The SERU test: TfL's SERU assessment explained

What is the SERU test?

SERU is short for Safety, Equality and Regulatory Understanding. It is a written, computer-based assessment sat at a Transport for London driver assessment centre, and it is one of the mandatory assessments you must pass before TfL will grant you a London private hire vehicle (PHV) driver licence — the licence most people still call a “PCO licence”.

SERU is not a driving test and it is not a map-reading test. It checks that you understand the rules, duties and safety standards that apply to you once you are carrying paying passengers in London. Every question is drawn from TfL's Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Handbook, which TfL publishes free on its website.

SERU does a second job as well. TfL uses it to assess your ability to read and write English to an appropriate standard — broadly equivalent to level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference. A separate speaking and listening assessment covers the other half of the English language requirement. You must pass both.

Who needs to take the SERU assessment?

SERU applies to new applicants for a TfL private hire driver's licence. TfL's own application guidance lists a topographical skills assessment, a speaking and listening assessment and the SERU assessment as the mandatory assessments an applicant must pass before they can be considered for licensing.

SERU is London-only. If you are applying to a council outside London you will not sit SERU — though your council will usually set its own knowledge or topographical test. Check the exact rules for your area on our council licensing pages.

Exemptions and transitional arrangements do exist, and TfL has changed its approach to SERU and the English language requirement more than once. If you already hold or recently held a licence, or you think an exemption might apply to you, confirm your personal position with TfL before paying any assessment fees.

SERU topics: what the assessment covers

The handbook is the syllabus. Broadly, SERU questions fall into these areas:

Equality and safeguarding run right through the paper, and they are where unprepared candidates most often lose marks. TfL also expects applicants to complete its free online Safeguarding Awareness course before sitting SERU — do it, because the material it covers comes up in the assessment.

SERU format and pass mark

The assessment is taken on a computer, so you need to be comfortable using a mouse and keyboard. There are two question styles:

• Multiple choice — pick the correct answer from several options.
• Fill the blank — complete a sentence by typing the missing word or words. You cannot guess your way through these, which is what makes SERU harder than it looks.

The paper contains around 36 questions and the SERU pass mark is 60% — roughly 23 correct answers. You normally have somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. TfL has also moved SERU to an open-book format, providing a copy of the Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Handbook at the centre. Do not read too much into that: there is nowhere near enough time to look up 36 answers, so the handbook is a safety net, not a substitute for revision.

TfL can and does change the question count, timing and format. Treat the figures above as a guide and check TfL's current SERU guidance before your assessment date.

How much SERU costs and how to book it

TfL charges £36 for the SERU assessment, with re-sits charged at a lower rate (£16 at the time of writing, matching TfL's other driver assessments). That sits alongside the other costs of a London PHV application — the licence application fee, the grant fee, an enhanced DBS check, a DVLA Group 2 medical, the topographical assessment and the speaking and listening assessment. Our London PHV licence guide breaks the full bill down, and the licensing cost calculator gives you a running total.

You book SERU through TfL's taxi and private hire online portal once your driver licence application is under way, and you sit it in person at a TfL driver assessment centre in London. TfL offers reasonable adjustments for disabilities and conditions — ask its driver assessments team well before your booking date rather than on the day.

SERU retakes: what happens if you fail

Failing is not the end of your application. You re-book and sit it again for the reduced re-sit fee. There is, however, a limit: new applicants are generally allowed a small number of attempts — commonly three — before they have to begin a fresh application, while drivers who are already licensed are usually treated more flexibly. Attempt limits sit in TfL policy and have been revised before, so check the current rules rather than relying on what a friend was told a year ago.

The practical lesson is the same either way: the cheapest SERU is the one you pass first time.

Does SERU replace the topographical test?

No. This is the single most common misunderstanding about London PHV licensing. SERU and the topographical skills assessment are separate requirements, and TfL still lists both among the mandatory assessments for new private hire driver applicants. They simply test different things — SERU tests rules, safety and equality; the topographical assessment tests map reading and route planning.

Some applicants are exempt from the topographical assessment, including previously licensed PHV drivers who have already passed a TfL topographical test, licensed London taxi drivers, and professional London tourist guides. The exemption that used to apply to holders of a relevant vocational qualification was withdrawn in February 2020. There is no equivalent general exemption from SERU for new applicants.

SERU practice test: how to prepare and pass

1. Read the handbook end to end. Every question comes from TfL's Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Handbook. Read it once for coverage, then again with a highlighter.
2. Complete the Safeguarding Awareness course. It is free, TfL expects it, and the content is examinable.
3. Practise the fill-the-blank format specifically. Recognising a right answer is easy; producing one from memory is not. This is where most re-sits come from. Our SERU practice test mirrors both question styles.
4. Drill equality and safeguarding until they are automatic. Assistance dogs, wheelchair users, protected characteristics, reporting concerns — know your duties cold.
5. Learn the legislation by name. Tying a rule to the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 or the Equality Act 2010 makes the regulatory questions stick.
6. Mock until you are comfortably clear of 60%. Book when you are scoring in the 80s, not when you scrape a pass.

For a longer walk-through of the exam-day experience, read our guide to the SERU test explained.