# NYC TLC FHV Licensing course and exam?



## spaceoperaman (Nov 10, 2015)

Hi everybody!

I'm trying to get my TLC licensing done in NYC to drive for Uber. I submitted parts A and B of the application last month with all of the documentation that Uber told me I needed, including the WAV course. On the TLC site it also says an FHV course and exam is required, but when I asked Uber about this they told me not to worry about it, as long as I had the defensive driving, drug test, doctor's form, and WAV course. Is this true?

I submitted 3 weeks ago, so I am not quite past the time when it would be expected for me to receive my license, but I got a text from the TLC reminding me to take a defensive driving course to complete my application. I gave them all of the documentation about the defensive driving course I've already taken when I applied, so now I'm paranoid that Uber was wrong and I do need to take an additional class and exam.

Does anyone know anything about the FHV requirements for the NYC TLC? Should I try to get into a course and/or exam? Thanks!

UPDATE:

I still haven't managed to get a reply from Uber or the TLC, but I talked to someone at LaGuardia Comm. College who had some info. Apparently this course is a brand new requirement going into effect December 20, 2015. So all FHV drivers in NYC will need to take it in the next few months, but it is not required YET to get a license. Which means my application is complete, unless the TLC lost my defensive driving certificate... :/


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

I heard also I was at the wheelchair class and that dude mention it , I summit my part A on the 19 of October so if it really does take three months to get that Dame shit that means once I get it I still can't drive because of this exam thing.... but is it 100 percent confirm yet . when did u apply and did you get your license yet. my friend got his in a month back in feb. don't know If it's still a month since it's going to be a month in a few days .


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## spaceoperaman (Nov 10, 2015)

Everything I've heard says that 4 weeks is the normal wait time. Very occasionally shorter but usually not longer unless something is missing or there is an issue.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

I seen a lot of people here saying they been waiting 3 months +


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## 0000alex (Nov 3, 2015)

i've been waiting for mine 3 months already!! it is like waste our time to wait for it . for TLC I have no word to say it.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

0000alex said:


> i've been waiting for mine 3 months already!! it is like waste our time to wait for it . for TLC I have no word to say it.


what state u in ? share what you did to get the lisencse maybe u missed a step ? the 3 month wait might be real omgggggg there's another one month wait at uber ......


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## spaceoperaman (Nov 10, 2015)

I'm in New York City. Don't have my license yet at the three week mark, but I was told that 4 weeks is normal by a number of Uber and non-Uber FHV drivers(Not by Uber, who told me I should have it in 2 weeks). Unfortunately, it's very difficult to check with the TLC here to see if your application is complete, but from the people I have talked to a longer wait is usually because something is missing from your file. If there is something missing they will not contact you to tell you, so you need to read the documentation available online very carefully to make sure you have everything. One of the drivers I talked to told me that so many more people are applying for licenses now, due to Uber and Lyft, that rather than tell you your application is not complete or go through the hassle of denying you the license, they will just shuffle it to the bottom of the pile until the 90 day limit runs out. Less paperwork for them to just say you never completed the application then to reject it. The worst part of that is that a rejection can be contested, but if they can show that the onus is on you, you have to start over from the top and do everything again. If you went to the TLC in NYC and they accepted Part B of your application with all the accompanying documentation, then the only things you should have had left to do were take the drug test and WAV(Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) Course. 

One of the snags that people I've talked to have run into is with the WAV course. I'm pretty new to this, so I could be totally wrong about this - all of my info is from reading through everything I could find on the TLC website and talking to drivers. The drug test should have been at the TLC authorized facility near the office in LIC, and hopefully that means they pass on the results as soon as the lab has them. Likewise, I have no idea what the lead time is on adding that info to your file or if it is put directly into the database. I'm not sure what(if any) kind of notification there is if you did not "study" hard enough for that. As for the WAV course, there are only a few options to take it in the city, and many of them do not have access to the digital TLC database. If you take the WAV course from one of these, you have to wait for them to send in a physical copy of proof of your having taken the course(which I've been told can be a week or more depending on the outfit). Then that physical copy has to be processed by the TLC, which can sometimes be another couple of weeks. Only when that proof of the WAV course is added to your file is your application considered complete. THAT, from what I can tell, is the date on which the approval period begins(which is what is quoted when people talk about the 2-4 week wait). If you have not taken the WAV course, make sure to ask how they get proof of it to the TLC.

Disclaimer again - I am drawing together a lot of information that I am new to to put all of this together, so there is a very good chance I am wrong about much of this, but the TLC phone number is never taking calls and they never respond to email requests for information. If you've been waiting 3 months or more, I strongly advise you go to the TLC to see if you can check on the status of your application in person. It is my understanding TLC applications are only valid for 90 days after the initial visit to the TLC is made. I haven't been able to find anything that says whether that means if the TLC doesn't process it in time that deadline is extended until they do. Of course, they can always claim your application was not complete. So if you have any doubts about the completion of your application, go to the TLC to double check. I will be doing so myself if I have no reply from them by next week. If for some reason something in your file got lost and they mark it as incomplete and never tell you all of the licensing fees, etc. are gone - you'll have to start a new application and do it all again.

