Guides & questions · 2026-09-19 · 9-minute read
Hiring a private driver is easy; hiring the right one takes a few questions. The chauffeured market has a licensed, insured, trained core and a fringe of operators who own a nice car, have built a website and hope you will not ask about the rest. The questions below are the ones dispatchers, travel managers and experienced travellers ask, with the answers a good operator gives. Ours are on the about page and the FAQ, and the general standard is described in what is a chauffeur.
Before hiring a private driver, ask: who is the licensed operator and what is the licence number; is the vehicle commercially insured to carry passengers for hire; what exact vehicle will come and how old is it; is the fare fixed and what does it include; when is the chauffeur assigned; what is the waiting allowance and the cancellation policy; who answers the phone at 3 am; and whether child seats, accessibility and languages are available. A licensed operator answers all of these without hesitation. The chauffeur services compared article explains how the answers differ between networks, local firms and apps.
Licensing and insurance
1. Who is the licensed operator, and what is the licence number? Every jurisdiction that regulates chauffeured transport issues an operator licence: a base licence in New York, a private-hire operator's licence from TfL in London, an NCC licence in Italy, a VTC registration in France and Spain, a limousine carrier certificate in Georgia or Texas, a transport-authority permit in the Gulf. A licensed operator gives the number without being asked twice. The black car service explainer sets out the regimes.
2. Is the chauffeur licensed to carry passengers for hire? A chauffeur's, private-hire or professional driver's licence with a background check, distinct from an ordinary driving licence.
3. Is the vehicle commercially insured for passengers for hire, and at what level? Personal car insurance excludes hire work. Commercial passenger liability at the jurisdiction's minimum - US$1.5 million per vehicle in the United States for most vehicles under the federal rules, higher for larger ones - is the answer. An operator who cannot say is not insured.
4. Is the vehicle registered and permitted for airport pickups? Airports issue their own permits; a vehicle without one cannot legally meet you at the kerb, and the chauffeur will ask you to walk to a car park to avoid the airport's officers.
The vehicle
5. What exact vehicle will come? Class, model and maximum age. "Luxury sedan" should produce a named model - E-Class, S-Class, 7 Series - not a promise. The fleet page shows what a specified fleet looks like; the limo prices by vehicle article explains the classes.
6. What happens if that vehicle is unavailable? The answer should be "we substitute upward, never downward, at the same fare."
7. How many passengers and bags does it take, honestly? A sedan takes two with luggage, not four. An operator who says a sedan takes four with four cases is selling a cramped ride.
The fare
8. Is the fare fixed, and what does it include? For a transfer: tolls, airport fees, the meet-and-greet, the waiting allowance, taxes and, where customary, gratuity. For hourly hire: the rate, the minimum, and what happens at the end of the block. The chauffeur cost guide has a checklist and the bands.
9. What is excluded? Waiting beyond the allowance, additional stops, parking at venues, overtime. Anything else - a fuel surcharge, a booking fee, a processing fee - is a red flag.
10. What is the waiting allowance at the airport, and when does it start? Sixty minutes after actual touchdown on international arrivals is the standard; forty-five on domestic. "From the scheduled time" is the wrong answer, because a delayed flight would then be charged.
11. What is the cancellation policy? Free cancellation up to a stated time before pickup - twenty-four hours for transfers, forty-eight for day and multi-day bookings - is normal. No refunds under any circumstances is not.
The chauffeur and the assignment
12. When is the chauffeur assigned to my booking? The night before, by a person, with the flight in front of them, is the answer from an operator; at request time, by an algorithm, is the answer from an app. The difference is the whole of chauffeur services compared.
13. Will I receive the chauffeur's name, photo and vehicle before the pickup? On the morning of travel, by text. Yes is the only acceptable answer.
14. Do you track the flight? And what happens if it is early, late or diverted. The answer is described in how airport transfers work: the chauffeur's departure moves with the aircraft and the fare does not.
15. Can I request the same chauffeur again? A good operator keeps traveller profiles and honours the request where the schedule allows.
The passenger's needs
16. Do you provide child seats, and are they included? Yes and yes, at a licensed operator. Infant, toddler and booster seats fitted before the vehicle leaves base.
17. Do you have wheelchair-accessible vehicles? With a lift or ramp, bookable in advance, in most major cities.
18. Which languages do your chauffeurs speak? English plus the local language as a minimum; a request for a specific language can be noted on the booking.
19. Can you handle a group arriving on several flights, or a multi-vehicle event? One booking, one dispatcher, several vehicles, is the answer; the event transportation page describes it.
