In order to drive a car and other kinds of motor vehicles, you of course need a driver’s licence. There are however a vast number of different categories for driving licences, and they don’t just cover different types of cars either. There are also categories for other sorts of vehicles designed for specific purposes, which can come in many different shapes and sizes.
Here we explain the different categories which driving licences can cover, so you can be sure your licence covers the type of vehicle you want to drive. If you want to confirm whether your driving licence allows you to drive a particular type of vehicle you want to use, you can verify this on the gov.uk website.
Car licence categories
Category B
For people who have learned to drive a car, category B is no doubt the most relevant out of all the categories that exist for driving licences. Anyone who is currently learning to drive a car is working towards the goal of earning a category B driver’s licence.
Current UK law states that people with a category B licence can drive vehicles that weigh up to 3,500kg when used on the road and carry up to 8 passenger seats (with a trailer up to 750kg).
Category B1
You may not have noticed this before, but if you’re a qualified car driver then there’s a good chance that you’ll also have category B1 included on your licence. This means you can drive any motor vehicle with four wheels that weighs up to 400kg unladen or 550kg if they’re designed for carrying goods.
Having this particular category on your driver’s licence allows you to legally drive vehicles like quadricycles, compact three-wheeler cars, microcars and road-legal quad bikes.
Category B auto
A driving licence which specifically states ‘Category B auto’ allows the holder to drive cars, but only ones with an automatic gearbox.
Non-car licence categories
Category A1, A2 and A
These are the category types which cover those qualified to drive a motorbike or motor tricycle. The different variations of category A cover different limits for engine size, power output and power to weight ratio. The lightest and least powerful bikes are reserved for category A1 and quicker bikes fall under A2 or Category A.
On a related note, driving licences that cover categories AM, P and Q allow you to drive mopeds, light quad bikes and other two or three-wheeled vehicles with low power.
Category C1
A licence that covers category C1 is what you need if you want to drive a vehicle designed for transporting a large number of items, like a Large Goods Vehicle (MGV). The C1 specifically covers vehicles that weigh between 3,500kg and 7,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg).
If your licence covers category C1+E then you can drive a C1 vehicle with a trailer weighing over 750kg, but the trailer can’t weight more than the vehicle itself. Also, the combined weight can’t exceed 12,000kg.
Category C
Category C is the licence category which drivers of the largest goods vehicles require. This category covers big lorries and other similar-sized vehicles that weigh over 3,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg).
Category D1
People who can drive minibuses will have a licence that includes category D1. This category allows someone to drive a vehicle that measures up to 8 metres in length, has up to 16 passenger seats and has a trailer up to 750kg.
To drive a minibus and tow more than 750kg, a Category D1+E licence is needed.
Category D
Used by bus drivers, a category D licence holder can drive any bus with more than 8 passenger seats, with a trailer weighing up to 750kg. A category D+E licence is required if a bus driver wants to tow more than 750kg.
Category F, G, H and K
There other driving licence categories that exist which cover specific specialist vehicles for road use.
For instance, category F covers agricultural tractors. Categories G, H and K are required for driving either road rollers, tracked vehicles or manned/pedestrian-controlled mowing machines respectively.