0.1 TDVL Exam Overview & How to Use This Guide
Key Takeaways
The Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL) is issued by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) to Singapore Citizens aged 30 or older who hold a Class 3/3A driving licence for more than 1 year.
The direct TDVL pathway runs from a S$40 GoBusiness application through Approval to Attend Course (ATC), medical/chest X-ray clearance, TDVL training, and a 3-paper assessment (Paper A, B, C) to a Digital LTA Vocational Licence.
LTA has not published official topic weights for the TDVL assessment; the domain percentages used in this guide are OpenExamPrep practice-emphasis estimates, not official LTA figures.
Applicants must pass all 3 TDVL papers, but the official LTA, Republic Polytechnic and ComfortDelGro pages reviewed do not publish a numeric pass mark or a per-paper question count.
This guide's seven core chapters each correspond to one of the seven practice-emphasis domains, moving from eligibility through routes and location knowledge.
0.1 TDVL Exam Overview & How to Use This Guide
Quick answer: The Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL) is the vocational licence that Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) requires before a driver may provide taxi chauffeured services. Direct applicants must be Singapore Citizens aged 30 or older with a Class 3/3A driving licence held for more than 1 year. The path runs from a S$40 GoBusiness application through medical clearance, mandatory training, and a 3-paper assessment (Paper A, Paper B, Paper C) to a Digital LTA Vocational Licence. LTA has not published an official topic weighting, numeric pass mark, or per-paper question count for the assessment — this guide is explicit about that throughout.
What Is the TDVL?
The TDVL is a vocational licence — a licence layered on top of an ordinary driving licence that authorises a driver to carry fare-paying passengers professionally. LTA administers the entire vocational licensing framework for Singapore's taxi and private hire car (PHC) industry, and it explicitly states that TDVL holders may provide chauffeured services using either a taxi or a private hire car. That dual authority is the single most important fact about the TDVL, and Section 0.2 of this chapter unpacks it in depth against the narrower Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licence (PDVL).
Applications are not submitted to a taxi company or a training provider — they go through GoBusiness, LTA's digital licensing gateway for businesses and vocational applicants. Training and assessment, by contrast, are delivered by LTA-appointed providers: companies such as ComfortDelGro Taxi and NTUC LearningHub run the classroom training, while Republic Polytechnic is one of the LTA-appointed providers that conducts the assessment papers.
Who Must Take the TDVL
A direct TDVL applicant must, at minimum:
- Be a Singapore Citizen
- Be at least 30 years old at the point of application
- Hold a valid Class 3 or 3A Singapore driving licence for more than 1 year
- Demonstrate basic English proficiency (GCE O/N Level English grade D7 or better, or WPLN Level 3 in listening, reading and speaking)
- Be up to date on CPF MediSave contributions, if self-employed
- Meet LTA's clean-record requirements (LTA states that serious offences such as rape, murder or kidnapping will not be considered)
- Pass a medical assessment and chest X-ray, submitted digitally through the Harmonised Medical Examination Report (HMER)
Anyone who wants to drive a taxi professionally in Singapore — not just a private hire car — needs this specific licence; simply holding a Class 3/3A licence and access to a car is not enough.
The Path From Application to Licence
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Apply | Submit a TDVL application through GoBusiness; pay the S$40 non-refundable application fee |
| 2. Get approved to proceed | Receive an Approval to Attend Course (ATC) letter, typically issued within 15 working days |
| 3. Clear medically | Complete the medical assessment and chest X-ray, submitted via the digital HMER |
| 4. Train | Complete TDVL training with an LTA-appointed provider (16 classroom hours for the direct pathway) |
| 5. Assess | Sit the 3-paper assessment — Paper A, Paper B and Paper C — at an LTA-appointed test provider such as Republic Polytechnic; each paper costs S$15 plus prevailing GST (Goods and Services Tax) |
| 6. Get licensed | Receive a temporary TDVL the same day all three papers are passed; the Digital LTA Vocational Licence is issued on the Singpass app within 20 working days |
Applicants must pass all three papers — Paper A, Paper B and Paper C — to receive the TDVL. There is no partial credit for passing two out of three.
