Questions218· page 2 of 4
Questions TLC drivers ask
Quick answers to specific questions. Each answer starts with the short version, then explains the details and links to the full guide.
Applying for, renewing and reinstating a TLC driver license: courses, drug tests and DMV record checks.
LicensingMy Name Is Different on My Documents: Will TLC Reject Me?TLC says your first, middle and last names must be exactly the same on all documents. Fix Social Security first, then the DMV, then apply. Checklist inside.Read LicensingProbation or Parole Letter for a TLC ApplicationTLC wants a status letter on official letterhead from your probation or parole officer saying you comply with your terms. What to ask for and how to upload.Read LicensingTLC License and Child Support: The Clearance LetterTLC flagged your child support record? Get current, then get a clearance letter in person that names TLC. It is valid 30 days, so upload it in TLC UP fast.Read LicensingTLC License Not Received in the Mail: What to DoTLC license card never arrived? Wait 10 business days from the mailing date in TLC UP, then book an LIC appointment. Free replacement within 60 days.Read LicensingTLC License vs TLC Plates: What's the Difference?A TLC driver license is for you; TLC plates go on a car with its own FHV vehicle license. Who needs which, how long each lasts, and driving without plates.Read LicensingWhat Do TLC Drivers Have to Report to TLC, and When?Every reporting deadline in TLC driver rules in one place: lost license (72 hours), address change (10 days), criminal conviction (15 days), crashes and more.Read LicensingWhat Happens If I Fail the TLC Driver Exam?Failed the TLC exam? Wait 24 hours, pay $49 again and retake it as often as you need — but pass at least 3 days before your 90-day application expires.Read LicensingWhat Happens If My TLC Driver License Expires?An expired TLC license can't be used, but drivers can still renew for 180 days ($25). FHV plates get 60 days, bases none. What to do now and after.Read LicensingWhat Is 19-A Status and Why Does TLC Say Mine Is Inactive?Article 19-A is New York's bus-driver qualification. TLC paratransit and commuter van drivers need it active, and only your employer can fix inactive status.Read LicensingWhat's on the TLC Driver Exam? Topics and LanguagesThe TLC exam tests what the 3-day course and WAV training teach: 80 questions, 56 to pass, in 7 languages. Official topics and free TLC study material only.Read LicensingWhen You Shouldn't Apply for a TLC License YetTLC fees are non-refundable, so check first: recent crashes, a failed drug test, a revocation, 6+ DMV points, open cases or unpaid tickets mean wait.Read LicensingWhy Is My Name on the TLC Active Driver List?TLC rules require a public list of drivers with valid licenses so bases can check before dispatch. What the list shows, what it hides, and fixing errors.Read LicensingWhy Was My TLC License Application Denied?Why TLC denies driver applications: the 90-day deadline, DMV points, a failed drug test, fitness bans and pending charges — and how long to wait to reapply.Read
TLC vehicle licensing, inspections, insurance, plates, base affiliation and equipment rules.
Vehicles & basesAre Green Cabs Still Around in NYC?Yes, but very few: about 600 green cabs and 1,300–1,600 trips a day in 2025–26, mostly street hails in East Harlem and upper Manhattan. Numbers and sources.Read Vehicles & basesCan a Two-Door Car Be Licensed by TLC?No. TLC rule 59A-28(c) says no for-hire vehicle can be a two-door car; the penalty is suspension of the owner's license. Other body rules your car must meet.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Change Bases While Renewing My FHV License?Yes. TLC lets you file a base transfer with your FHV vehicle renewal. The $25 fee, the 24-hour payment rule, who signs, and why no extra inspection is needed.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Get New TLC Plates in 2026?Only for a wheelchair accessible vehicle. TLC's Feb 2026 review kept the FHV cap: 1,206 of 1,241 new licenses were WAV-only. Here are your real options.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Insure My TLC Car With Any Insurance Company?Not any company: TLC needs a New York-authorized insurer, a TLC-approved policy form, 24/7 coverage and an FH-1 in the owner's name. But no rule names one.