Passenger Transport (more than 9 seats)

A Carriage of Passengers Operator’s Licence is required for the operation of passenger transport vehicles for hire or reward (carriage of passengers against payment or compensation by the person transported or by the transport organizer, whether such payment is made directly or indirectly).

Applicants for an operator’s licence must:

Be of good repute and conduct;
Have appropriate financial standing;
Satisfy the condition as to professional competence;
Have an operating centre in Malta.

There is no limit on the number of passenger transport vehicles that can be registered under a carriage of passengers operator’s licence, as long as the operator has the appropriate financial standing. An operator can apply for a national operator’s licence or a community operator’s licence. The Community operator’s licence can be used in other Member States, whilst the National one is only valid in Malta.

A carriage of passengers operator licence is issued in the name of a natural person authorized by the undertaking. An undertaking means a natural person, any legal person whether profit making or not, any association or group of persons without legal personality whether profit-making or not, or any official body whether having its own legal personality or being dependent upon an authority having such personality.

Application Process

The following forms are required to be submitted to Transport Malta:

Application form CPOL-A1
Declaration form CPOL-Z1 (for partnerships or individuals)
Declaration form CPOL-Z2 (for companies)
Declaration form CPOL-A2 (for good repute & good conduct for carriage of passengers operator licence)

For further information please click on these guidelines

Transport Malta will consider complete applications, and if an application is refused, it will inform the applicant in writing with the reasons for refusal. The operator will then have ten days to submit his/her representations where Transport Malta will then give its final decision and will inform the applicant accordingly. If the final decision will be in the negative, the operator has the right to appeal to the Tribunal within a period of 30 days from its notification.

When the Authority grants an operator’s licence, the following documents will be forwarded to the operator:

An operator’s licence
A certified copy of the operator’s licence (for every vehicle)
Passenger transport vehicle licence (for every vehicle and should be affixed to the left side of the windscreen)
Driver’s certificate
Sticker indicating information about the vehicle

The driver operating the service shall need to be in possession of a Driver Permit Tag.