Check a TLC Driver, Car or Base in NYC Open Data

TLC publishes its lists of active drivers, for-hire vehicles, yellow taxis and bases on NYC Open Data, and anyone can search them for free. To check a driver, search the license number in the FHV Active Drivers list. To check a car, search its plate or vehicle license number in the FHV Active list (or the Medallion list for a yellow cab). To check a base, search the base number (like B01234) in Current Bases. The driver and vehicle lists are refreshed every day between 4 and 7 PM.

Being on a list means TLC showed the license as active and in good standing at the last update. Not being on it can mean several things, and some are innocent. This page explains which list to use, how to search it, and how to read the result.

Which list answers which question

Two caveats from the data itself. The medallion driver and SHL driver lists currently contain the same people as the FHV Active Drivers list, because one TLC Driver License covers all three, so you only need to search one. And the Lost Property list, although labelled daily, showed a last update of February 3, 2026 when we checked. For lost items, 311 is still TLC's official route.

Step by step: look up a license

A direct link that does the search for you. Every dataset also has a simple web address that returns matching rows. For example, data.cityofnewyork.us/resource/8wbx-tsch.json?dmv_license_plate_number=T123456C returns the FHV record for that plate (replace it with the real plate). For a driver, use xjfq-wh2d.json?license_number= followed by the number. The result is plain text in your browser, with one block per match. An empty result, shown as [], means no active record.

Check a car before you rent or lease it

The most useful lookup for a driver is on the car you are about to rent, lease or share. A car with expired or suspended TLC plates exposes you to an unlicensed-vehicle summons, even if the owner told you it was fine. Before you sign or pay a deposit:

1. Find the plate in the FHV Active list. No row means the car is not currently licensed for hire. Don't drive it for hire.
2. Read the expiration date. If it is a few weeks away, ask the owner how the renewal and the renewal inspection will be handled. A car can't operate after its license expires until it is renewed.
3. Check the base. The base_name and base_number columns show where the car is affiliated. For app work, ask the owner to confirm the base is one the app accepts.
4. Check the insurance. TLC's vehicle insurance page links a daily-updated Excel file of active TLC vehicle licenses and the insurance on file. Look up the plate or license number and compare the policy dates with what the owner shows you.
5. Wheelchair accessible? If you were promised a WAV, the wheelchair_accessible column should say WAV.

Our guide to renting or leasing a TLC car covers the lease itself, and can I use my personal car for Uber explains the penalties for an unlicensed car.

Check your own dates

Drivers can use the same list to plan ahead. The expiration_date in the driver list is your license expiration. Your interim drug test is due in the 90 days before each yearly anniversary of your issue date, and your renewal work happens in the 90 days before expiration. TLC UP shows the exact drug test schedule. Open Data is a quick second check that TLC's system has your renewal recorded after you are approved.

What "not listed" can mean

Missing from an active list does not automatically mean someone is driving illegally. Common reasons:

• Suspended. These are lists of licenses "in good standing." A suspension, for example for a missed drug test or unpaid fines, removes the license.
• Expired. Including a driver in the 180-day late-renewal window, who may not drive until approved.
• In FHV storage. TLC's storage page says a stored license "will no longer appear on TLC's Open Data active list".
• Cancelled or revoked. See cancelling or surrendering a license.
• Very new. Not yet in the last daily update.
• A typing error. Plates are letters plus digits. Check for O versus 0.

A yellow cab whose medallion is suspended or in storage moves to the Medallion Vehicles – Inactive list, which gives a suspension date and a reason code. TLC doesn't define those codes in the dataset, so don't read too much into them.

How many licenses are on the lists

On October 12, 2026, the active lists held 180,621 driver licenses, 104,845 FHVs and 10,236 authorized medallion taxis. The base list is a different kind of record: it tells you a base is licensed, not how busy it is. For activity, TLC's FHV Base Aggregate Report counts the trips each base reports every month:

Privacy and fixing a wrong record

These lists include names: driver names on the driver list and owner names on the vehicle lists. TLC publishes them, so passengers, bases and inspectors can verify licenses. TLC Help never republishes names. Our statistics pages use counts only. If you wonder why you appear at all, see why is my name on the TLC active driver list.

If your own record looks wrong, for example a wrong expiration date or a missing active license, start with TLC UP. It shows your status straight from TLC's system. If TLC UP is right and Open Data is wrong, wait for the next daily update. If both are wrong, email licensinginquiries@tlc.nyc.gov, the contact the driver and vehicle datasets list, with your license number and a screenshot.

New to the license types behind these lists? Start with every TLC license type explained.

Dataset details checked on NYC Open Data on October 12, 2026. TLC owns and updates these lists; TLC Help does not.