On this page (12)
In short
Every TLC-licensed base must send TLC complete and accurate records of every dispatched trip, every month, by the last day of the following month — or an Affidavit of No Dispatch if there were no trips. Rule 59B-19(a) is how TLC enforces it. Fines are counted per day late or per bad record, can reach $10,000, and come with suspension until the records are fixed. If you run a base, missing a month is one of the most expensive paperwork mistakes you can make.
What the rule says
Section 59B-19 of chapter 59, "Operations – Trip Record Information", subdivision (a), says a base owner "must make sure that the following records are collected and transmitted to the Commission on a monthly basis". For every dispatched call:
- the date, time and location of pickup and drop-off;
- the driver's TLC Driver License number;
- the dispatched vehicle's license number;
- the TLC license number of the base that dispatched the vehicle, and of the base the vehicle is affiliated with;
- whether the passenger shared the vehicle with a passenger from another dispatched call;
- where applicable, whether the trip ended in a cancellation by the passenger or driver.
Bases subject to TLC's minimum driver payment requirements must also include the extra data listed in subdivision (d).
How the penalties work
The per-day penalties add up quickly. A base that files 30 days late faces $3,000 if it pleads guilty before the hearing, or $4,500 if found guilty after. The per-record penalties grow even faster: ten incomplete records cost $1,000, and the eleventh and later records cost $500 each, until the $10,000 cap.
How this code appears in OATH data
OATH's records show summonses citing plain "59B-19(a)" peaked at 2,709 in 2018 and 2,113 in 2020, then fell to almost zero from 2022. The data can't tell us why. One reading is that summonses are now written to the more specific sub-paragraphs that carry the current penalties, but that is not confirmed by the dataset. If your summons cites 59B-19(a) without a sub-paragraph, find out which failure it means.
Who it applies to
Base owners: livery, black car, luxury limousine and street hail livery bases. Drivers and vehicle owners don't submit these records, but the trip data the base sends includes driver and vehicle license numbers — so drivers have a stake in their base reporting accurately.
Keeping records, not just sending them
Sending records is half the duty. Subdivision (b) says a base must keep all the required information available "for inspection by Commission representatives during regular business hours", and must keep operational records at the base for 18 months and inspection records for 12 months. Failing that is $100 if you plead guilty before a hearing or $150 after. Street hail livery bases have extra trip-record rules in subdivision (c): trip data is collected electronically by the technology provider, written trip records are needed only during a permitted 48-hour malfunction window, and the base must collect written records weekly and keep them for 18 months. Changing trip records without TLC authorization is $100–$350 and/or up to 30 days' suspension, with appearance required.
Common situations
- A month with no trips and no affidavit filed.
- A dispatch-software change that stopped exports or dropped fields like the affiliated base number.
- Shared-ride or cancellation flags left blank.
- Pickup times recorded in the wrong time zone or with default values — an inaccuracy.
What to do now
- Find out which month and which failure the summons is about.
- Submit the missing records or affidavit at once. The per-day count keeps growing, and the suspension lasts until compliance.
- Fix the data source, not just the file — otherwise next month repeats the problem.
- Keep submission confirmations for every month.
- Decide whether to plead early. For late filings, pleading guilty before the hearing is $100 per day instead of $150.
Defenses to discuss with a lawyer (general information)
Not legal advice. Typical questions: What was the actual due date and submission date? Did TLC receive an earlier submission that it rejected or missed? How many records were really incomplete or inaccurate, and was the per-record count applied correctly? Has the $10,000 cap been respected? See what TLC must prove.
Documents to gather
Submission confirmations, the files sent, the dispatch system's export logs, any TLC rejection notices and the affidavits filed. Related base rules: cooperating with TLC under 59B-13(j)(1) and checking drivers under 59B-11(c)(1). For drivers, trip data matters for FHV minimum pay and for base affiliation.
Frequently asked questions
When are base trip records due?
A month's trip records are due by the last day of the following month. TLC's example: all September trip records are due October 31.
What if the base dispatched no trips?
It must submit an Affidavit of No Dispatch for that period. An e-signature on the TLC website satisfies this.
How are late records fined?
$100 for each day past the due date if you plead guilty before a hearing, or $150 per day if found guilty after, plus suspension until compliance, up to $10,000.
What about incomplete or inaccurate records?
$100 per incomplete or inaccurate trip record for the first ten, then $500 per record, plus suspension until compliance, up to $10,000 (59B-19(a)(4)(i) and (a)(5)(i)).
My summons just says 59B-19(a). Which penalty applies?
In the current rule book, penalties are attached to the sub-paragraphs (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4)(i) and (a)(5)(i). Ask TLC or your representative which failure the summons alleges, because that sets the penalty.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- TLC Rule Book, Chapter 59 — §59B-02, §59B-19 nyc.gov
- TLC: Receive a Summons nyc.gov
- OATH: Hearings and Defaults nyc.gov
- NYC Open Data: OATH Hearings Division Case Status (jz4z-kudi) data.cityofnewyork.us
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.