TLC Rule 59B-13(j)(1): Base Failed to Cooperate with TLC

What the rule says

From §59B-13 of chapter 59, subdivision (j), "Failure to Cooperate with the Commission":

1. "A Licensee must truthfully answer all questions and comply with all communications, directives, and summonses from the Commission or its representatives."
2. "Within five business days following a request from the Commission, a Licensee must produce any Licenses or other documents the Licensee is required to have."
3. "Licensee must aid the Commission in obtaining information it seeks regarding Drivers or Vehicles affiliated with the Base."

Penalty for (1)–(3): $200 and suspension until compliance, appearance required. Paragraph (4) — responding to any TLC contact within 48 hours, seven days a week — is a separate $500 violation, appearance not required.

Same duty, three chapters

The base version adds a duty the others don't have: helping TLC get information about affiliated drivers and vehicles. That makes sense — bases hold dispatch and affiliation records that TLC often needs in driver and vehicle cases. See 58-15(i)(1) and 59A-13(j)(1) for the owner versions.

How often this charge appears

OATH's records show a peak of 1,065 in 2016, a few hundred most years since, and 177 in 2025. There are far fewer bases than vehicles, so lower numbers are expected; the data doesn't show what the directives were or how cases ended.

Common situations

• TLC asked for dispatch or affiliation records about a specific driver or trip, and the base didn't send them.
• TLC asked for the base's own licenses or documents and the five-business-day window passed.
• A directive went to an outdated contact. Section 59B-20 requires bases to keep their name, addresses and contact details current with TLC; check what TLC has on file.
• The base answered, but incompletely — for example, records for part of the period requested.

Keep your contact details current

Many cooperation cases start with a directive that never reached the right person. Section 59B-20, "Current Contact Information", requires a base to file its base name and any public-facing trade name with TLC, and to file the base's address and other contact information. Each of those duties carries its own fine. Check what TLC has on file for your base — mailing address, email and the people TLC should contact — and update it whenever staff change. A base that changes managers often should make sure TLC email goes to a shared inbox someone checks every day, especially since 59B-13(j)(4) expects a response to any TLC contact within 48 hours, weekends included.

The suspension and what it does

"Suspension until compliance" means the base license stays suspended until TLC's request is satisfied. A suspended base can't legally dispatch. Under §59A-11(e), an FHV owner may only let the vehicle be dispatched by a validly licensed base, and §59A-08(c)(1) says an FHV license must be revoked for non-use if the owner fails for 60 or more days "to transfer from a base that has been suspended." So a long base suspension can push affiliated vehicle owners to move to another base. Fixing the directive quickly protects the base's drivers as well as the base.

Truthful answers

The rule requires truthful answers. A base that gives TLC false information risks more than this summons. Section 59B-13(b) forbids "any act of fraud, misrepresentation or theft", with a penalty of $350–$1,000 and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocation. If you don't know an answer, say so and find out.

What to do now

After the hearing

If a violation is found, §59B-02(c) makes the fine due within 30 days of the decision. If it goes unpaid, TLC gives written notice that the base license will be suspended in 10 business days until it's paid.

Defenses to discuss with a lawyer (general information)

Not legal advice. A representative may ask what exactly was requested, whether it reached the base's contact information on file, whether the base complied before the summons, and whether the requested information was actually in the base's possession. See what TLC must prove.

Documents to gather

The summons, the directive, the base's reply and proof of delivery, and the records provided. Related: base trip records under 59B-19(a), base affiliation for drivers and owners, and how to lift a TLC suspension.