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Pause My TLC Plates While I Travel Abroad?Going abroad? Store your FHV license for up to 90 days, surrender plates first, watch your renewal date, and keep up your driver license drug test.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Rent TLC Plates to Put on My Own Car?"TLC plates for rent" ads explained: an FHV license belongs to one vehicle and one SSN or EIN. What the rules allow instead, and red flags before you pay.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Sell or Transfer My TLC Plates (FHV License)?No. TLC says an FHV license is not transferable and stays with the original SSN or EIN. What you can change, and how medallions and SHL permits differ.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Use My Personal Car for Uber or Lyft in NYC?Not unless the car has its own TLC for-hire vehicle license. Driving an unlicensed car for hire can mean a $350 TLC fine, a $1,500 civil penalty and seizure.Read Vehicles & basesCan I Use My TLC-Plated Car for Personal Trips?Yes. TLC says anyone with a valid state license may drive a TLC car for personal use, but inspectors can stop it if it seems to be working. Rules that apply.Read Vehicles & basesCan My Car Work While Its FHV Renewal Is Pending?Only until the expiration date. After that, a TLC car can't work until its renewal is approved and it passes inspection (Rule 59A-06). Dates, fines and tips.Read Vehicles & basesCan Someone Else Drive My TLC Car or Use My App Login?Letting someone use your TLC license or app login means a $10,000 fine and revocation. When another driver may take your car, and the $250 and $50 rules.Read Vehicles & basesDo I Need Rideshare Insurance to Drive Uber in NYC?In NYC a personal policy with a 'rideshare' add-on is not enough. Uber and Lyft cars must be TLC-licensed with for-hire insurance that meets TLC rule 59A-12.Read Vehicles & basesDo WAV Owners Pay TLC Vehicle License Fees?TLC lists a $0 license fee for wheelchair accessible FHVs versus $550 to renew other cars. The $75 inspection, $800 CMVT and $25 transfer fees still apply.Read Vehicles & basesHow Do I Send TLC My New Insurance?Email TLCinsurance@tlc.nyc.gov with the FH-1 in the owner's name and the declaration page (not the ACORD). FHV deadline: 7 business days; taxis: 72 hours.Read Vehicles & basesHow Long Does It Take to Get TLC Plates?TLC gives you 45 days to finish a new FHV application, 10 days to get inspected after DMV plates, and activates 48 hours after you pass. All clocks explained.Read Vehicles & basesHow Much Is a TLC Reinspection Fee?TLC reinspection fees: $35 for yellow and green cabs, $27 (FHV emissions) or $10 (FHV safety). Owed only for failed DMV items; paid in LARS after the retest.Read Vehicles & basesWhat Are T&LC ("TC") Plates?TC plates are NYS plates stamped "T & LC" that every NY-registered for-hire vehicle needs. How to get them, the matching rules, and when they go back to DMV.Read Vehicles & basesWhat Happens to My Car If My Base Is Suspended?Your car can't be dispatched while its base is suspended, and after 60 days without a transfer TLC must revoke the license. The 5-day notice and $25 transfer.Read Vehicles & basesWhat If I Miss My TLC Vehicle Inspection Appointment?Over an hour late to a Woodside FHV inspection counts as a missed try, and your base must rebook. What a missed date means for taxis, green cabs and renewals.Read Vehicles & basesWhat Is the Most Common Uber Car in NYC?The Toyota Camry: 17,031 of NYC's 104,845 for-hire cars in Oct 2026. TLC names the 2023 Tesla Model Y and 2025 Camry Hybrid as top two by model year.Read Vehicles & basesWhat Must Be Displayed in a TLC Vehicle?Printable checklist of what TLC rules require inside a taxi, green cab or FHV: license holder, registration, insurance card, rate card, E-ZPass and fines.Read Vehicles & basesWhen Will TLC Lift the Cap on New TLC Plates?There is no date. TLC's February 2026 review kept new FHV licenses WAV-only. How the yearly review works, what TLC weighs and where the next decision appears.Read
Uber, Lyft and other apps and bases: how they work with TLC rules, pay statements and deactivation.
