Guidance

Section 19 and 22 permits: not for profit passenger transport

Section 19 and section 22 permits let organisations charge for not-for-profit transport services without holding a PSV operator's licence.

• From: Department for Transport
• Published: 7 August 2013
• Last updated: 30 December 2020
  Show all updates

  1. 30 December 2020

     Altered guidance to take into account the high court ruling regarding the conditions a community transport operator must meet to be a non-commercial operation. This follows the judicial review of December 2019, where a domestic commercial operator, the BCA, sued the Department due to their local authority tendering contracts.

  2. 27 September 2019

     Extended guidance for section 3.3, the short distance exemption, released.

  3. 15 March 2019

     Updated to feature guidance on section 19 and 22 permits and operators’ obligations under EU legislation.

  4. 1 February 2018

     Updates including adding postal address, updating email address and removing section 15.1.

  5. 28 November 2017

     Guidance updated to include reference to EU Regulation 1071/2009 exemption.

  6. 7 August 2013

     First published.

Documents

Section 19 and 22 permits and obligations: not for profit passenger transport

HTML

EU Regulation 1071/2009: further guidance on the operation of the ‘short distance’ exemption’ in Great Britain

HTML

Details

Organisations that provide transport on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis can apply for permits under Section 19 or Section 22 of the Transport Act 1985. These permits allow the holder to operate transport services for hire or reward without the need for a full public service vehicle (PSV) operator’s licence. This guidance explains the rules for the permits and how to apply for them.