📜 TLC rules and regulations

1. Which agency issues the licence that allows a driver to carry paying passengers in New York City?

1. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
2. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
3. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
4. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The Commission licenses drivers, vehicles, bases and businesses that carry passengers for hire in the city, while the State issues only the ordinary driver licence underneath it. Source: New York City Administrative Code, Title 19, Chapter 5.

2. In which body of rules are the obligations of a licensed driver published?

1. Title 34 of the Rules of the City of New York
2. Title 15 of the Codes, Rules and Regulations of New York
3. Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations
4. Title 35 of the Rules of the City of New York

Commission rules occupy Title 35 of the city rules, and the chapter that binds the individual driver is Chapter 80. Title 34 belongs to the Department of Transportation. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80.

3. Which chapter of the Commission's rules sets out the duties of a licensed driver?

1. Chapter 60, which applies to for-hire vehicle bases
2. Chapter 51, which applies to taxicab service only
3. Chapter 80, which applies to every licensed driver
4. Chapter 67, which applies to commuter van service

Driver duties were consolidated so that one chapter covers taxicab, street hail livery, for-hire, commuter van and paratransit drivers alike. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80.

4. Which statement about the relationship between the State and the City licences is correct?

1. The TLC licence replaces the State driver licence entirely
2. A driver needs both a State driver licence and a City TLC licence
3. The State driver licence alone is enough to drive a yellow taxicab in the city
4. Only drivers of for-hire vehicles need a State driver licence as well

The two licences do different jobs: the State authorises you to drive at all, the City authorises you to be paid for carrying passengers. Losing either one stops you working. Source: Vehicle and Traffic Law and 35 RCNY Chapter 80.

5. Which class of New York State driver licence is the ordinary requirement for a TLC driver licence?

1. Class D, the standard passenger car licence
2. Class E, or a commercial driver licence
3. Class M, the motorcycle licence
4. Class DJ, the junior operator licence

Class E is the State class for carrying passengers for hire in a vehicle seating fourteen or fewer; a commercial licence also satisfies the requirement. Source: Vehicle and Traffic Law and TLC licensing standards.

6. What is the minimum age at which a person may hold a TLC driver licence?

1. Nineteen years of age
2. Sixteen years of age
3. Eighteen years of age
4. Twenty-one years of age

The Commission sets its own minimum age above the State driving age because the licence carries paying passengers. Source: TLC driver licensing requirements, 35 RCNY Chapter 80.

7. Which of these is part of the application for a TLC driver licence?

1. A certificate of employment from a licensed for-hire base
2. Fingerprinting for a criminal history check
3. A New York City residency certificate
4. A certificate of vehicle ownership

Applicants are fingerprinted so that the Commission can review criminal history before entrusting them with passengers. Residency in the city is not required. Source: TLC driver licence application requirements.

8. Which health-related step is part of obtaining a TLC driver licence?

1. A vaccination record filed with the base
2. An annual eye examination by the Commission
3. A medical certification and a drug test
4. A physical fitness test at the inspection facility

A medical certification confirms the applicant is fit to drive, and a negative drug test is required before the licence is granted. Source: TLC driver licence application requirements.

9. How often must a licensed driver submit to drug testing?

1. Only after a crash that involves an injury to a passenger
2. Only once, at the time the licence is first granted by the Commission
3. Every year, as a condition of holding the licence
4. Only when a passenger files a complaint

Testing is annual and continuing, not a one-off gate at the application stage, and a failed or missed test puts the licence at risk. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, drug testing requirement.

10. Where must an applicant take the required TLC driver education course?

1. Online through any accredited provider
2. At any commercial driving school licensed by the State of New York
3. At a Department of Motor Vehicles office in any borough of the city
4. At a school licensed by the Commission for that purpose

Only schools licensed by the Commission may deliver the course and issue the certificate the application needs. Source: TLC driver education requirements.

11. Roughly how long is the TLC driver education course?

1. Four hours of classroom instruction
2. Twenty-four hours of instruction
3. Sixty hours of instruction
4. One hundred hours of instruction

The course runs to twenty-four hours, normally spread over three days, and covers rules, geography, service and safety. Source: TLC driver education curriculum.

12. Which additional driving course must an applicant complete?

1. A commercial vehicle pre-trip inspection course
2. A hazardous materials endorsement course approved by the State
3. A defensive driving course approved for the purpose
4. A motorcycle safety foundation course

An approved defensive driving course is required in addition to the Commission course, and it also carries a point reduction benefit with the State. Source: TLC driver licence application requirements.

