The C1 licence: cost and rules for 7.5 tonne removals lorries

C1 covers lorries from 3,500kg to 7,500kg, with a trailer up to 750kg.

C1+E adds a trailer over 750kg, up to 12,000kg in all.

Code 107 on your C1+E limits it to 8,250kg in all.

A car licence (B) stops at 3,500kg, or 4,250kg for zero-emission (electric or hydrogen) vehicles, not hybrids.

That 4,250kg limit has needed no extra training since 10 June 2025.

You still need C1 for 7.5 tonnes. A 2022 government review floated car licences going up to 8.25 tonnes; we found no decision since.

The weight that counts is the vehicle plus the most it can carry (its MAM), usually on a plate or sticker.

Some lorries are “down-plated”: the plate shows a lower weight.

Is a 7.5 tonne lorry an HGV? GOV.UK calls C1 “medium-sized vehicles” and puts it in its lorry (HGV) guidance.

The back of your photocard lists every category. Dates against C1 mean you can drive it.

Lines instead of dates mean you can’t.

The back also shows when each category runs out.

Code 97: no C1 lorries that must have a tachograph.

Which lorries need one →

Code 101: not for hire or reward.

DVLA’s online service shows the vehicles you can drive. You need your licence number, National Insurance number and postcode.

It also makes a check code to share your record with a firm. The code lasts 21 days.

Firms search by the category you state →

Northern Ireland categories and codes can differ.

You need a full car licence before you apply.

Apply for provisional C1 with form D2 and a D4 medical report. Post Offices with DVLA services have both.

Your GP or a private firm fills in the D4, and they can charge for it.

Applying is free: send both forms and your photocard to DVLA.

DVLA aims to send your licence within 3 weeks.

Lorry drivers must meet a higher eyesight standard.

For C1 you pass parts 1, 3a and 3b. If driving is the main part of your job, add parts 2 and 4 for Driver CPC.

Your theory pass lasts 2 years. Pass parts 3a and 3b within that time.

Lose your car licence and you lose your lorry licence too.

A lorry licence lasts up to 5 years. DVLA sends the renewal forms 56 days before your lorry entitlement runs out.

On an evening, weekend or bank holiday, parts 3b and 4 cost more: £218 for C1, or £304 with Driver CPC.

Fail a test and you pay its full fee again to retake it.

GPs set their own D4 fees: six practices listed £120–⁠£159.44, three in London and Hampshire. Some leave the eyesight part to an optician.

The cheapest was 2nd2None’s: £745 for 10 hours’ lessons and tests 3a and 3b. Its page doesn’t say whether VAT is included.

The dearest set price, £2,030, was 16 hours with the medical, theory and Driver CPC. With resits covered, one started at £2,493.

Ask what a price includes: VAT, the test fees, the medical, the theory tests, and Driver CPC parts 2 and 4.

All in, plan on about £960–⁠£2,030: from an £875 course with VAT, plus theory and medical fees, up to 16 hours with Driver CPC.

With Driver CPC, which removals work usually needs, the cheapest package with everything in was £1,390, for 8 hours.

What lorry driver adverts paid →

You need the full Driver CPC if driving a lorry, C1 included, is the main part of your job.

Carrying goods for someone else usually needs it, even when driving is a small part of the job.

GOV.UK doesn’t mention removals. Its closest example, moving furniture for an auctioneer, needs Driver CPC.

Being self-employed makes no difference.

Moving your own home in a hired lorry doesn’t need it.

Not sure? DVSA says to get legal advice.

Keep it with 35 hours of training every 5 years. The deadline is on your card.

If you only drive in the UK, “National” courses count.

Carry your Driver CPC card when you drive professionally, or face a £50 fixed penalty.

Driving professionally without Driver CPC can mean a fine of up to £1,000.

Lapsed less than 2 years ago? A 7-hour Return to Driving course gets you back on UK roads, then 28 more hours within 12 months.

The old “EU rules” are now called the “assimilated rules”.

They cover goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, trailer included, in the UK and to or from the EU.

The lorry needs a tachograph, and you record your driving, breaks, rest and other work on it.

GOV.UK’s exemptions don’t include removals. The 7.5 tonne one covers moving your own house, not paid moves.

Driving: 9 hours a day (10 twice a week), 56 a week, 90 over two weeks.

A 45-minute break after 4.5 hours’ driving, or 15 minutes then 30.

Rest: 11 hours a day (9, up to 3 times between weekly rests) and 45 hours a week (24 every other week).

Other work, porter days included, counts as duty, not rest. Record it as other work.

No more than six 24-hour periods of work between weekly rests, other work included.

With a digital or smart tachograph you need your own driver card: £32, or £19 to renew an expired one.

Working time rules can apply to self-employed drivers too. DVSA’s guide says who counts.

On a car licence you can tow a trailer up to 3,500kg, with 7,000kg in all at most.

A van towing for work needs a tachograph once van and trailer together pass 3,500kg.

Heavier combinations need C1+E, up to 12,000kg in all.

Vans up to 3.5 tonnes used for business follow the GB domestic rules: 10 hours’ driving and 11 on duty a day.

Electric vans from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes are outside the assimilated rules in Great Britain, on UK-only trips.

Since 1 July 2026, vans over 2.5 tonnes on paid trips abroad need a smart tachograph.

The firm needs an operator’s licence once the vehicle, or vehicle and trailer, is over 3,500kg.