Buried in the TLC penalty rules is the shortest path from working driver to revoked licence: § 80-02(e)(1).
If a Driver charges or attempts to charge $10 or more above the approved rate of fare or above the rate quoted by the For-Hire Base for a prearranged trip, the Tribunal will revoke the Driver License.
Note what’s missing: a ladder. Ordinary overcharging takes three violations over three years to reach revocation. The $10 version skips all of it. First offense, licence gone, and a one-year bar on holding any TLC licence after.
Two words deserve your attention:
“Attempts.” The passenger doesn’t have to pay it. A disputed total at the end of a prearranged trip, a flat-rate “adjustment” the passenger refuses. If OATH reads it as an attempt to collect $10 over, the mandatory penalty is on the table.
“Quoted.” For FHV drivers the benchmark is not a meter. It is whatever the base quoted. That makes the paper trail (the app screen, the base’s record) the entire case, for you or against you.
If a summons mentions § 80-17 anywhere on it, do not plead by mail to make it go away. Send it to us first. The difference between “fare dispute” and “attempted overcharge” is exactly what a hearing exists to argue.