Website of the UK government

Category B - cars and vans

A car or van presented for test must be:

• a four wheeled vehicle of no more than 3500 kilograms (kg) maximum authorised mass (MAM)
• capable of a speed of at least 100 kilometres per hour or 62.5 miles per hour

The car or van must also be fitted with:

• a seatbelt for the examiner
• a passenger head restraint, which needn't be adjustable but must be fitted as an integral part of the seat - 'slip on' type head restraints aren't permitted
• an interior mirror for the examiner's use
  
• L-plates displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle but not interfering with the driver's or examiner's view
• a speedometer that measures speed in miles per hour and kilometres per hour

The vehicle must be legal and roadworthy and have no warning lights showing ie the airbag warning light.

Convertible vehicles

Some convertible vehicles are unsuitable for the driving test eg the Ford KA convertible and Mini convertible due to the lack of all-round vision for the examiner. If you propose to use a convertible vehicle for the driving test please check its suitability when you book.

Suitability of vehicles for Category B tests

The vast majority of hatchbacks, saloons and estate cars are suitable for test, but increasingly the designers of cars are producing models with sweeping lines which have good forward vision but have large blind spots to the rear and present examiners with problems of observation.

Panel vans also present problems with vision and are often unsuitable for test.

Vehicles supplied by motor manufacturers have obviously been through the type approval process, but this approval concentrates on vehicles from a driver’s point of view and such a process does not necessarily make the vehicle suitable for the purposes of the test.

Vehicles for test must allow examiners all round vision to allow them to see approaching vehicles, particularly when the car is at an angle to other vehicles during reversing manoeuvres and also when emerging at a junction with the vehicle at an angle to the major road.

Vehicle recalls and safety notices

Vehicles are sometimes not suitable for a practical driving test because they are subject to a manufacturer recall, or because a fault has been identified that requires manufacturer/dealer rectification. 

In these circumstances, these vehicles are not suitable for a practical driving test unless the candidate can provide documentary evidence from a dealer, or the vehicle manufacturer, to prove that their test vehicle meets one of the criteria below:

•  the recall work has been carried out
•  the vehicle has been checked and no work is necessary
•  the vehicle is exempt from the recall work

• Check to see if the vehicle you intend to use on a driving test is affected

Category B1

A motor powered tricycle or quadricycle must have an unladen weight of not more than 550kg and be capable of at least 60km/h (37.25mph).

To ride a Quadricycle you will need to hold a category B (car) licence or a B1 licence.

Category B + E

Car and trailer test vehicles must be:

• fitted with externally mounted, nearside and offside mirrors for use by the examiner or any person supervising the test
• an unladen category B vehicle towing a suitably braked, unladen trailer of at least one tonne MAM. The examiner may ask for evidence of the trailer MAM eg the manufacturer's plate 
• fitted with an audible or visual device to indicate correct operation of the trailer indicators

All vehicle combinations must operate on appropriate brakes and utilise a coupling arrangement suitable for the weight.

The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the towing vehicle; the view to the rear should only be possible by use of the external rear-view mirrors of the towing vehicle.