What are the different licence categories?
There is a vast variety of vehicles out there and, in the UK, there are numerous different licence categories to go along with them. Although many people will never think about driving anything but a car, if you’re looking to branch out then you will need to check what you are licenced to drive.
Your standard photocard licence lists on the reverse all the different licence categories and which ones you are eligible to drive. Here’s a rundown of what these categories are and what they let you drive.
Licence categories
AM: allows you to drive two or three wheeled vehicles and light quad bikes which have a maximum design speed between 15.5 and 28 mph. The quad bike should not exceed 350kg in unladen mass.
P: you can drive two wheeled vehicles which have a maximum design speed between 28 and 31 mph. The engine size, if powered by an internal combustion engine, should not exceed 50cc.
Q: you can drive two wheeled vehicles which have a maximum design speed of under 15.5 mph. The engine size should not exceed 50cc if it is internal combustion powered.
A1: lets you drive light motorbikes which have: an engine size up to 125cc, power output up to 11kW, and a power to weight ratio which is no more than 0.1kW/kg.
A2: an upgrade on the A1 category, this lets you drive light motorbikes with a power output up to 35kW and a power to weight ratio up to 0.2kW/kg.
A: this is the full motorcycle licence category. With it, you can drive motorbikes with a power output over 35kW and a power to weight ratio over 0.2kW/kg. What’s more, you can also drive motor tricycles with a power output over 15kW and any motorbikes which fall into categories A1 or A2.
B1: you can drive four wheeled light motor vehicles and quad bikes which weigh up to 400kg unladen, or 550kg if they’re goods-carrying vehicles.
B: this is the main category for driving standard cars and it allows you to drive vehicles with up to eight passenger seats. According to when you passed your test, this category has different criteria:
- You passed before 1 January 1997: you can drive vehicles with a trailer which have a combined maximum authorised mass (MAM) of up to 8,250kg.
- You passed on or after 1 January 1997: you can drive vehicles with a MAM of up to 3,500kg. You can also tow trailers which are up to 750kg or, so long as the total MAM doesn’t exceed 3,500kg, heavier trailers.
B auto: you can drive category B vehicles so long as they have an automatic transmission.
BE: this category allows you to tow trailers over the usual combined 3,500kg MAM weight allowance. Again, the category criteria differs according to when you passed this test:
- Pre 19 January 2013: you can tow a trailer of any size
- On or after 19 January 2013: you can tow a trailer which alone has a MAM of up to 3,500kg.
C1: you can drive medium sized vehicles which weigh in between 3,500kg and 7,500kg with a trailer up to 750kg.
C1E: a C1 upgrade, you can drive C1 vehicles but with trailers exceeding 750kg; the combined MAM can’t be greater than 12,000kg though.
C: you can drive large vehicles which have a MAM of over 3,500kg, with a trailer up to 750kg.
CE: you can drive C category vehicles but with trailers which exceed 750kg.
D1: this allows you to drive minibuses. This counts as vehicles with up to 16 passenger seats, a maximum length of 8 metres and which can tow a trailer up to 750kg.
D1E: lets you drive category D1 vehicles and tow trailers which are over 750kg; the combined MAM cannot be greater than 12,000kg.
D: this category let’s you drive buses, i.e., any bus with more than 8 passengers and a trailer up to 750kg.
DE: you can drive category D vehicles with a trailer which exceeds 750kg.
F: this category lets you drive any agricultural tractor.
G: allows you to drive road rollers.
H: lets you drive tracked vehicles – those with a continuous track instead of normal wheels – such as a tank.
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