Again, I urge you to read through everything on the TLC application very carefully. Even while I was waiting at the TLC(and for the drug test) many of the least informed people there were carrying Uber folders and had been told it would be a breeze, showing up without the appropriate photocopies and proofs of education and identity. I even overheard conversations that made it clear they believed they would be able to use their own DMV licensed vehicles to drive for Uber and/or Lyft as soon as the had the license.

Lastly, a couple of the drivers I have talked to have said that there are two other factors that are not discussed but can lengthen wait times - criminal and driving records. If you have been in a lot of accidents, had a lot of moving violations, or been convicted of crimes that show up on your record: it is not an immediate denial, but it can make the process take longer.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

I was wondering if Alex is in ny since he waited 3 months already . BTW I have taken defense class.. fingerprints. .drug test (the one you pee and give them a sample right?) .wav class . file my application part a and b .. am I ready to do the wait ? this coming 19 will my 1 month since I file my part A application online hope I get some kind of news these few days!!!


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## spaceoperaman (Nov 10, 2015)

As far as I know, that's all you should need. That's what I gave them too.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

spaceoperaman said:


> As far as I know, that's all you should need. That's what I gave them too.


 sounds good man let's just hope we get it these few days ....... my one month mark is coming soon...


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

BTW I was just at the tlc site and I was looking at the requirement for license and now it says that new apps needs to take exam well I apply on Oct 19 and I only found out about it when I was taking my wheel chair class and he also mention it's going to be confirmed on December. so am I safe for now or I have to take the test or else they ain't going to do anything for me


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

tlc office moved few days ago just open today this could delay of app. few blocks away BTW


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

op have u gotten your license yet . it's been one month and 2 days for me now .still nothing


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## 0000alex (Nov 3, 2015)

hey bro, at the end of this month, i exactly wait for my f**k fhv license for 3 month! I still got nothing at all!


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## 0000alex (Nov 3, 2015)

wenzo said:


> op have u gotten your license yet . it's been one month and 2 days for me now .still nothing


I applied mine on aug. 31. until now Im sitll waiting for it.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

0000alex said:


> I applied mine on aug. 31. until now Im sitll waiting for it.


what state u in


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

hey op did u get yours yet


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

hey guys my name is on the tlc website . hope I will get the lisencse in a week. goodluck. 2 days from 2 months wait....


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## ORT (Nov 14, 2015)

You will be rolling in the dough, lol. Another newber schemed my Uber, it never seems to amaze.


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

never said I will be joining uber anymore. just here for the tlc info. thanks for your concern ....


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## FrankMartin (Nov 27, 2015)

Completed all part b stuff for TLC Dec 14, 2015. Don't get fooled by the time-window disclosures. Your Part B application is not complete until you've drug tested AND completed the WAV course and that's when the clock STARTS ticking for the TLC license. Uber is saying there is a 2 to 8 week wait which pushes my expectations out to Valentines day (lovely.) However, I can scrape by driving Uber CT/NJ. maybe some real work in my former profession will crop up by then.


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## FrankMartin (Nov 27, 2015)

wenzo said:


> BTW I was just at the tlc site and I was looking at the requirement for license and now it says that new apps needs to take exam well I apply on Oct 19 and I only found out about it when I was taking my wheel chair class and he also mention it's going to be confirmed on December. so am I safe for now or I have to take the test or else they ain't going to do anything for me


The FHV course was not officially an application requirement at the the time of my appointment, Dec 7. I am told that I will have to take it to renew my TLC (if I ever get it.) If the course is not too expensive, I would actually like to take it as soon as it becomes available, so I am in the know when AND if I ever start driving NYC but probably will have to wait for the renewal if they are giving priority to new applicants.


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## FrankMartin (Nov 27, 2015)

wenzo said:


> hey guys my name is on the tlc website . hope I will get the lisencse in a week. goodluck. 2 days from 2 months wait....


Where they posting this list of names?


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

FrankMartin said:


> Where they posting this list of names?


Google tlc driver list


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## wenzo (Nov 13, 2015)

FrankMartin said:


> The FHV course was not officially an application requirement at the the time of my appointment, Dec 7. I am told that I will have to take it to renew my TLC (if I ever get it.) If the course is not too expensive, I would actually like to take it as soon as it becomes available, so I am in the know when AND if I ever start driving NYC but probably will have to wait for the renewal if they are giving priority to new applicants.


my friend just got his renew they never mentioned the test only the wav class


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