Minimum ages you can ride or drive vehicles
Rules about the minimum ages you can drive or ride cars, motorcycles and other vehicles. If you gained your licence before 19 January 2013, you will keep the entitlements you got when you passed your driving test(s). The tables below show the current full entitlements.
Motorcycles and three or four-wheeled light vehicles
| Category | Description | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds - Two or three wheel vehicles with a maximum design speed over 25 km/h but not more than 45 km/h Light Quadricycles - A four-wheeled vehicle with an unladen weight of not more than 350kg, (not including the mass of the batteries in the case of electric vehicles), whose maximum design speed is over 25 km/h and less than 45 km/h |
16* |
| A1 | Light motorcycles with an engine size of up to 125 cc and a power output of up to 11kw (14.6bhp) with a power weight ratio not exceeding 0.1kW (including tricycles up to 15 kW) | 17* |
| A2 | A motorcycle of a power not exceeding 35 kW and with a power/ weight ratio not exceeding 0.2 kW/kg and not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power | 19* |
| A | A motorcycle of a power exceeding 35 kW. A motor tricycle over 15 kW | 24 (21 via Progressive Access)*** |
* You must complete Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) and make sure that your CBT certificate is valid for the relevant motorcycle category.
- Learner riders of category AM and small motorcycles (Category A1) must complete CBT before riding unaccompanied on public roads
- About CBT
Learner riders of medium sized (category A2) and large (category A) motorcycles must be accompanied by an Approved Motorcycle Instructor (AMI) at all times when riding on public roads until they have passed both their off-road manoeuvres and on road test.
** Age 24 for Direct Access or age 21 for Progressive Access, in other words, two years from the date of the Standard A2 test pass (not counting any periods of disqualification). Tricycle restriction code 079.
Cars or light vans, with and without trailers
The term maximum authorised mass (MAM) means the total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry safely.
| Category | Description | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| B | Motor vehicle with a MAM of up to 3,500kg, no more than eight passenger seats, with or without a trailer - weighing no more than 750kg or As above, but with a trailer weighing more than 750kg. The total weight of the vehicle and the trailer together can't weigh more than 3,500kg. The weight of the trailer, when fully loaded, can't weigh more than the unladen weight of the vehicle |
17* |
| B auto | As category B with automatic transmission | 17* |
| B96 | Combinations of a motor vehicle and trailer where:
|
17** |
| B+E | Combination of a motor vehicle (being a tractor vehicle in category B) and a trailer or semi trailer where:
|
17 |
* Age 16 if you are currently getting Disability Living Allowance at the higher rate (mobility component)
Example of category B with a trailer weighing over 750kg: motor vehicle with an unladen weight of 1,500kg and a maximum weight of 2,000kg towing a fully loaded trailer with a weight of 1,500kg - total weight 3,500kg.
Example of category B+E: motor vehicle with a MAM up to 3,500kg towing a trailer of any weight up to 3500kg.
** Exchange category only
Other categories
| Category | Description | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| F | Agricultural tractors | 17* |
| G | Road rollers | 21** |
| H | Tracked vehicles | 21*** |
| K | Mowing machine or vehicle controlled by a pedestrian | 16 |
| P | Moped | 16 |
| Q | Motor vehicles with less than four wheels which if propelled by an internal combustion engine, has a cylinder capacity less than 50cc and maximum speed not exceeding 25km/h | 16 |
* Age 16 for tractors less than 2.45 m wide. It must only pull trailers less than 2.45 m wide with two wheels, or four close-coupled.
** Age 17 for small road-rollers with metal or hard rollers. They must not be steam powered, weigh more than 11,690 kg or be made for carrying loads.
*** Age 17 if the MAM of the tracked vehicle does not exceed 3,500kg.
Driving licence information codes
Your licence may contain information codes which show what, if any, restrictions are included in your driving entitlement.
You can find the full descriptions of the information codes which appear on your driving licence: