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You might’ve noticed a small series of letters and numbers on your driving license. They may look random, but they’re actually a way to record some useful information about the type of vehicles we’re allowed to drive and whether there are any conditions we need to meet.
There are two parts to the characters printed on your driving licence:
If you look at the back of your licence, you’ll see a column marked 9 which has images of various types of vehicles with a letter or letter and number beside it. Those will tell you the kind of vehicles you’re allowed to drive. We’ve listed some of the most common categories below, but you can also check what vehicles you’re allowed to drive online.
Cars
Category B - if you passed your test before 1 January 1997
You’re usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass (MAM and drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM.
Category B - if you passed your test on or after 1 January 1997
You can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg MAM with up to 8 passenger seats (with a trailer up to 750kg). You can also tow heavier trailers if the total MAM of the vehicle and trailer is not more than 3,500kg. You can drive motor tricycles with a power output higher than 15kW if you are over 21 years old.
Physically disabled drivers with provisional category B entitlement will also have provisional entitlement to ride category A1 or A motor tricycles.
Category B auto
You can drive a category B vehicle as long as it’s an automatic.
Category BE
You can drive a vehicle with a MAM of 3,500kg with a trailer. The size of the trailer depends on the BE ‘valid from’ date shown on your licence.
Other vehicles
Category F
You can drive an agricultural tractor
Category K
You can drive a pedestrian-controlled vehicle or a mowing machine
Category Q
You can drive 2 or 3-wheeled vehicles without pedals and with an engine size of more than 50cc. The top speed can't be more than 15.5mph.
Motorbikes
Category A1
You can drive a light motorcycle with an engine of up to 125cc.
Category AM
You can drive a 2 or 3-wheeled vehicle with a maximum speed of more than 15.5mph, but not more than 28mph, as well as a light quad bike with an unladen mass of not more than 350kg not including batteries.
If you want to drive a bus, coach or lorry for a living, you can take a test to upgrade to category C.
Category C
You can drive large vehicles over 3500kg with a trailer up to 750kg MAM.
Category CE
You can drive category C vehicles with a trailer over 750kg.
Category D1
You can drive minibuses up to 8 metres long that have no more than 16 passenger seats, plus a trailer of up to 750kg. D1E allows you to haul a trailer of more than 750kg.
Check out the full list of driving categories.
To find what licence codes apply to you, you need to look at section 12 of your driving license. In that column, you’ll see any conditions you need to meet to be able to drive the vehicles listed in column 9.
Some of the most common codes you’re likely to see include:
01 - eyesight correction, for example glasses or contact lenses
02 - hearing/communication aid
10 - modified transmission
96 - allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer where the trailer weighs at least 750kg, and the combined weight of the vehicle and trailer is between 3,500kg and 4,250kg
97 - not allowed to drive category C1 vehicles which are required to have a tachograph fitted
101 - not for hire or reward (that is, not to make a profit)
You can find a full list of driving licence codes on the government website
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