HGV licence categories explained

A UK driving licence shows an entitlement for each kind of vehicle you may drive. For lorries, the categories that matter are C1, C1+E, C and C+E. Category C is still widely called Class 2. Category C+E is still widely called Class 1. Those class names are not what is printed on the photocard.

Category C1 is a rigid lorry from 3,500kg to 7,500kg, with a trailer up to 750kg. Category C is a rigid over 3,500kg with no 7,500kg cap, again with a trailer up to 750kg. Category C+E is a Category C vehicle with a trailer over 750kg, which includes most articulated lorries. Driver CPC is a separate professional qualification. It is not one of these categories.

How to read a lorry category

The weights on GOV.UK are maximum authorised mass (MAM): the heaviest the vehicle, or the vehicle and trailer together, is allowed to be when loaded. It is not the weight of the goods on their own. A trailer up to 750kg is a light trailer. A heavier trailer needs the “+E” version of the category.

You need a full car licence, Category B, before these lorry entitlements. The rules below are the Great Britain categories on GOV.UK. Categories in Northern Ireland are different. Your own photocard, including any restriction codes, is the record of what you can drive.

The four lorry categories

Category C1

Category C1 is the medium lorry: from 3,500kg up to and including 7,500kg MAM, with a trailer up to 750kg. In everyday weights, that is above the usual 3.5 tonne van and up to 7.5 tonnes. A 7.5 tonne delivery lorry with no heavy trailer is the typical C1 vehicle. Some horseboxes and smaller specialist vehicles sit in the same band.

C1 does not cover a rigid over 7,500kg, and it does not cover a trailer over 750kg. If you apply only for provisional C1, that is the provisional entitlement you get. It does not include Category C or C+E.

Category C1+E

Category C1+E lets you drive a C1 lorry with a trailer over 750kg. GOV.UK sets a combined limit: the maximum authorised mass of the lorry and trailer together cannot exceed 12,000kg. A 7.5 tonne lorry towing a trailer that keeps the combination inside that limit is the usual picture. A heavier combination is no longer C1+E.

Category C, still called Class 2

Category C is a lorry over 3,500kg MAM with a trailer up to 750kg. Unlike C1, it is not capped at 7,500kg, so it is the entitlement for the larger rigid: a tipper, skip lorry, refuse wagon, mixer, large box or curtainside rigid, and many rigid recovery vehicles. The licence category does not set a top weight of its own. The vehicle’s plate does.

Job adverts still say Class 2 for this work. Class 2 is the old name, not a separate entitlement. Passing Category C also covers the smaller C1 rigid. You still cannot tow a trailer over 750kg on Category C alone.

Category C+E, still called Class 1

Category C+E is a Category C vehicle with a trailer over 750kg. That is an articulated lorry, where the trailer is a semi-trailer, and it is also a rigid towing a drawbar trailer. A curtainside, fridge, tanker or tipper artic is C+E because of the trailer, not because of the job title. A rigid lorry that is legal on Category C becomes C+E work once the trailer is over 750kg.

Class 1 is the name hauliers and job ads still use for C+E. It is the same entitlement. There is no separate “Class 1 test” printed in those words on a modern photocard.

Old Class 1 and Class 2

Before the lettered categories, vocational licences were issued in classes. Class 2 meant the rigid lorry. Class 1 meant the articulated combination. Those words survived in yards and on job boards. When you compare a Class 2 advert with a Class 1 advert, read them as Category C and Category C+E, then check the vehicle weight and the trailer.

You do not have to pass Category C first

You no longer have to pass a rigid test before you take Category C+E. DVLA’s trailer guidance says that since December 2021 you do not need to sit a test in a rigid lorry before a test in a heavy vehicle with a trailer. GOV.UK also says you do not need to pass a lower category first. You can train in an articulated lorry and take the C+E test from a car licence, once you hold the right provisional entitlement.

If you apply for provisional Category C, you also receive provisional C1, C1+E and C+E. The same set is added if you apply for provisional C1+E. Provisional entitlement lets you learn. It is not a full licence. The current table is on GOV.UK’s provisional HGV licence page.

Passing Category C+E gives you Category C+E. Lower categories are not added in every case: it depends on the entitlements you already hold, and a restriction code can limit what was added. Check the categories printed on your licence before you drive a rigid on its own. Passing Category C on its own does not give you C+E.

The licence is not Driver CPC

An entitlement lets you drive that category of vehicle. Driver CPC is the professional qualification for when driving a lorry is the main part of the job. A new professional driver takes the initial Driver CPC tests. Qualified drivers then complete 35 hours of periodic training every five years. Some driving is exempt. Driver CPC explained sets out the difference, and HGV training costs separates course prices from the fixed test fees.

Matching a vehicle to a category

The job title does not choose the category. The vehicle’s maximum authorised mass and its trailer do.

• A 7.5 tonne delivery lorry with a trailer up to 750kg is Category C1.
• That same lorry with a heavier trailer, if the combination stays within 12,000kg, is Category C1+E.
• A rigid tipper, skip loader, refuse wagon or large box lorry over 7.5 tonnes, with only a light trailer, is Category C.
• An articulated curtainsider, fridge, tanker or tipper is Category C+E.
• A rigid lorry towing a drawbar trailer over 750kg is Category C+E, even though it is not an artic.
• A recovery truck uses whichever of these categories matches its weight and trailer. The word “recovery” is not a licence category.

Car licences passed before 1997

If you passed a car test before 1 January 1997, your licence may already show C1 and C1E (107). DVLA describes C1E (107) as a vehicle and trailer with a combined weight of 8.25 tonnes. That entitlement normally lasts until the licence runs out at 70. It is not a full Category C or C+E licence. Read the categories and the restriction codes on your photocard before you rely on it.

Check the category, then find training

The full Great Britain list, including buses and cars, is on GOV.UK driving licence categories. When you know whether you need C1, C or C+E, search training providers for that category, or answer a few questions if you are still deciding. Agree the category in the quote before you pay a deposit.