Do I need a licence to run a private taxi or ride-hailing service in Malta?

Yes, operating any form of chauffeur-driven or private hire passenger transport service for payment in Malta requires proper licensing through Transport Malta, which regulates both taxi services and the private chauffeur-driven category commonly associated with ride-hailing platforms, and this generally requires both the vehicle itself to be properly licensed and registered for this specific commercial passenger transport purpose, and the driver to hold the appropriate category of driving licence and any additional certification required for carrying fare-paying passengers, such as a valid Malta taxi or chauffeur service licence and, depending on the specific service category, a Police Conduct Certificate confirming your suitability. If you intend to operate through an established ride-hailing platform rather than entirely independently, that platform would generally also have its own onboarding and compliance requirements for drivers, but this platform-level registration does not replace the underlying legal requirement to hold the proper Transport Malta licensing for both yourself as driver and your vehicle, meaning operating without this proper licensing, even while using a legitimate platform, would still put you in breach of Maltese transport regulations. Given the genuine multiple layers of licensing requirements involved, it would be worth confirming the current specific requirements directly with Transport Malta before committing to purchasing or dedicating a vehicle to this purpose.