How This Guide Maps to the Official Domains
LTA's own pages describe what is tested (eligibility, taxi rules, conduct, fares, safety, routes) but do not publish an official percentage weighting for each topic area. To make study time easier to plan, OpenExamPrep organised this guide around seven practice-emphasis estimates, built from the topics that LTA, Republic Polytechnic and ComfortDelGro materials cover most heavily:
| Guide Chapter | Domain | OpenExamPrep Practice Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Eligibility, Application & Licence Validity | 13% |
| Chapter 2 | TDVL Assessment & Training | 10% |
| Chapter 3 | Taxi & P2P Regulations | 18% |
| Chapter 4 | Fares, Meters, Receipts & Payments | 15% |
| Chapter 5 | Driver Conduct & VLPS | 20% |
| Chapter 6 | Safety, Service & Passenger Care | 15% |
| Chapter 7 | Routes & Location Knowledge | 9% |
Important: these seven percentages are OpenExamPrep's own practice-emphasis estimates, not official LTA topic weights. Treat them as a study-time guide, not a guaranteed scoring breakdown.
How to Use This Guide
- Read the chapters in order. Chapter 1's eligibility and licensing concepts and this introduction's TDVL/PDVL distinction underpin the taxi-and-P2P rules in Chapter 3, the fare mechanics in Chapter 4, and the conduct rules in Chapter 5.
- Use the quizzes as checkpoints, not busywork. Each section ends with original practice questions; if you miss one, re-read the paragraph it is tied to before moving on.
- Don't chase a pass-mark number that doesn't exist. The official LTA, Republic Polytechnic and ComfortDelGro pages reviewed for this guide state that applicants must pass all three papers, but none publishes a numeric pass mark or the number of questions per paper. Study for mastery of the rules, not a guessed cutoff score.
- Treat this as a companion to, not a replacement for, mandatory training. The TDVL course delivered by your LTA-appointed provider is a legal requirement; this guide reinforces and organises that material for review and self-testing.
Which government agency administers Singapore's Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence (TDVL)?
Land Transport Authority (LTA)
Traffic Police
Ministry of Transport
Singapore Taxi Academy
A 29-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident has held a Class 3 licence for 2 years and wants to apply directly for a TDVL. What is the correct eligibility outcome?
Eligible, because the licence has been held for more than 1 year
Not yet eligible, because a direct TDVL applicant must be a Singapore Citizen and at least 30 years old
Eligible, because permanent residents may apply once they reach 25
Eligible only if a taxi company agrees to sponsor the application
What is the primary purpose of the Approval to Attend Course (ATC) letter in the TDVL application process?
It is the final digital licence issued after passing all three papers
It replaces the need to pass any assessment papers
It confirms the applicant may proceed to medical clearance and register for TDVL training
It is only issued to applicants converting from a PDVL
Which statement accurately describes how this study guide's practice-emphasis percentages were determined?
LTA publishes official numeric weights for each domain, and this guide reproduces them exactly
The percentages are based only on the number of official resource links per topic
This guide's chapters are ordered alphabetically rather than by topic domain
LTA has not published official topic weights; the percentages are OpenExamPrep practice-emphasis estimates based on how heavily each topic appears across official and provider materials
Arrange the following steps of the direct TDVL pathway in the correct order, from submitting the application to receiving the digital licence.
Arrange the items in the correct order
Complete TDVL training with an LTA-appointed provider
Receive Approval to Attend Course (ATC) and complete the medical assessment and chest X-ray
Pass Paper A, Paper B and Paper C at an LTA-appointed test provider
Submit a TDVL application through GoBusiness and pay the S$40 non-refundable application fee
Receive the Digital LTA Vocational Licence via the Singpass app
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.