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 based on TfL's Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Handbook, which TfL publishes free on its website (download the handbook PDF).

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 and to drivers renewing, unless you have already passed on the current version of the handbook. 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. London taxi drivers sit a separate taxi driver SERU, required since 1 October 2025. 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 handbook, so give them plenty of revision time. 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

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.
• Completing sentences — TfL says you complete sentences by adding missing words.

TfL does not publish the number of questions, the time allowed or the pass mark on its SERU page. It says further information on what to expect is given to you once your booking is confirmed, and its free online assessment guide includes screenshots of the assessment day. Be wary of any site that states these details as fact.

In TPH Notice 01/24 TfL said it intended to trial an open-book SERU, with a copy of the handbook available. Its current SERU page does not confirm this, so check the arrangements when you book — and prepare as if you need to know the material well.

How much SERU costs and how to book it

TfL charges £40 for the SERU assessment and £30 for a re-sit — the same as its topographical and speaking and listening 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 re-sit fee. There is, however, a limit: under TfL's Taxi and Private Hire Driver Policy, new applicants have three attempts before they have to begin a fresh application. Policy can be revised, 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; TfL's topographical assessment is a computer-based test of route planning on an on-screen map of London. Our topographical practice covers general map-reading skills; it is not a copy of TfL's route-plotting format.

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. SERU is based on TfL's Private Hire Vehicle Driver's Handbook. Read it once for coverage, then again with a highlighter, and work through TfL's free online assessment guide and its knowledge checks.
2. Complete the Safeguarding Awareness course. It is free, TfL expects it, and the content is examinable.
3. Practise recalling the exact wording. Recognising a right answer is easier than producing one from memory, so test yourself on key terms and figures from the handbook. Our SERU practice test includes some fill-the-blank style questions, answered by choosing from options.
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. Keep practising until you are scoring consistently well. Aim for a comfortable margin rather than a scrape — TfL does not publish the pass mark on its SERU page.

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