ADR is the agreement that sets the rules for carrying dangerous goods by road. In the UK, the qualification drivers talk about is the ADR card: an ADR driver training certificate. You get it by training with a DVSA-approved provider and passing the exams for the goods, and the type of vehicle, you will carry. GOV.UK’s starting point is how to qualify as a dangerous goods driver.
People also call this an ADR licence or an ADR course. It is not a driving-licence category. Category C or C+E stays on the photocard. The ADR card is a separate document, and it lists the classes you are allowed to carry.
Who needs the card
The legal requirement sits with the driver of a vehicle carrying dangerous goods, when the load is not covered by an exemption. Those exemptions exist, including some small quantities, and they depend on the class, the amount and how the goods are packed. The person sending the load should confirm whether the journey needs a qualified driver. A course is the route when it does.
The card has to be with you while you are driving those goods. It shows the classes you passed, such as flammable liquids, gases or corrosives. You can add further classes later by taking the extra modules and exams. There is no minimum time you must have held a full lorry licence before you start.
If you will carry dangerous goods in an HGV as the main part of the job, you also need the lorry entitlement and Driver CPC. ADR does not replace either. How to become an HGV driver is the licence route, and what Driver CPC is is the professional qualification on top of it.
Access to a fuel terminal, where petroleum products are loaded into tankers, can also require a Petroleum Driver Passport. That is a separate pass. It is not a substitute for the ADR card.
What an initial course is built from
A first qualification is a core module, at least one dangerous-goods class, and either packages or tanks. You can take both packages and tanks. GOV.UK publishes a minimum time for each module. A centre can take longer. Including the exams, a course can last up to seven days, depending on the combination. The module list is on GOV.UK’s ADR training course page.
| Module | Minimum time | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Core | 9 hours | The rules, documents, equipment, load security and what the driver is responsible for. |
| Packages | 1 hour 30 minutes | Dangerous goods carried in packages. |
| Tanks | 7 hours 30 minutes | Tanks and tank containers. This is the tanker module. |
| A class, or a group of classes | From 45 minutes | The goods themselves. Individual classes and grouped classes have their own minimum times. |
Packages means drums, boxes, intermediate bulk containers and similar packed goods. Tanks means a tanker or a tank container. The card has to match the vehicle. A packages pass does not cover tanks. Tanks adds another 7 hours 30 minutes of minimum training, which is why a tanker course is longer than a packages course.
Classes, and the two groups
You can take the class modules one by one, or as groups of classes that share characteristics. Group A is classes 2, 3, 6 and 8: gases, flammable liquids, toxic substances and corrosives. Group B is classes 4, 5 and 9: flammable solids, oxidising substances and miscellaneous substances. The card still shows what you are allowed to carry. Ask the employer which classes the work actually needs before you pay for extras.
Explosives (class 1) and radioactive material (class 7) are a different route. Each of those modules has a minimum of 6 hours, taken with the core. Packages or tanks is not part of that route unless you later add other classes. Those specialised courses are not a general ADR course with a different name.
The exams and the card
You sit an exam for the modules you have taken, normally at the end of the course. The exams are in person at the approved centre. GOV.UK says they cannot be taken remotely. Pass, and the card is issued for the classes and the vehicle type you qualified in. You cannot drive the dangerous goods until you have the card.
The training provider has to be approved by DVSA. A provider that is not approved cannot run the course that leads to the card. GOV.UK tells drivers to raise complaints about course standards with Qualifications Scotland.
Initial training and the five-year refresh
The card lasts five years. The expiry date is printed on it. Refresher training and exams keep the classes you already hold. You can start that refresher in the year before the card expires. Pass inside that year, and the new card runs for five years from the old expiry date, not from the day you sat the exam. Sit it earlier than that year, and the five years run from the exam date. The rules are on GOV.UK’s page on staying qualified.
- The refresher exam has to be at least two weeks before the current card expires. Inside those two weeks, or after the card has expired, you take the initial course again.
- If you fail a refresher module, you can resit that exam within 16 weeks without repeating the refresher training for that module.
- The refresher has to cover the classes already on the card. It is not a chance to drop a class and keep the card as it was.
Driver CPC hours
Up to 14 hours of dangerous-goods refresher training can count towards the 35 hours of periodic Driver CPC. It is not added automatically. You email DVSA with your name, driving licence number, date of birth, address, the date you finished the training, and proof that you finished it. Initial ADR training is a different course. Do not assume those hours will appear on your Driver CPC record.
Classroom, video call and the exam
An approved provider can be allowed to teach part of the course by video call. The exam is still taken in person. Practical exercises are part of the syllabus. Ask where those exercises happen before you book something advertised as online. A remote login is not the exam, and it is not the card.
Choosing a provider
Search ADR training for centres that list it, then confirm the course in writing. LearnHGV does not take the booking. The price is the provider’s. There is no national course fee. A quote should name the modules, not just “ADR”.
- Is this an initial course or a refresher, and which classes, packages and tanks are included?
- Are you a DVSA-approved ADR provider, and is the exam in the price and taken at your centre?
- If any of the teaching is by video call, where are the practical exercises and the exam?
- What does a failed module cost to resit, and what happens if my card is inside two weeks of expiry?
- Will you give me the proof DVSA asks for if I want refresher hours counted towards Driver CPC?
Also ask who will actually teach you if the business taking payment is not the training centre. How to spot an HGV training broker is that checklist, and what the listing labels mean explains what LearnHGV has and has not checked. A verified listing is not DVSA approval to run ADR.
FAQs
What is an ADR course?
It is approved training and exams for the ADR card, the certificate you carry when you drive dangerous goods by road. The course is a core module, the classes you need, and packages or tanks, or both. It is not a category on your driving licence.
How long does an ADR certificate last?
Five years. Refresher training and exams keep it. The refresher exam has to be at least two weeks before the card expires. After expiry, or inside those two weeks, you take the initial course again. Pass the refresher in the final year and the new card runs for five years from the old expiry date.