TfL-compliant replacement vehicles after a PCO accident — the 2026 guide

**Bottom line:** for a non-fault accident, you can claim a **TfL-licensed replacement vehicle** for every day your PCO car is off the road — at £0 cost to you. The replacement must satisfy three TfL requirements (private hire licence, insurance, plate) or you can't take Uber/Bolt/FreeNow/Ola jobs in it. Generic insurance replacement cars almost never meet these requirements. This is why specialist accident management firms exist.

This guide covers exactly what "TfL-compliant" means, what you're entitled to claim, and the common mistakes that leave PCO drivers stuck with a non-licensed loaner they can't use.

What "TfL-compliant" actually means

For a replacement vehicle to be legal for Uber/Bolt/FreeNow/Ola work in London, it must satisfy **all three** of these simultaneously:

1. **Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) licence** — issued by TfL. Visible on the windscreen and rear bumper as a circular plate / disc. 2. **PHV insurance** — the vehicle's motor insurance policy must specifically cover **hire and reward** / private hire use. A standard "social, domestic & pleasure + commuting" policy is **not** valid for PCO work, even for one trip. 3. **Vehicle category match** — TfL has approved vehicle types for private hire. Most PCO-eligible cars (Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, Tesla Model 3, Mercedes E-Class, etc.) are pre-approved. Others may not be.

Plus, since October 2017 in central London and August 2023 across all of Greater London, the vehicle must be **ULEZ-compliant** (Euro 6 diesel, Euro 4 petrol, hybrid, or electric) or the daily £12.50 ULEZ charge applies — which would wipe out a working day's earnings.

A "courtesy car" provided by your own insurer is almost never any of the above. It's a generic non-PHV vehicle, often a small petrol hatchback, with standard insurance. **Driving for Uber in it would void the insurance, get the plate suspended by TfL, and be a criminal offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988.**

Why specialist firms exist

Accident management firms maintain fleets of **purpose-built PHV-licensed vehicles** specifically for this market. We hire them to PCO drivers under credit-hire agreements, and recover the cost from the at-fault insurer at the end of the claim.

The legal basis is **mitigation of loss**: the courts have accepted (since *Dimond v Lovell* [2002]) that a claimant is entitled to a like-for-like replacement that allows them to continue their occupation. For a PCO driver, "like-for-like" means TfL-licensed. Anything else doesn't restore the claimant's earning capacity.

So when you take a TfL-compliant credit-hire vehicle, you don't pay — the at-fault driver's insurer does. You keep working, keep earning, and the firm absorbs the cost while the claim is settled.

What you can claim for the replacement

Under a non-fault credit-hire arrangement, every day your own PCO vehicle is off the road, the following are recoverable from the at-fault insurer:

• **Daily hire rate** — typically £80–£130/day for a Prius or Ioniq, £150–£200/day for a Tesla or executive-class. The rate is set by the credit-hire firm and accepted by the courts within the **GTA (General Terms of Agreement) rates** for standard claims. - **Insurance** — fully comprehensive cover bundled into the hire rate. - **Roadside assistance** — bundled. - **TfL licensing** — already in place on the vehicle, no extra cost. - **Same-day delivery in London** — usually included free.

The replacement is yours from the day of the accident until your own vehicle is either repaired and returned to you, or — for a write-off — until you've had a reasonable period (typically 14–28 days) to source a replacement.

£0 cost — but only on non-fault claims

The "£0 cost to the driver" framing only applies when **the other driver is fully or substantially at fault**, because that's the only scenario where credit hire is recoverable from the third party's insurer.

• **Non-fault** — at-fault driver's insurer pays the full hire bill. You pay nothing. - **Split liability** (say 50/50) — the at-fault driver's insurer pays their share, the rest may need to come from your own policy or be absorbed. - **Fully at fault** — you'd typically only get a replacement vehicle if your own policy includes courtesy car cover, and even then it usually isn't TfL-compliant. - **Uninsured / hit-and-run** — credit hire is still recoverable, but via the **Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB)** rather than directly. Process is slower (4–6 months) but the replacement vehicle is still delivered day-one.

If liability is contested or partial, your accident management firm should be upfront about who's paying what before you accept the replacement vehicle. We are.

How long can you keep it for?

The legal principle is **reasonable need**. For most PCO repairs:

• **Bumper / panel damage** — typical repair window 10–21 days. Hire runs for that window. - **More serious damage** (rear-end with chassis impact, side-impact with structural damage) — 4–8 weeks. - **Write-off** — 14–28 days from PAV settlement to source a replacement vehicle. Most insurers will challenge anything longer.

If the at-fault insurer drags their feet (delaying liability admission or repair authorisation), the hire runs for **the entire delay period** — and that cost is recoverable from them too. Their delay, their problem.

The longest credit-hire claims we've handled have run **3–4 months** for complex liability disputes. The driver kept working the whole time.

Common mistakes that leave PCO drivers stranded

1. **Going through your own insurer first.** They'll offer you a "courtesy car" — generic hatchback, no PHV plate, no hire-and-reward insurance. You can't use it for Uber. You sit at home not earning while the claim runs. 2. **Accepting the third-party insurer's direct offer.** They sometimes try to bypass credit-hire firms by offering you a cheap rental directly. It will not be TfL-compliant. Refuse politely and say "my claims handler is dealing with it." 3. **Not confirming TfL-compliance before driving.** Always check the windscreen for the PHV disc and ask for proof of hire-and-reward insurance before signing. If anything is missing, do not drive. 4. **Returning the replacement too early.** Even if your own vehicle is back from repair, if there are outstanding issues (e.g. paint not fully cured, refit pending), keep the credit hire vehicle and document why. Returning early can be used by the insurer to argue you didn't need it. 5. **Driving outside the agreed area.** Most credit-hire contracts cover UK mainland. Heading to Glasgow for a wedding in your hire car is usually fine; taking it to France isn't.

What to do if you've just had an accident

If you're a PCO driver reading this **right now** with a damaged vehicle:

1. Call **0208 090 8872** (24/7) or [submit a claim online](/submit-claim) 2. We assess the accident in under 10 minutes 3. Recovery dispatched within an hour 4. TfL-compliant replacement delivered within 24 hours, often same-day in London 5. You keep working

For non-fault claims, all of this happens at **£0 cost to you**. We bill the at-fault insurer. You bill nobody.

Related reading

• [How long does a PCO accident claim take?](/blog/how-long-does-pco-claim-take) — week-by-week timeline of a typical claim - [Loss of earnings as an Uber driver — the 2026 guide](/blog/loss-of-earnings-uber-driver-2026) — what you can claim for the days you're off the road in addition to the replacement vehicle - [Hit by an uninsured driver — what to do](/blog/uber-driver-hit-by-uninsured-driver) — the MIB process for non-fault claims where the third party is uninsured

Or use our [loss-of-earnings calculator](/loss-of-earnings-calculator) to estimate what you're owed in addition to the replacement vehicle costs.