About the exam
TfL PHV SERU Exam structure
An independent study guide for Transport for London's private hire driver Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding assessment, mapped to all ten sections of the currently linked PHV Driver's Handbook and separated from current operational licensing updates.
Issuer and path
TfL PHV SERU Assessment Study Guide is administered through Transport for London. Check official resources before booking, retesting, or relying on a stale requirement.
Section 1: London PHV Driver Licensing
0 scored + 0 pretest
Driver eligibility, licence and badge responsibilities, ongoing fitness, disclosures, complaints and licensing action.
Section 2: Licensing Requirements for PHVs
0 scored + 0 pretest
Vehicle licensing evidence, hire-and-reward insurance, collision damage and vehicle safety information.
Section 3: Carrying out Private Hire Journeys
0 scored + 0 pretest
Operator bookings, lawful acceptance of work, booking changes, fares, property and suspicious activity.
Section 4: Staying Safe
0 scored + 0 pretest
Personal and passenger safety, conflict, incident reporting, drugs and alcohol, and lawful use of CCTV.
Section 5: Driver Behaviour
0 scored + 0 pretest
Professional service, appropriate boundaries, respect and prohibited conduct.
Section 6: Driving and Parking in London
0 scored + 0 pretest
Safe and lawful pickup, set-down, parking, bus-lane and red-route decisions, and current road-charge boundaries.
Section 7: Safer Driving
0 scored + 0 pretest
Distraction control, vulnerable road users, visibility, dooring risk and vehicle-condition checks.
Section 8: Being Aware of Equality and Disability
0 scored + 0 pretest
Non-discrimination, inclusive communication, assistance-dog duties and designated wheelchair-accessible vehicle duties.
Section 9: Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk
0 scored + 0 pretest
Recognising vulnerability, exploitation and abuse; responding professionally; recording and reporting concerns.
Section 10: Ridesharing
0 scored + 0 pretest
Licensed-operator ridesharing bookings, passenger information, route changes, privacy and safety.
Before attending SERU
Read the complete handbook, work through TfL's online assessment guide and complete the Safeguarding Awareness course. Check the booking confirmation for the venue and candidate instructions. If you need an adjustment, contact TfL early with an outline of the condition and supporting evidence through the route on the current SERU page.
Official Outline Coverage Map
Coverage is mapped to official outline item counts so content depth can be checked without hard-coding a single exam.
| Topic | Official outline items | Your questions | Your flashcards | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 1: London PHV Driver Licensing | 0 | 80 | 15 | Priority |
| Section 2: Licensing Requirements for PHVs | 0 | 45 | 10 | Good |
| Section 3: Carrying out Private Hire Journeys | 0 | 70 | 15 | Priority |
| Section 4: Staying Safe | 0 | 75 | 15 | Priority |
| Section 5: Driver Behaviour | 0 | 55 | 10 | Priority |
| Section 6: Driving and Parking in London | 0 | 55 | 10 | Priority |
| Section 7: Safer Driving | 0 | 75 | 15 | Priority |
| Section 8: Being Aware of Equality and Disability | 0 | 60 | 10 | Priority |
| Section 9: Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk | 0 | 60 | 10 | Priority |
| Section 10: Ridesharing | 0 | 26 | 10 | Good |
How to use this guide
Prepare from handbook duty to safe decision
Start with the current TfL instructions, learn each handbook responsibility in context and practise reading precise facts without inventing live assessment parameters.
B · Booking and licence
Confirm that the driver, vehicle and licensed operator chain support the journey before considering convenience or fare.
O · Observe the situation
Identify the passenger need, road-user risk, safeguarding sign, vehicle condition or information boundary actually present.
O · Obligations and equality
Apply the handbook duty, non-discrimination rule and any required assistance or exemption evidence.
K · Keep current
Where dates, fees, charges, reporting windows or processes can change, verify the current TfL source.
