TLC Rule 59B-11(c)(1): Base Dispatched an Unlicensed Driver

What the rule says

Section 59B-11 of chapter 59, "Compliance with Law – No Unlicensed Activity", subdivision (c), "Valid TLC Driver License Required":

1. "A Base Owner must not dispatch any Vehicle unless its driver possesses a Valid TLC Driver License."
2. "The Commission will post on its Web site a list of Drivers holding Valid TLC Driver Licenses."
3. A street hail livery base must not dispatch a vehicle to work as a street hail livery unless the driver has a valid TLC Driver License — or, for an accessible street hail livery, a valid license to operate a paratransit vehicle.

The penalty: "Base Fine: $500 for the first violation in 12 months; $800 for each subsequent offense within a 12-month period." Appearance not required.

One trip, three summonses

The driver's own rule, 80-11(b), adds that a driver who works "after his or her License expires and before a renewal License is issued is engaged in Unlicensed Activity." So a driver waiting on a renewal is not licensed for dispatch purposes either. See 59A-11(b)(1) for the owner's side and 80-11(a)(1) for the driver's.

The other base licensing checks

Section 59B-11 lists several things a base must confirm before dispatch. (b): the vehicle has T&LC plates (if registered in New York) and a valid FHV license — $300 and 1 base penalty point. (c): the driver has a valid TLC license — this page. (d): the driver has a valid chauffeur's license — $500, except where the DMV status isn't available on TLC's website. (e): advertising for-hire service without a TLC license — $350, then $500, then revocation on a third within 36 months.

Why it matters beyond the fine

59B-11(c) itself carries no penalty point, but a base's license is still at risk from what its vehicles do. Under §59B-35, a base gets one penalty point whenever an affiliated vehicle's license is revoked on points, and "the License of any Base that accumulates six or more Penalty Points for occurrences during any License term will be revoked." Since the vehicle owner gets a point for the same unlicensed-driver trip under 59A-11(b), repeat problems across a fleet can add up at the base level too.

Fines also have a deadline. Section 59B-02(c) says fines are due within 30 days of a guilty finding (later if a timely appeal is filed). If a fine isn't paid, TLC notifies the base in writing that its license will be suspended in 10 business days until it pays. For a base, a suspension stops all dispatch.

How often this charge appears

OATH's records show 2,286 in 2017 — far more than any other year — and a few hundred or fewer in most other years, with 288 in 2025. The dataset doesn't record which bases were charged or how cases ended.

Common situations

• A driver's license was suspended (for an unpaid fine, a missed drug test or points) after the base last checked.
• A driver's license expired and the renewal hadn't been issued yet.
• A driver shared a vehicle with a relative who wasn't licensed, and the base dispatched to the vehicle without confirming who was driving.
• The base relied on a check made at affiliation and never re-checked.

A compliance routine for bases

Defenses to discuss with a lawyer (general information)

Not legal advice. A representative will want to know: Was the driver's TLC license actually invalid on the trip date? Did the base dispatch that driver, or was the trip dispatched to a vehicle and driven by someone else? What do the base's dispatch and license-check records show? Is this really a second offense within 12 months? Bases must keep dispatch records under §59B-19, which are often the best evidence. See what TLC must prove.

Documents to gather

The summons, the dispatch record for the trip, the base's license-check logs, the driver's affiliation paperwork, and records of earlier 59B-11(c) decisions in the past 12 months. Related: base trip record rules, our unlicensed activity guide and the base affiliation guide.