How to Start a Black Car or Livery Base in NYC

Many TLC drivers understand transportation from the ground up: repeat riders, tight schedules, service expectations, and the realities of getting people where they need to go. That experience can be the start of a larger professional goal—building a properly licensed business that receives trip requests, dispatches vehicles, and creates opportunity for other drivers.

In New York City, an FHV must be affiliated with a TLC-licensed FHV base. FHV trips are prearranged through that licensed-base structure. For a driver ready to grow beyond the driver’s seat, the two familiar paths are a black car base and a livery base.

At a glance
- A base is the licensed business that receives requests, dispatches affiliated TLC vehicles, and maintains trip records.
- Black car and livery are different operating models, with different ownership, payment, fund, and application requirements.
- A future base can build client relationships, but it should begin taking and dispatching FHV bookings only after TLC has licensed the base and activated its affiliated fleet.

This guide summarizes current public requirements. TLC’s current forms and rules control every application; a qualified lawyer, tax professional, insurance broker, and accountant should advise on the business’s own facts.

Choose the business model before you start filing

Black car baseLivery baseCore modelCentral dispatch for prearranged service. More than 90% of business must be paid by a method other than direct passenger cash.Prearranged community-car service using flat, mileage, or zone-based rates.Ownership structureVehicles are owned by the base’s franchisees or by members of a cooperative operating the base.A base station dispatches affiliated livery vehicles.Key business documentAttorney-General-approved franchise agreement or cooperative agreement/contract.Active New York Department of State status and livery-base operating materials.Fleet at approvalAt least 10 vehicles, or five when at least one is a WAV.At least 10 vehicles, or five when at least one is a WAV.Workforce / benefit setupBlack Car Fund membership when the base owns under 50% of dispatched vehicles; otherwise applicable workers’ compensation coverage.Workers’ compensation coverage or qualifying Independent Livery Drivers Benefit Fund membership, as applicable.

The black car path

A black car base may suit a group building an account-based, card-based, app-based, corporate, or contracted-trip business. The structure must genuinely fit TLC’s black-car definition. It is not simply a vehicle style or a marketing label.

The livery path

A livery base may suit an operator building a community-focused, prearranged service with clear zone, mileage, or flat rates. It can grow through repeat riders, referrals, healthcare and community relationships, or local business accounts—but every FHV booking still needs to run through the licensed base.

Phase 1 — Build the foundation

1. Choose the class and recruit the first affiliates

Choose the base class before organizing the documents. Build the affiliation plan early: TLC requires at least 10 affiliated vehicles at final approval, or five if at least one is a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV).

A prospective owner should also understand the vehicle-licensing constraint. TLC’s current vehicle page says only an owner of a WAV may apply for a new FHV vehicle license. Existing eligible FHV vehicles may be considered for affiliation through the applicable TLC process.

2. Form the entity and collect the records

Set up the intended corporation, LLC, partnership, cooperative, or sole proprietorship. Keep formation papers, ownership records, manager and owner identification, and EIN or Social Security information together.

For a black car base, decide whether the operation is a franchise or cooperative and prepare the required agreement. For a livery base, confirm the business’s active New York Department of State status.

3. Reserve the name and plan the financial protections

Clear the outstanding licensing obligations TLC identifies, then submit the business-name reservation. TLC says an approved reservation is held for 45 days, so schedule the remaining application work accordingly.

Both models currently require a $5,000 surety bond for the benefit of New York City. Confirm the applicable benefit-fund or workers’ compensation arrangement before submission.

Build the business plan and operating paperwork before accepting the first booking.

Phase 2 — Design the base, then apply

4. Establish the location, fares, and operating plan

Secure the base location and complete the business lease affirmation. TLC may review zoning and may request Department of Buildings confirmation. Prepare a rate-of-fare book or zone-rate map that matches the service you plan to offer.

A livery-base application also calls for an off-street-parking affirmation, comprehensive operating plan, Environmental Assessment Statement, and requests for letters of no objection from the local City Council Member and Community Board. These are application materials, not afterthoughts.

5. Build the request-to-dispatch system

Before marketing, define how a customer will request a ride, receive a quote or rate where applicable, get confirmation, and be assigned to an affiliated licensed vehicle and driver.

TLC’s materials call for an information-security and personal-information-use policy, a current base phone record, and a dispatch-app disclosure when an app or web tool will be used. This is also the right time to create a base-name client agreement, intake process, cancellation practice, and booking-record system. Have qualified counsel review contract language before use.

6. Submit the application and complete TLC review

Send the completed application and required files to TLC’s current new-business address: NewBusinessApp@tlc.nyc.gov, in the format TLC specifies. Its current pages say new base applications remain active for 90 days. Once the package is complete, TLC contacts the applicant about fee payment.

TLC currently lists a $1,500 fee for a three-year FHV base license. Owners, stockholders, and members identified by TLC must complete fingerprinting after the application is submitted.

7. Activate the affiliated fleet before operating

An applicant is not yet an operating base. Complete TLC review, pay required fees, and activate the required affiliated fleet before starting service. Do not dispatch FHV trips through a business while it is still an application.