S · Safety first
Protect life and reduce immediate risk before resolving fares, complaints, records or journey convenience.
A · Act proportionately
Communicate calmly, maintain professional boundaries and use the operator, TfL or police route appropriate to the situation.
F · Facts and privacy
Record exact facts where needed and protect passenger, incident, booking and footage information.
E · Escalate correctly
Use 999 for an emergency, 101 for a non-emergency police concern and the required operator or TfL channel for the relevant licensing matter.
Eligibility, Application and English Requirements
Place SERU within the wider PHV driver application, including identity, right-to-work, driving-licence, character, medical and English-language checks.
Key rules
Rule 1
driver eligibility
Exam cue: Treat SERU as one licensing component, not the whole PHV driver application.
Rule 2
application evidence
Exam cue: Keep the SERU reading-and-writing outcome separate from TfL's speaking-and-listening assessment.
Rule 3
SERU reading and writing
Exam cue: Connect the handbook responsibility to the driver action and the correct operator, TfL or emergency route.
Rule 4
separate speaking and listening
Exam cue: Connect the handbook responsibility to the driver action and the correct operator, TfL or emergency route.
Common traps
Assuming a SERU pass alone creates entitlement to a PHV driver licence.
Prevention: Check whether the fact is handbook assessment content, a current operational rule or an unpublished assessment detail before relying on it.
Confusing the topographical or speaking-and-listening assessments with SERU.
Prevention: Check whether the fact is handbook assessment content, a current operational rule or an unpublished assessment detail before relying on it.
Memory anchors
Eligibility, Application and English Requirements: scope
Place SERU within the wider PHV driver application, including identity, right-to-work, driving-licence, character, medical and English-language checks.
driver eligibility
Treat SERU as one licensing component, not the whole PHV driver application.
application evidence
Keep the SERU reading-and-writing outcome separate from TfL's speaking-and-listening assessment.
SERU reading and writing and separate speaking and listening
Review these together when applying eligibility, application and english requirements.
Eligibility, Application and English Requirements: avoid
Assuming a SERU pass alone creates entitlement to a PHV driver licence. Also avoid confusing the topographical or speaking-and-listening assessments with SERU.
Next best moves
Quick check-up
Use a short quiz to confirm the rule pattern is actually sticking.
Check-up Questions
Next step personalized recommendations
Open another topic next
Official resources
Verify the details with the official sources
Use these links for eligibility, scheduling, handbook rules, and issuer updates. Our guide helps you study; official sources tell you what the testing partner currently requires.
TfL SERU for private hire drivers
Current PHV SERU requirement, public coverage areas, delivery format, question styles, preparation guide, adjustments and fees.
TfL PHV Driver's Handbook, Version 1.0
The ten-section handbook currently linked by TfL as the source for PHV SERU questions; dated 30 September 2021.
TfL private hire driver licence requirements
Current application, English-language, safeguarding, medical, DBS, reporting, Certificate of Good Conduct and licensing requirements.
TfL passengers and accessibility guidance
Current Equality Act duties for disabled passengers, mobility assistance, wheelchairs, assistance dogs, extra charges and TfL exemption evidence.
TfL online SERU assessment guide
The interactive preparation guide linked by TfL, covering every handbook part and more than 36 learning knowledge checks; those checks are not the published length of the live assessment.
TfL Safeguarding Awareness
The official online safeguarding course that TfL expects PHV driver applicants to complete before SERU.
TPH Notice 14/21
Official introduction notice confirming the 1 October 2021 PHV SERU requirement, handbook basis and related English-language changes.
TfL Taxi and Private Hire licence fees, 9 March 2026
Current official fee notice confirming £40 for a first SERU attempt and £30 for a resit.
FAQ
Common TfL PHV SERU questions
What does SERU stand for?
Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding. For London PHV drivers, TfL uses it to assess handbook-based safety, equality and regulatory understanding and the reading-and-writing component of the English-language requirement.
