From January 1, 2020, the municipalities will issue permits and authorizations for street taxis, stand taxis, ceremonial transport and public transport taxis. Old permits can no longer be issued. These will be replaced by one license for four types of services.

The permit must be issued or refused within 45 days after the application has been declared complete. The municipalities issue the permit to operators in their territory. The municipalities also issue authorizations to licensed operators to operate a taxi stand.

From 1 July 2020, the municipality will also issue driver passes. The driver's pass must be validated annually. Just like the operators, drivers must have knowledge of Dutch (level B1, but with transitional measure for two years). In addition, there are clear rules about which statements a driver may and may not have on his extract from the criminal record.

For existing taxi operators, a transitional provision whereby the current taxi and VVB permits can expire as foreseen. This means that all rules, possibilities and restrictions of that permit remain applicable. They can also decide to prematurely terminate their permit to switch to a new permit at a time of their choice. New permits are immediately subject to new conditions.

The driver card, on the other hand, applies to drivers and not to operators, and is compulsory from 1 July 2020 for all drivers, regardless of the type of license of the operator for whom they are driving.

Municipalities no longer have the option of refusing permits to operators who meet all the conditions. After all, there is no longer an upper limit for the number of authorized vehicles within the territory. Municipalities must draw up their own regulations for station taxis. These regulations determine how many station taxis are allowed to park at which location and which rates they must charge for trips departing from the station.

Also read: Taxi and mobility will change in Flanders from 1 January