TLC Rule 58-30(b): Taxi Defect Notice Not Corrected

What the rule says

Section 58-30 of chapter 58, "Vehicle Condition – Meet Safety Standards", has three parts. They are easy to confuse, so here they are side by side:

So 58-30(b) is not about the defect itself. It is about what happened after TLC told you to fix it.

Who it applies to

The medallion owner. A defect notice usually comes from an inspection at TLC's Woodside facility or from an on-street check. If you are a lease driver and an inspector hands you a defect notice, pass it to the owner or agent the same day — the owner is the one who gets the 58-30(b) summons, but you lose shifts if the cab is suspended.

Common situations

• A failed Woodside inspection. The Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) lists the defects and a compliance date. TLC's inspections page says cabs "have up to the compliance date listed on the Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR)" to come back without penalty.
• An on-street inspection found a broken light or worn tire and the owner got a directive to correct it.
• The repair was done, but the cab was never re-inspected, so TLC's records still show the defect open.
• Parts were back-ordered and the compliance date passed.

How common this charge is

OATH's data shows around 1,000–1,250 a year from 2014 to 2018, a much lower level from 2019 to 2024, and 1,182 again in 2025. The dataset has no outcomes, so it can't tell you how these cases end.

What "suspension until corrected" means in practice

Most TLC penalties are a fine plus, sometimes, a fixed number of suspension days. 58-30(b) works differently. The suspension has no set length: it starts when TLC suspends the license and ends when the defect is corrected. That means two owners with the same summons can have very different outcomes. One fixes the brake light the next morning and loses a day. Another waits for the hearing and loses weeks of shifts, on top of the $50.

It also means the hearing is not the only deadline that matters. The date on the defect notice or the Vehicle Inspection Report is the one to watch. TLC's inspections page says cabs can return up to the compliance date on the VIR "with no penalty", and reinspections at Woodside need no appointment during the hours printed on the report. Hitting that date can keep a summons from being written at all.

If TLC goes further and decides the cab is unsafe or unfit, the case moves to 58-30(c). The owner must then surrender the medallion and Rate Card to TLC for storage and the license is summarily suspended — a much bigger problem than a single defect notice.

Owner versus driver responsibility

A lease driver can be charged under the driver rules for operating with broken equipment, but the duty to obey a defect directive belongs to the owner. If you lease a cab and get stopped, write down what the inspector said was wrong, photograph it, and tell the owner or agent in writing. That protects you if the owner later says you were told nothing.

What to do now

Defenses to discuss with a lawyer (general information)

This is general information, not legal advice. Questions a representative may look at: Was a notice or directive actually issued, and to the right owner? Did it give a date to comply? Was the defect corrected and the cab re-inspected by that date? Does the summons describe the same defect as the notice? Because the penalty is fixed, the practical goal is often to show compliance quickly so the suspension ends. Read what TLC must prove.

Documents to gather

The summons; the defect notice or VIR; repair invoices; the passed re-inspection report; any emails with TLC about the defect; and photos of the repaired item. The document checklist tool can help.

Related rules

For-hire vehicle owners face the same duty under 59A-27(d). A late periodic inspection is 58-29(b), and a late meter test is 58-39(e)(3)(i). See also our vehicle and equipment summons guide and how to lift a TLC suspension.