Compliance with Laws – No Unlicensed Activity.
35 RCNY § 59A-11
in effect§ 59A-11 Compliance with Laws – No Unlicensed Activity.
(a) For-Hire Vehicle License and Commission License Plate.
(1) A For-Hire Vehicle Owner must not allow any of Owner's Vehicles to be dispatched unless:
(i) A Vehicle registered in NYS has license plates embossed with the legend "T & LC".
35 RCNY § 59A-11(a)(1)(i) Vehicle Fine: $350 Penalty Points: 1 Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(ii) A Vehicle registered in a state other than New York has complied with any applicable license plate requirements.
(iii) The vehicle has a Valid For-Hire Vehicle License.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(a)(1)(iii) Vehicle Fine: $500 for the first offense in 12 months; $1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses within a 12-month period. Penalty Points: 1 Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(2) The Commission will post a list of Validly Licensed For-Hire Vehicles on its Web site.
(b) Valid TLC Driver License.
(1) A Vehicle Owner must not allow any of its Vehicles to be dispatched unless its driver possesses a Valid TLC Driver License.
(2) The Commission will post on its website a list of Drivers holding Valid TLC Driver Licenses.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(b) Vehicle Fine: $350 Penalty Points: 1 Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(c) Valid Chauffeur's License Required.
(1) A Vehicle Owner must not allow any of its Vehicles to be dispatched unless it is being driven by a Driver with a Valid Chauffeur's License.
(2) A Vehicle Owner is responsible for knowing the status of the state-issued driver's license for any Driver dispatched in one of Owner's Vehicles.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(c) Vehicle Fine: $100 Penalty Points: 1 Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(d) Validity of For-Hire Vehicle License Requires Valid State Registration.
(1) A For-Hire Vehicle License will be Valid only while the state registration of the Vehicle remains Valid. The License of an Owner who operates a For-Hire Vehicle without valid state registration will be summarily suspended.
(2) A For-Hire Vehicle Owner must immediately surrender his For-Hire Vehicle License to the Commission upon the expiration, restriction, suspension, or revocation of the Vehicle's state registration.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(d) Fine: $400 and Suspension until compliance. Appearance REQUIRED
(e) Affiliation with Licensed Base. A For-Hire Vehicle Owner may only dispatch or permit another person to dispatch Owner's Vehicle if:
(1) The Vehicle is affiliated with a Validly Licensed Base;
(2) The base dispatching the Vehicle is Validly Licensed, and at least one of the following conditions is met:
(i) The Vehicle is being dispatched from its affiliated Base,
(ii) The Vehicle is an Accessible Vehicle affiliated with a For-Hire Base, or
(iii) The dispatching Base informs the customer that the Vehicle is from another Base by providing the customer with the name and license number of both the affiliated Base and the dispatching Base (clearly identifying which Base is the affiliated Base and which Base is the dispatching Base) in all communications with the customer and any materials or receipts provided to the customer.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(e) Fine: $400 Appearance NOT REQUIRED
(f) Surrendering Licenses. If a For-Hire Vehicle Owner license is revoked, expired or denied:
(1) It must be surrendered to the Commission within 10 days after revocation, expiration or denial.
(2) If the vehicle is registered in New York State, the Owner must surrender the T&LC license plates to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
(g) NYS DOT Authority. A For-Hire Vehicle License for a vehicle which either
(1) seats 10 or more passengers and is NOT exempt from NYS Department of Transportation operating authority and inspection requirements, OR
(2) has been modified after manufacture and is NOT exempt from NYS Department of Transportation operating authority and inspection requirements will be Valid only while the NYS Department of Transportation operating authority required for the Vehicle remains Valid. The License of an Owner who operates a For-Hire Vehicle without valid NYS Department of Transportation operating authority will be summarily suspended.
35 RCNY § 59A-11(g) Fine: Suspension until Valid NYS DOT operating authority obtained Appearance REQUIRED
(Amended City Record 9/22/2016, eff. 10/22/2016; amended City Record 12/20/2017, eff. 1/19/2018; amended City Record 6/30/2021, eff. 7/30/2021)
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-153177Fetched: 10/24/2026