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I have been told by a few cabbies that there is a 6 month waiting list you have to go on to get your private hire license in birmingham.  Does thi ssound right??

How long does the process take roughly from application to receiving bage?

well there is some truth in that. I am in the process of applying at Birmingham and the first thing i asked was how long the process would take. I was told that things change from Jan 08 onwards, prior to this period it took a couple of months from beginning to end. The council considers that there are too many badge holders so what the licencing department were told was to STOP anymore new applications from coming through, obviously that isnt possible with all the legal implications and the uproar it would cause etc so what they decided to do was slow the process down. first you have to phone in and make an appointment to hand in your application, the appointment could take 3/4 weeks, after that you book for a first verbal test which is another 3/4 weeks later (if you fail this, you have to take ESOL in english language) then you get another appoint for the next verbal which is another 3/4 weeks away. Only at this stage do they submit the CRB forms and take you cash, surely they could have submitted the crb as soon as you pass the first verbal but they want you to either fall at the first hurdle, get bored of the application procedure. The most important thing is the CRB as the licencing say that it takes 3/4 weeks but this can take 3 months. I had my initial appointment in May, i am waiting for my appointment for the second test. I was told i am looking at end of August beginning of september before i can get my badge but i think its more like Setpember/October, about 5 months!!!!!!!!!!

Is there anyone else who applied to Birmingham after Jan 08 who can shed any more issues???????????