13. How many multiple-choice questions does the TLC driver examination contain?

1. Forty questions
2. Fifty questions
3. One hundred questions
4. Eighty questions

The examination is built as eighty multiple-choice questions covering rules, geography, service and safe driving. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

14. How long is a candidate given to complete the TLC driver examination?

1. Three hours
2. Forty-five minutes
3. Two hours
4. Ninety minutes

Two hours are allowed for the eighty questions, which is about ninety seconds per question. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

15. What score does a candidate need to pass the TLC driver examination?

1. Seventy-five per cent, that is sixty correct out of eighty
2. Sixty per cent, that is forty-eight correct out of eighty
3. Seventy per cent, that is fifty-six correct out of eighty
4. Eighty per cent, that is sixty-four correct out of eighty

Fifty-six correct answers out of eighty is the pass mark, so a candidate can miss twenty-four questions and still pass. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

16. Who administers the TLC driver examination on behalf of the city?

1. The base to which the driver will be affiliated
2. The Department of Motor Vehicles road test unit
3. The licensed driver education school itself
4. An independent testing company under contract

The examination is delivered by an independent testing contractor at its own test centres, not by the school that gave the course. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

17. How is the examination fee treated if a candidate fails?

1. The school that gave the course pays for the candidate's retake
2. The first retake is free of charge for every candidate who fails
3. The fee is refunded and then charged again on the next booking made
4. The fee is not refunded and a new fee is due for each attempt

Every attempt is paid for separately and the money is not returned, which is why an unprepared attempt is an expensive way to discover the syllabus. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

18. In how many languages is the TLC driver examination offered?

1. Two languages, English and Spanish, chosen at the test centre
2. English only, with no translation of any kind permitted at all
3. Seven languages, chosen when the examination is booked
4. Four languages, chosen by the candidate on the day of the test

The candidate chooses the language at booking, and the choice reflects the languages the trade actually speaks. Source: PSI candidate information bulletin for the TLC driver examination.

19. Within what period must an applicant complete the steps of the licence application?

1. There is no time limit on an open application
2. Within a fixed window of two years
3. Within a fixed window of thirty days
4. Within a fixed window of ninety days

The application has a hard window, and letting it lapse means starting the process again rather than simply resuming it. Source: TLC driver licence application requirements.

20. Which vehicle may lawfully accept a street hail anywhere in the five boroughs?

1. A luxury limousine
2. A street hail livery
3. A black car affiliated with a base
4. A medallion taxicab

The medallion is what buys the right to be hailed on the street citywide; every other class is limited to a zone or to prearranged work. Source: 35 RCNY, medallion taxicab service rules.

21. By what colour is a street hail livery identified?

1. Livery black
2. Taxi yellow
3. Apple green
4. Fleet white

The green colour distinguishes the boro taxi from the yellow medallion cab so that passengers and enforcement can tell at a glance where it may be hailed. Source: 35 RCNY, street hail livery rules.

22. Where may a street hail livery accept a passenger who hails it in the street?

1. Only within the Manhattan central business district
2. Anywhere in the five boroughs, exactly as a yellow medallion taxicab may
3. Only in the borough in which the vehicle and its owner are registered
4. Outside the Manhattan exclusionary zone and outside the airports

The green cab exists to serve the neighbourhoods that yellow cabs did not, so its hail right stops where the yellow cab market begins. Source: 35 RCNY, street hail livery rules.

23. Which streets mark the southern edge of the area where a street hail livery may accept hails in Manhattan?

1. West 110th Street and East 96th Street
2. West 96th Street and East 110th Street
3. West 125th Street and East 125th Street
4. West 59th Street and East 59th Street

The line runs across the island at different numbers on each side because it follows the historic edge of yellow cab availability. Source: 35 RCNY, street hail livery exclusionary zone.

24. How may a for-hire vehicle lawfully obtain a passenger?

1. By accepting a street hail like any other licensed vehicle
2. Only through a trip arranged in advance by a licensed base
3. By waiting on a taxi rank and taking the next passenger
4. By accepting a hail only outside the central business district

Prearrangement is the whole definition of for-hire service, and a driver who takes a hail is working outside his class whatever the passenger asked for. Source: 35 RCNY, for-hire vehicle rules.