20. Who answers the phone at 3 am, and is it a person? Call the number at an odd hour before you book. A dispatcher who can see the reservation is the answer; a voicemail or a chatbot is not.
The red flags
- A quote well below the bottom of the band in how much does a limo cost; something has been left out.
- No licence number, or a reluctance to give one.
- "Fully insured" without a figure.
- A request to pay cash to the driver, or a deposit by bank transfer to a personal account.
- A meeting point described as "outside, I will call you" rather than a named spot in the hall.
- A vehicle described by class only, with no model.
- No cancellation terms in writing.
- Reviews that mention a different vehicle arriving, or a driver who was "a friend."
The green flags
- A written confirmation with the fare, the inclusions, the meeting point, the waiting allowance and the cancellation terms.
- The chauffeur's details by text on the morning.
- Membership of an industry body - the Limousine Association International or the national equivalent - which is checkable.
- A corporate account facility, which means other companies' travel desks have already asked these questions; the corporate account page describes ours.
- A person on the phone.
Hiring for a day, a week or a tour
The same questions apply to a private driver for a day or a multi-day tour, with three additions: what counts as a day and what overtime costs (the private driver for a day article covers it), whether the chauffeur's accommodation and meals on a tour are inside the quote, and whether a licensed guide can be added where the law separates the two roles. The private chauffeur service page sets out our terms for each.
Hiring abroad
In an unfamiliar country the questions are the same and the answers are harder to check, which is the argument for a network that has asked them already. The global chauffeur service page explains how one standard is applied across 107 countries, and the destinations page lists the cities where the questions above have been answered for you. Wherever you hire, the booker shows the fixed fare and the confirmation carries the answers in writing.
Where the answers are published
Regulators publish more than most travellers realise. In the United States, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration maintains a searchable register of passenger carriers with their operating authority and insurance on file, and the insurance minimums it sets - US$1.5 million for vehicles seating up to fifteen, US$5 million above - are the figures a licensed operator quotes. Transport for London publishes its licensed private-hire operators. The Italian, French and Spanish authorities publish the NCC and VTC registers by city. The US Department of Transportation sets the federal baseline. An operator's answer to question one can therefore be checked in a few minutes, and a good operator will point you to the register.
The questions a chauffeur wishes you would answer
The questions run both ways. A chauffeur assigned to a booking wants to know: the real number of passengers and bags, the exact address with the building or plot number, the flight number rather than the airline, whether a child seat is needed and for what age, any mobility needs, the passenger's language, and whether the passenger would prefer silence or conversation. Every one of these has a field in the booker or a line in the notes, and every one of them makes the ride better. The single most common cause of a poor transfer is a booking that said "two passengers" for a family of four with a stroller.
The trial booking
For a traveller who will use a chauffeur service often - a corporate travel desk setting up a programme, a family planning a long stay, an executive choosing a regular operator - the sensible test is a single airport transfer before committing to more. It answers the questions above in practice: the confirmation arrives, the chauffeur's details arrive, the name board is in the hall, the vehicle is what was booked, the receipt is clean. An operator that passes the trial can be given the programme; the corporate account page explains what the programme includes, and the executive car service page the product behind it.
After you have hired
The questions do not end at booking. A good operator will send a written confirmation within minutes, the chauffeur's details on the morning of travel, and a receipt within the hour after the ride; if any of those does not arrive, call. After the ride, the operator should ask for feedback, and a serious one reads it; a chauffeur who was late, a vehicle that was not as specified, a route that seemed long are all things dispatch wants to know and will act on. For a corporate programme, a quarterly review of the account - on-time performance, complaints, spend by cost centre - is normal, and the corporate account desk provides it. The FAQ covers the terms in detail, and the how much does a limo cost article the bands against which the invoice should be read.
The one-line version
Ask who the licensed operator is, when the chauffeur is assigned, and whether the fare is fixed. An operator who answers all three clearly will answer the other seventeen the same way.
Hiring for special needs
Three situations deserve their own questions. For a passenger with a disability, ask whether the vehicle has a lift or a ramp, whether the chauffeur is trained to secure a wheelchair, and whether the operator has done the route before; the answers should be specific. For a child travelling alone or with a nanny, ask whether the operator has a policy for unaccompanied minors, which the licensed ones do, and give the chauffeur a contact at each end. For a passenger with a security concern - a public figure, an executive in a sensitive industry, a family that has had a problem - ask whether the operator's chauffeurs have security-awareness training and whether a close-protection driver can be assigned; the luxury chauffeur service page describes the tier that handles it, and the private jet and FBO transfers page the ramp-side pickups that many such passengers prefer. In every case the operator's willingness to discuss the need is itself part of the answer.