Apps & basesCan I Be Deactivated for Low Ratings in NYC?Yes. Uber removes drivers whose rating falls below the city minimum, using the average of the last 500 ratings. How it works and the separate ratings process.Read Apps & basesCan My Base Charge Fees Not in My Agreement?No. A fee that isn't in your base agreement or in Uber's or Lyft's statement of fees is an overcharge. Fines, refunds, proof to keep and who to call.Read Apps & basesCan Someone Else Drive on My Uber Account?No. Uber does not allow account sharing in the US, Real-Time ID Checks are built to catch it, and NYC's blocked law would allow removal without notice for it.Read Apps & basesCan Too Many Cancellations Get Me Locked Out?Yes. TLC's lockout rule lets Uber and Lyft restrict you without notice for excessive cancellations or not accepting trips. Declining vs causing rider cancels.Read Apps & basesCan Uber Deactivate Me Without Notice in NYC?Today, yes: no NYC law in force makes Uber or Lyft warn you before deactivation. What Uber promises, what the blocked law would require, and lockout notice.Read Apps & basesCan Uber or Lyft Keep Part of My Tips?No. TLC rule 59D-17(b) makes Uber and Lyft pass on the entire tip, and bases and car owners can't take tips. How to check your tips and report a shortfall.Read Apps & basesDeactivated After a Rider Complaint: How to RespondA rider complained and the app removed you? Evidence Uber says it considers (video, audio, phone sensor data), how to answer, and when TLC opens its own case.Read Apps & basesDo Tips Count Toward the TLC Minimum Pay?What TLC rules say about tips and the Uber/Lyft minimum per trip: two separate duties, how TLC data counts them, and what the rule leaves open.Read Apps & basesDoes Sales Tax Come Out of an Uber Driver's Pay in NYC?No. NYS sales tax on Uber, Lyft and black car rides is the rider's cost, 8⅞% in NYC. What's taxed, the 4% charge outside NYC and the 2014–2017 case.Read Apps & basesDoes the TLC Handle Uber or Lyft Deactivations?No, TLC can't reverse an app deactivation. What TLC does handle (licenses, the lockout rule), what DCWP would do under the blocked law, and the app's role.Read Apps & basesDoes Uber or Lyft Give NYC Drivers Health Insurance?No. Uber's NYC benefits list has sick leave, Black Car Fund benefits and unemployment insurance, but no health plan. What you get, and where to find coverage.Read Apps & basesDoes Uber or Lyft Pay Drivers More in NYC?Uber vs Lyft driver pay in NYC from 12 months of TLC trip records: pay per trip, tips, pay per hour with a rider, why they differ and what is left out.Read Apps & basesFailed Uber's Background Check: Is It a Deactivation?Uber calls a failed background check a 'loss of eligibility,' not a deactivation, so the Review Center usually can't help. What it checks and what you can do.Read Apps & basesHow Do I Find Which Base a TLC Car Is With?Look up any for-hire car's base by plate or license number in TLC's free open data, updated daily. Steps for FHVs, yellow and green cabs, and what it means.Read Apps & basesHow Fast Must My Base or Lessor Pay My Earnings?TLC rules: a base or car owner must pay your trip earnings within one week, and taxi card fares are paid daily. Exceptions, fines and what to do if late.Read Apps & basesHow Many For-Hire Bases Are There in NYC?TLC licensed 791 for-hire bases at the end of 2025: 485 black car, 184 livery, 81 luxury and 2 app companies. Why the daily list shows 859, and who works.Read Apps & basesHow Many Hours a Day Can I Drive for Uber in NYC?TLC limits: 10 hours of passenger time in 24 hours (reset after 8 hours off) and 60 hours a week. What counts, the fines, the one-trip defense and app access.Read Apps & basesHow Many Uber and Lyft Drivers Are in NYC?About 87,000 drivers made an Uber or Lyft trip in NYC each month in mid-2026, out of about 180,000 TLC licenses. What each official driver count means.Read Apps & basesHow Many Ubers and Taxis Are on NYC Streets Each Day?About 58,800 app cars and 8,700 yellow taxis made a trip on an average day in 2025. TLC data on cars per day, days worked a month, and licensed vs working.Read Apps & basesHow Much Do Uber Drivers Make in NYC?TLC figures: full-time NYC Uber and Lyft drivers' median gross pay is about $61 an hour and $1,100–$1,400 a week, before car costs and taxes.Read Apps & basesIs an App Lockout the Same as a Deactivation?No. A lockout limits when you can work and is covered by a TLC rule; a deactivation closes your account and goes to the app's appeal. How to tell them apart.Read Apps & basesWhat Are Out-of-Town Pay Rates for Uber Drivers?NYC Uber and Lyft trips ending outside the city pay at least $1.757 a mile and $0.725 a minute for the part outside NYC. How to split a trip, with an example.Read Apps & basesWhat Does 'Utilization' Mean for My Uber Pay?Utilization is the share of app time and miles with a rider. TLC divides base pay by 53.3% (minutes) and 68.5% (miles) so trips cover waiting time. The math.Read Apps & basesWhat Happened to Via and Juno in NYC?Juno's NYC trips stop in TLC data after November 2019 and Via's after October 2021. Today TLC licenses only Uber and Lyft as high-volume app companies.Read
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