25. A passenger waves at a black car stopped at a red light and asks for a ride. What must the driver do?

1. Accept, and record the trip as a street hail afterwards
2. Accept, because the passenger approached the vehicle first and asked
3. Decline, because the trip was not arranged through the base
4. Accept, provided the fare is agreed before the trip starts

The offence is accepting an unarranged trip, and it does not matter who spoke first or whether a price was agreed. Source: 35 RCNY, for-hire vehicle rules.

26. What is a commuter van authorised to do?

1. Carry passengers on a fixed route under its own authorisation
2. Accept street hails anywhere outside the borough of Manhattan itself
3. Operate as an ordinary for-hire vehicle when it is not on its route
4. Carry school children under contract to the city

Commuter van service is a separate authorisation with its own route conditions, and it is not a general licence to carry passengers wherever they ask. Source: 35 RCNY, commuter van service rules.

27. What is a paratransit vehicle licensed to do?

1. Carry any passenger at all who requests an accessible vehicle by telephone
2. Carry passengers with disabilities under a public transport contract
3. Accept street hails from wheelchair users anywhere in the five boroughs
4. Operate as a school bus outside the hours set by the paratransit contract

Paratransit service runs under contract to the public transport authority and is not open to the general public in the way a taxi is. Source: 35 RCNY, paratransit service rules.

28. A driver holds a TLC driver licence and is offered work in a vehicle that has no TLC vehicle licence. What is the position?

1. The trip is lawful if it stays within a single borough
2. The trip is lawful because the driver himself holds a valid licence
3. The trip is lawful if the passenger is told about it before starting
4. The trip is unlicensed service even though the driver is licensed

Both the person and the vehicle must be licensed; one valid licence does not cure the absence of the other, and the penalties fall on the driver at the wheel. Source: New York City Administrative Code, Title 19, Chapter 5.

29. Which pairing correctly matches a service to the way it takes work?

1. Street hail livery: prearranged only; black car: street hail
2. Medallion taxicab: prearranged only; for-hire vehicle: street hail
3. Medallion taxicab: street hail; for-hire vehicle: prearranged only
4. Luxury limousine: street hail; commuter van: prearranged only

Getting this pairing wrong is the fastest way to a serious summons, because it is the distinction the whole licensing system is built on. Source: 35 RCNY, service rules by licence class.

30. Where must a driver display the TLC driver licence while working?

1. On the outside of the vehicle, next to the licence plate itself
2. In the driver's wallet, to be produced only when a passenger asks
3. In the passenger compartment, where passengers can read it
4. Filed with the base and available by telephone

Public display lets a passenger identify who is driving before a complaint is ever needed, which is precisely the point of the rule. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, display of licence.

31. A passenger asks the driver for his licence number. What must the driver do?

1. Refuse, because the licence number is protected personal information
2. Give it, because the number is public information on display
3. Give it only if the passenger first states a reason for wanting it
4. Refer the passenger to the base, which keeps that information on file

The number is already visible in the passenger compartment, so refusing to repeat it serves no purpose and looks like concealment. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, display of licence.

32. What must a driver do if the displayed licence card is lost or damaged?

1. Write the licence number on a card and display that instead
2. Obtain a replacement from the Commission before working again
3. Continue working and mention it at the next inspection
4. Photograph the card and display the photograph

A hand-made substitute is not a licence, and driving without the required display is itself a violation. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, display of licence.

33. What must a licensed driver do after moving to a new address?

1. Wait and correct it at the next licence renewal
2. Notify only the Department of Motor Vehicles
3. Notify the Commission of the new address
4. Notify the base, which will inform the Commission

The Commission sends summonses, suspension notices and renewal papers to the address on file, so an out-of-date address usually surfaces as a default judgment. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, driver reporting duties.

34. A licensed driver is arrested on a criminal charge. What does the Commission require?

1. The driver must report the arrest to the Commission
2. Nothing, unless and until there is a conviction
3. Nothing, because the police already inform the Commission
4. The driver must report it only if it involves a vehicle

The duty is triggered by the arrest itself, and failing to report is treated as a separate violation from whatever the charge turns out to be. Source: 35 RCNY Chapter 80, driver reporting duties.

35. What happens to the TLC licence if the State driver licence is suspended?

1. The driver may not work, because the State licence is a condition
2. Nothing, as the two licences are entirely independent of each other
3. The driver may work only in a for-hire vehicle affiliated to a base
4. The driver may work for thirty days while appealing

The city licence is built on top of a valid State licence; remove the foundation and the driver is unlicensed on the road. Source: Vehicle and Traffic Law and 35 RCNY Chapter 80.