Starting a taxi fleet: licensing, contracts and budget

Carrier versus vehicle lessor

Define the business role first. A company that only rents out vehicles does not automatically become a taxi carrier. A carrier is responsible for the appropriate licence, vehicles, extracts and driver-related duties. Agreements, insurance, accounting and any employment must match the actual activity. A vehicle extract is not a product you independently issue or sell to a driver.

Sources: Ustawa o transporcie drogowym

Vehicle extract and licence area

The competent authority issues the vehicle extract on the carrier’s application. A partner hands it to the driver rather than issuing it. A taxi licence covers its named municipality, municipalities under an agreement, or Warsaw. Taking a passenger outside does not grant unrestricted local pickup rights; Article 6 sets specific exceptions. Renting a car or registering in an app does not replace the required authorisations.

Sources: Ustawa — art. 6

Driver and taxi licence

Taxi work requires a Polish-issued driving licence, including for holders of earlier EU/EEA documents. Criminal-record checks and current medical and psychological fitness certificates also apply. The carrier obtains a taxi licence from the competent municipal authority. It is distinct from the passenger-car transport licence issued by a starosta. Platform rules apply separately; there is no blanket “21 years old and three years of driving” rule for category B taxi work.

Sources: Ustawa o transporcie drogowym · GITD — polskie prawo jazdy

What the agreement must clarify

Clarify rent and its VAT basis, mileage limits and surcharges, servicing, tyres, insurance, deductibles, damage, downtime, replacement cars, termination and deposit return in writing. Verify the counterparty’s right to supply the car; they need not own it. A photographed handover record documents condition, mileage, fuel and equipment. Agreements operate within the law and cannot override mandatory rules.

Sources: Kodeks cywilny

A payback model

Annual receipts equal weekly rent times actually paid weeks. Deduct OC/AC, servicing, repairs, tyres, administration, financing and taxes for your model. Empty weeks, arrears and major repairs change the result. Purchase price divided by a positive balance is only simple payback, not a guarantee or investment return rate. Resale, depreciation and capital costs require separate comparison. Expenses continue after the purchase price has been recovered.