Who needs the PHV SERU assessment?
TfL says the requirement applies to new and renewing private-hire driver applicants. A particular candidate must follow the current TfL application and booking instructions sent for that licence case.
What is the assessment based on?
TfL says questions are based on the PHV Driver's Handbook. Its current SERU page still links Version 1.0, dated 30 September 2021, whose ten sections form this guide's official outline.
Are glossary definitions and linked websites tested?
The handbook says candidates should understand glossary words but will not be tested on their meanings, and will not be tested on information found only on websites linked from the handbook. The handbook's substantive text remains the stated question basis.
How many questions are there, how long is it and what is the pass mark?
TfL's current public PHV SERU pages do not state a fixed live question count, assessment duration or pass mark. This guide records all three as unpublished and does not substitute figures from third parties or the separate taxi SERU.
What kinds of questions does TfL name?
The public PHV page names multiple-choice questions and sentences completed by adding missing words. TfL's linked online guide contains more than 36 learning knowledge checks, but that does not establish the length of the live assessment.
Is this the same as the taxi SERU assessment?
No. This slug is limited to London's private-hire driver SERU and its PHV Driver's Handbook. TfL has introduced a separate taxi-driver SERU route, so published taxi counts, timing or pass standards must not be transferred here.
Does SERU cover every PHV driver licensing requirement?
No. SERU is one part of licensing. Current requirements also include identity and right-to-work checks, driving-licence history, tax requirements, enhanced DBS and continuous Update Service participation, Group 2 medical fitness, topographical assessment where applicable, and a separate speaking-and-listening assessment.
How does SERU fit the English-language requirement?
Passing SERU demonstrates reading and writing at the required level. Speaking and listening are assessed separately by secure video or telephone link at TfL premises. TfL says the overall standard remains B1 CEFR.
Which current rules differ from the 2021 handbook context?
The current licence page includes July 2024 DBS and date-sensitive police-involvement reporting rules, July 2025 complaints-signage requirements and the present Certificate of Good Conduct policy. Candidates should learn the handbook for assessment scope but use current TfL sources for today's professional duties.
What is the current police-involvement reporting rule?
For a PHV driver licence granted on or after 1 July 2024, the current TfL page requires arrest and release, charge, caution or conviction to be reported within 48 hours, including driving offences with penalty points. It retains a 21-day convictions-and-cautions rule for earlier licences while strongly encouraging reporting within 48 hours. The exact current page and licence conditions control.
What should a driver do about a safeguarding concern?
The handbook says to remain aware, listen and reassure professionally, record useful factual details, and report concerns to the PHV operator or police. Use 101 for a non-emergency police report and 999 where there is an emergency or immediate danger.
What duties apply to assistance dogs and wheelchairs?
Current TfL Equality Act guidance says taxi and PHV drivers must carry disabled passengers, their wheelchairs where possible and mobility aids, take reasonable steps for safety and comfort, and provide reasonably required mobility assistance without extra charge. Assistance dogs must be carried without extra charge unless TfL has issued a medical exemption. A designated wheelchair-accessible PHV carries additional wheelchair duties, with the applicable TfL medical or physical-condition exemption route.
What is the ridesharing boundary?
The handbook describes ridesharing as people who do not know each other paying separate fares and travelling together. Each journey still needs a licensed London PHV operator booking; drivers should confirm the shared booking, communicate pickups, route, time and likely cost, respect a passenger's safe exit choice and never disclose another passenger's personal details.
Can this guide replace the official handbook or booking confirmation?
No. Read the complete current handbook and the official online guide, then follow the latest TfL page, booking confirmation and adjustment instructions. This guide is an independent map and does not reproduce official questions.
Are the planned 601 items an official exam count?
No. The 601 total is a future Pass Harbor authoring allocation distributed across the ten public handbook sections. It is not a live TfL question count, section weight or mock specification, and no question bank has been created here.