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At the end of 2025, TLC regulated 299,117 active licenses: 180,169 drivers, 118,082 vehicles, 791 bases and 75 other businesses. That is from TLC's 2025 Annual Report (published January 2026, counts as of December 31, 2025). Of the vehicles, 82,225 were for-hire vehicles affiliated with Uber or Lyft and 13,589 were yellow taxis. TLC ran on a $55.7 million budget in Fiscal Year 2025 with 555 authorized staff positions.
The numbers at a glance
Drivers, vehicles, bases and businesses
Uber/Lyft cars vs everyone else
The annual report splits for-hire vehicles by whether they are affiliated with a high-volume for-hire service (HVFHS). TLC defines an HVFHS as a base that dispatches more than 10,000 trips per day, and the only two are Uber and Lyft. At the end of 2025:
- 82,225 FHVs were affiliated with an HVFHS, about 79% of the roughly 103,700 FHVs.
- 21,486 FHVs were not: 17,599 black cars, 2,437 liveries and 1,450 luxury limousines.
"Affiliated" means the vehicle's paperwork, not how it is used every day. TLC says FHVs must be affiliated with a single base but may accept dispatches from any base (Get a Vehicle License). Why new FHV licenses are limited is covered in FHV license cap statistics.
The bases dispatch a lot of trips. TLC's base aggregate report on Open Data adds up to about 273 million dispatched trips in calendar 2025, or 272,896,483 by our count:
TLC budget, staff and Commission structure
From the annual report's Mission and Budget section:
- FY 2025 budget: $55,681,391. That is $36,912,847 for Personal Services (staff) and $18,768,544 for Other than Personal Services. Authorized headcount: 555.
- FY 2026 budget: $62,033,858. That is $44,435,840 for Personal Services and $17,598,018 for Other than Personal Services. Authorized headcount: 546.
Commission structure. The Board has nine members, eight of them unsalaried. The Chair presides over the Board and runs the agency's day-to-day licensing, regulation and enforcement. Members are appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council, each for a seven-year term. One member for each of the five boroughs is recommended by a majority vote of that borough's Council delegation. The report notes one vacant seat. In 2025 the Board approved twelve rule packages. The Board's public meetings are where proposed rules get testimony.
Who does what across TLC, OATH, the bases and the apps is in who is who in the NYC for-hire industry.
Why these counts differ from Open Data
TLC also publishes daily license lists on NYC Open Data. On October 12, 2026 they showed:
What the numbers do and don't mean
- A license is not a working driver. 180,169 driver licenses doesn't mean 180,169 people drive each month. For drivers who actually take trips, see TLC active drivers statistics.
- Driver licenses overlap across industries. One TLC Driver License covers taxi, green cab and FHV work, so the report counts it once.
- The budget is spending, not fees collected. The report doesn't say how much TLC collects in license fees.
- Counts change daily. Vehicles move between bases, licenses lapse and new WAV licenses are issued.
To go deeper: licensed vehicles statistics for fuel, model years and medallion types; how many FHV bases are in NYC; taxi relief stands statistics; congestion zone TLC trip statistics. Renewal timing for the 180,000-plus driver licenses is in TLC driver license expirations. More on the licensing hub.
Sources: TLC 2025 Annual Report (January 2026) and NYC Open Data TLC lists, checked October 12, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many TLC licenses are there?
TLC's 2025 Annual Report counts 299,117 active licenses as of December 31, 2025: 180,169 driver licenses, 118,082 vehicle licenses, 791 base licenses and 75 business licenses.
How many cars work for Uber and Lyft in NYC?
TLC's 2025 Annual Report counts 82,225 for-hire vehicles affiliated with high-volume for-hire services (Uber and Lyft) at the end of 2025, and 21,486 FHVs not affiliated with them. A vehicle's affiliation is not the same as its daily use, and many drivers work on more than one app.
What is TLC's budget?
The annual report says TLC operated on $55,681,391 in Fiscal Year 2025, with an authorized headcount of 555. The FY 2026 budget is $62,033,858, with an authorized headcount of 546.
Who runs the TLC?
A nine-member Board of Commissioners, eight of them unsalaried. The Chair presides over the Board and heads the agency. Members are appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council for seven-year terms. The annual report says one seat was vacant.
Why don't the annual report numbers match NYC Open Data?
They measure different days and definitions. The annual report is a count as of December 31, 2025. Open Data lists are updated daily (we used October 12, 2026) and some group things differently, for example sorting FHVs by base type rather than by Uber/Lyft affiliation.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- TLC 2025 Annual Report (January 2026) nyc.gov
- NYC Open Data: FHV Base Aggregate Report (2v9c-2k7f) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: FHV – Active Drivers (xjfq-wh2d) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: For Hire Vehicles – Active (8wbx-tsch) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: Current Bases (eccv-9dzr) data.cityofnewyork.us
- TLC: Get a Vehicle License nyc.gov
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.
TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.