Pre-Shift Checklist for TLC Drivers: Papers, Car, Apps

In short: before each shift, check five things: you (rested, sober for at least 6 hours, license valid), your papers (TLC license displayed; registration and insurance card in an FHV; rate card and Technology System in a taxi), the car (brakes, tires, lights, signals, seat belts — the rules make this your job), your E-ZPass (in the car and properly mounted), and your phone (mounted, hands off while moving). Each item below is tied to the TLC rule that a missed check can turn into a summons.

Other pages explain each rule in depth. This one puts them in the order you'd check them at the curb, so you can print it and keep it in the car.

The checklist

1. You: fit to drive

• Alcohol and drugs. Rule 80-14(b) bans driving while impaired and adds a hard time limit: you must not drive or occupy your vehicle for at least six hours after any alcohol or any controlled substance. The penalty is revocation. Details: how long after drinking can I drive a TLC car.
• Hours. 80-14(f) limits passenger time to 10 hours in any 24-hour period (reset after 8 straight hours with no passengers) and 60 hours Monday to Sunday. Time between trips doesn't count; trips in every TLC vehicle you drive are added together. Fines start at $50 and rise by the hour.
• License status. A suspended license (for unpaid fines, a missed drug test or points) makes every trip a problem. Check your status before you go — see TLC license suspended: what to do.

2. Papers on display

What must be shown depends on the vehicle:

Fines for missing items range from $25 (map) to $150/$200 (FHV license or papers). A passenger must also be able to see your license and, in a taxi, the meter and rate card: don't hang anything in front of them (80-23(b), 80-24(c)). More detail: what must be displayed in a TLC vehicle.

3. The car: your inspection, not just the garage's

Rule 80-22(b) says a driver must not operate a vehicle "without continuing personal inspection and reasonable determination that all equipment, including brakes, tires, lights, signals and passenger seatbelts and shoulder belts, is in good working order." It is a driver violation ($50 / $75), separate from the owner's duties. FHV owners have their own daily inspection duty under 59A-27(e) ($150 / $200) — if you own your car, both apply to you.

Walk around the car: tire tread and pressure, all lights including brake and turn signals, wipers. Inside, buckle and unbuckle each rear seat belt. In a taxi, green cab or livery car, test the trouble lights and look at the camera indicator — see taxi safety gear. Keep the required exterior markings clean and visible (80-22(d)) and the inside clean (80-22(c)). And don't idle more than three minutes while you wait (80-22(a), $25).

4. E-ZPass: in the car and mounted right

Under 80-15(d), you must not drive a taxi, FHV or SHL for hire without an E-ZPass tag, and you must use it at MTA crossings and wherever E-ZPass is accepted. A personal tag is allowed. Fine: $100 plea / $150 after a hearing.

Mounting matters for your wallet. MTA Bridges and Tunnels charges a Mid-Tier rate to New York E-ZPass customers whose tag is not properly mounted. As of 2026-10-12, a car at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge pays $7.46 with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 at Mid-Tier and $12.03 by Tolls by Mail (MTA). Stick the tag to the windshield as the instructions show; don't leave it loose on the dashboard. If you lease, settle who owns the tag and the toll account first — see E-ZPass for TLC drivers.

5. Phone and devices

• Mount everything before you move. 80-14(g)(1) lets you use a phone only while the vehicle is lawfully standing or parked. A first offense is $250 / $350 with a deferred suspension and 3 TLC points; the DMV adds 5 points for a state ticket. See the TLC cell phone rule.
• Count your devices. Taxis may use one e-hail device besides the Technology System (80-22(f)). FHVs may add one or two mounted dispatch devices to the base's own dispatch equipment — two only if the base's equipment can't take dispatches from other bases — operated only by voice or one touch while moving (80-22(h)). See how many phones can I mount.
• App status. If you work for Uber or Lyft, check you are not locked out before you head to a busy area — app lockouts and the 72-hour rule explains how lockouts work.

And at the end of the shift

Three end-of-shift rules catch drivers who are tired and in a hurry:

• Hand over toll money. If passengers paid tolls on someone else's E-ZPass tag, forward that money to the tag holder at the end of your shift or lease period (80-15(d)(4)): $50 plus repaying anything you didn't pass on, and you must appear at the hearing.
• Look for lost items. Right after every trip to JFK, LaGuardia or Newark, check the inside of the car and the trunk if you used it (80-18(a), $25). Anything found goes back to the passenger or, if that isn't possible, to a police precinct (or, in an FHV, the base) without delay. See lost property.
• Log off properly. Taxi and green-cab drivers must enter the off-duty code in the Technology System (80-25(b), $100 / $150).

Why a checklist pays off

Most items above are "appearance not required" summonses that look small: $25, $50, $100. But they add up, and some carry suspensions until the problem is fixed. A missing partition or broken trouble lights can take the car off the road for the owner; a missing license display or E-ZPass is a fine for you. Five minutes at the curb is cheaper than an OATH hearing. If you lease, agree in writing who fixes what — see buying or leasing a TLC vehicle. And keep this list next to the official websites for NYC drivers so you look rules up at the source.