Phase 3 — Contract, dispatch, and operate with the right systems

8. Put the client relationship inside the licensed base

After the base is licensed and the affiliated fleet is active, agreements and trip requests should flow through that base. TLC rules require a base owner to file public contact information used to prearrange transportation, including phone numbers, websites, and email addresses. The rules also require base advertising, websites, business cards, and receipts to identify the base as TLC-licensed and include its TLC license number.

A compliant booking path
Client request → base booking channel → base dispatch → affiliated TLC vehicle and driver → receipt and trip record

A practical rollout is to sign agreements in the base’s legal or approved business name, receive requests through the base’s stated channels, dispatch an affiliated licensed vehicle, preserve booking and fare records, and submit the required electronic trip records each month.

The customer-facing service begins after the licensed base, fleet, and recordkeeping process are in place.

9. Keep repeat and “private” clients in the base process

A driver may earn the trust of repeat riders, referral partners, and community contacts. That relationship has value. It should be developed through a compliant base process.

TLC rules state that a driver may not solicit or pick up a passenger except by prearrangement through a licensed base, subject to a narrow rule for certain wheelchair-accessible-livery dispatches. The rules also state that an FHV owner may not dispatch, or permit another person to dispatch, the vehicle unless it is affiliated with a licensed base and the dispatch is made through that base, subject to stated exceptions.

In practical terms, a rider knowing a driver’s phone number does not make an FHV trip a personal operating arrangement outside the base structure. The driver can bring the relationship to the business: enter the request through the base, send it through the base’s dispatch process, and keep the service record in the base system.

This is about FHV operating rules. It does not decide any driver’s worker classification for tax, labor, or benefits purposes; those issues require advice based on the actual working relationship.

Before the first paid ride: the operating dashboard

A TLC base license is necessary, but it is only one part of a sustainable transportation business. These systems should be ready before the business quotes, contracts for, or bills its first ride.

Sales tax and invoices

Do not assume every FHV fare has the same sales-tax treatment. New York treats black car and limousine transportation as taxable in many in-state circumstances. A qualifying affiliated livery service in New York City may be excluded from that particular rule. The result turns on the actual vehicle, affiliation, trip, and service.

If the base will make taxable transportation sales, it should obtain a New York sales-tax Certificate of Authority before doing so. The Tax Department generally says to apply at least 20 days before taxable business begins. An accountant should confirm the classification and rate before the base sends tax-inclusive proposals or invoices.

Surcharges, tolls, and airport charges

The State congestion surcharge is separate from the MTA Congestion Relief Zone toll. For a qualifying non-pool FHV trip that begins and ends in New York State and begins in, ends in, or passes through Manhattan south of 96th Street, the current State surcharge is generally $2.75. The dispatcher is generally responsible for collecting and paying it. It must be passed through to the passenger, separately shown on the receipt, supported by trip records, and reported and paid monthly.

The rate sheet and client agreement should also say how the business handles the State surcharge, the MTA toll, bridge and tunnel tolls, and airport access fees. NYC311 currently lists a $3.50 airport access fee for pickups and dropoffs at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. Check current requirements before setting prices.

Vehicles, registration, and insurance

Each dispatched vehicle must remain TLC-licensed, affiliated, registered, inspected, and insured. TLC requires a current liability policy meeting its minimum coverage levels. For example, TLC currently lists minimum coverage for black cars and livery vehicles carrying one to seven passengers as $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence, $10,000 property damage, and $100,000 personal-injury protection.

Budget commercial registration, sales tax at original registration, vehicle-use tax, and supplemental fees by vehicle. Verify the exact vehicle, county, plate, ownership, and insurance circumstances with DMV and the insurance broker.

People, payroll, and benefits

A business hiring employees needs a federal EIN and New York registration for unemployment insurance, withholding, and wage reporting. Depending on the facts, workers’ compensation, disability benefits, and Paid Family Leave coverage may be required.

Calling someone an independent contractor does not settle every legal question. The Workers’ Compensation Board considers direction, control, and other facts. Get employment and tax advice before setting pay practices for drivers, dispatchers, or office staff.

Accounting and client contracts

Entity choice affects New York City filing obligations: corporations may be subject to Business Corporation Tax and unincorporated businesses may be subject to Unincorporated Business Tax. Establish bookkeeping, payroll, invoice controls, estimated-tax planning, and a chart of accounts before the first contract.

A client agreement should identify the service, rate method, taxes and surcharges, toll and airport-fee treatment, cancellation terms, payment timing, contact method, accessibility process, and recordkeeping expectations. The licensed base should sign it—not an individual driver.

Build the next level with a real operating plan

The strongest next step is to build a base that can receive customer requests, dispatch affiliated drivers, maintain records, and grow carefully. Drivers already bring essential knowledge of streets, passenger expectations, schedules, and dependable service. A black car or livery base can turn that knowledge into a business with the structure to serve customers and create opportunity for other transportation professionals.

Official sources and next reads

TLC licensing and operations

Taxes, charges, and business setup

This article provides educational information, not legal, tax, insurance, or licensing advice. Confirm current requirements with NYC TLC and qualified advisers before forming a business or acting on a client relationship.

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NYC FHV Driver to Base Owner