How to Apply for an NYC TLC Driver License: LARS Filing and 90-Day Steps

To apply for an NYC TLC driver license, submit an application through the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s LARS portal, pay the $252 fee, and then complete drug testing, fingerprinting, a medical exam, and the required education courses and exam within 90 days.¹ The license authorizes you to drive yellow taxis, green taxis, and for-hire vehicles (including Uber and Lyft) anywhere in the five boroughs, and it stays valid for three years once issued.

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 19 years old.² You need a valid Social Security Number and a New York State chauffeur’s license: a Commercial Class A, B, or C, or a For-Hire Class E. A standard Class D license does not qualify, so if that’s what you hold, upgrade at a New York State DMV office before starting the TLC application.³

Out-of-state residents can apply with an equivalent chauffeur’s or commercial license from their home state, but since October 1, 2025, they face an added identity verification step at a New York DMV office covered further down.¹

Your driving record matters too. You cannot have more than five points on your DMV record in the 15 months leading up to your most recent conviction date, and you must clear any outstanding fines or fees owed to the NYS DMV or TLC before you apply.

What to Have Ready Before You Open LARS

Gather everything below first. Missing pieces cost you days you don’t have once the 90-day clock starts.

Your nine-digit DMV ID number, printed on the front of your New York State driver license below the words “DRIVER LICENSE.”⁴
A working email address. TLC and its testing partners (LabCorp, PSI Services, IdentoGO) will use it to schedule appointments and send confirmations.
A credit or debit card for the application fee.
A completed TLC Medical Certification Form, signed and stamped by a licensed physician. The TLC’s official form is the only one accepted, and the exam date must be within 90 days before you submit your application.⁵
Resolution of any unpaid parking tickets, traffic tickets, and TLC fines.

Download the Medical Certification Form from TLC’s frequently used forms page. The exam typically covers vision (at least 20/40 in both eyes), hearing, cardiac, lung, and neurological reflexes. Drivers with diabetes or cardiovascular disease should expect to repeat the exam annually rather than every two years.

Filing Through LARS

Go to apps.nyc.gov/lars.⁶ Select “Apply for New License,” choose “Driver” as the application type, then pick “TLC Driver’s License (Medallion/For-Hire/Street Hail Livery Driver)” from the dropdown. You’ll enter your DMV ID number, contact details, and Social Security Number.

Check every field before you pay. Once the $252 fee processes, your information locks for formal review, and the fee is non-refundable.¹ Save the receipt. It contains your application number, which you’ll need for every step that follows.

The 90-Day Post-Filing Checklist

Submitting the online application starts a 90-day clock. If any item below is unfinished when it expires, the TLC denies the application and the $252 is gone.⁷ Book appointments in the first two weeks rather than the last two.

Drug Test

Schedule a screening at an approved LabCorp location by calling (800) 923-2624, or walk in. The test costs $34, and results usually take about three days.⁸ The panel screens for amphetamines, marijuana/THC, PCP, cocaine, and opiates. A positive result triggers a one-year ban on reapplying, running from the date of the failed test.⁷

Fingerprinting and Background Check

Book an appointment on the IdentoGO website using service code 15425Y and bring a valid government-issued photo ID.¹ TLC uses the prints for a criminal background check. If you have pending criminal charges that aren’t resolved within 90 days of your application date, the application will be denied.⁷

Education Courses and the TLC Exam

New applicants complete four training pieces inside the same 90 days:⁹

A 24-hour TLC Driver Education Course: three days of classroom instruction (eight hours each) on TLC rules, customer service, and city geography. Register as soon as you have your application number.¹⁰
The TLC Driver License Exam. After you finish the 24-hour course, PSI Services emails a scheduling link for the computer-based test, offered in English, Bengali, Urdu, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and Spanish.¹¹
Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) training. Required for every new applicant regardless of which vehicle type you plan to drive.⁹
Sex Trafficking Awareness Training: a roughly 10-minute online video on the TLC website.¹

Take them in this order: the 24-hour course first, then WAV training, then the exam. PSI won’t release the exam scheduling email until your course provider reports completion, so any delay in enrollment cascades through the rest of the timeline.

Defensive Driving Course

Complete a New York State DMV-certified six-hour Defensive Driving Course within the 90 days, unless you completed one no more than three years before your application date.¹ Many providers offer it online. The course can also reduce up to four points on your DMV record for suspension calculation purposes.¹²

Upload Everything to TLC UP

Submit your medical form, training certificates, and any other requested documents through the TLC Upload Portal (TLC UP). Log in with your application number to track what has been received and what is still missing. Check regularly. If a document uploads unreadably, you won’t know unless you look.

Out-of-State Applicants: The FS-6T Step

If you hold an out-of-state driver license and applied on or after October 1, 2025, the TLC will not process your application until you finish an in-person identity check at a New York DMV office:¹

Download form ID-5 and bring it, with your original identity documents, to any NYS DMV office.
DMV staff complete the form, verify your documents, and take your photo.
You receive an FS-6T receipt confirming the process is done.
Upload the FS-6T receipt to your TLC UP account. The application stays frozen until it goes through.

This sits on top of the 90-day requirements, so book the DMV visit early. Wait times are unpredictable and a delayed FS-6T can push your entire timeline past the deadline.

Why Applications Get Denied

The TLC rules list the specific grounds for denial. Most are avoidable:⁷

Missing the 90-day deadline. The most common reason. Any unfinished requirement at day 91 results in automatic denial.
Failing the drug test. One-year ban on reapplying, measured from the date of the failed test.
Pending criminal charges not resolved within 90 days of filing.
Past misconduct within the prior three years involving fraud, material misrepresentation, theft, threats, harassment, or possession of a weapon in a licensed vehicle.
Not responding to a TLC request for information or a scheduled interview within the requested timeframe.

A denial does not refund the $252. Reapplying means starting the whole process again and paying again.

1
Taxi & Limousine Commission. Get a TLC Drivers License
2
American Legal Publishing. The Rules of the City of New York – Section 80-04 Licensing Requirements
3
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Get a License to Drive a Taxi or Livery Vehicle
4
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Sample New York DMV Photo Documents
5
Taxi & Limousine Commission. Get a Drivers License Frequently Used Forms
6
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission. License Applications, Renewals, and Summonses
7
American Legal Publishing. The Rules of the City of New York – Section 80-08 Licensing Process and Causes for Denial
8
Taxi & Limousine Commission. Drug Testing Requirements
9
Taxi & Limousine Commission. Driver Education
10
Taxi & Limousine Commission. TLC Authorized Driver Education Course Providers
11
NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission. TLC Driver License Exam Candidate Information Bulletin
12
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Point and Insurance Reduction Program