you use the owner's tag, you may be charged the discounted toll. See E-ZPass for TLC drivers.
5. Airports. JFK and LaGuardia have their own taxi lines and dispatch rules; read the JFK taxi line guide and the LaGuardia guide before your first airport trip. Taxis add a $2.00 airport access fee on JFK and LaGuardia pickups and a $5.00 surcharge on LaGuardia trips.
6. Return on time. Late return can cost up to $25 an hour, up to one shift's lease.

We don't promise earnings. The median yellow fare (before tips and surcharges) is $15.60 a trip in this data, but what you take home depends on your lease, hours, gas, tips and where you work.

Mistakes that cost drivers money or points

• Signing a lease above the cap or with charges not on the allowed list. Keep the written lease and receipts.
• Refusing a passenger's destination in the five boroughs, or overcharging. These bring summonses; see the yellow taxi driver rules.
• Taking a non-E-ZPass lane or not adding tolls correctly.
• Using your phone while driving: TLC's cell phone rule carries a fine and points.
• Ignoring a summons. Missing a hearing leads to a default and suspension.

Which car you'll drive: yellow taxi fleet by model. Every new hack-up must be accessible: can my taxi be a non-accessible car? Owners setting up a car: how to hack up a yellow taxi. Glossary: DOV lease, medallion. More on the medallions hub.