Everything you need to know about the minimum driving age for medium or large vehicles and minibuses.
Aspland Self Drive have a wide range of vans, minibuses and tippers available for hire. But do you know the minimum driving age for our vehicles? Read out blog to find out more.
Medium-sized vehicles (with or without trailers)
If you want to drive a category C1 vehicle (weighing 3,500—7,500kg with a maximum trailer weight of 750kg) you must be aged 18. However, if you are a member of the armed forces, you can drive one aged 17 years. A category C1+E vehicle (C1 but with a trailer weighing over 750kg) must not have a total weight of over 12,000kg for both the vehicle and trailer. It must be driven by someone aged 21 years or over. However, you can drive C1+E category vehicles at age 18 if one of the following apply:
✔ you got your driving licence before 10 September 2009
✔ the total weight of both the vehicle and trailer is below 7,50kg
✔ you are learning/taking a driving test to drive a category C1+E vehicle
✔ you have passed your driving test and Driver CPC initial qualification
✔ you are taking a national vocational training course to get a Driver CPC initial qualification
Large vehicles (with or without trailers)
If you want to drive a category C vehicle (weighing over 3,500kg with a maximum trailer weight of 750kg) you must be aged 21. A category C+E vehicle (weighing over 3,500kg with a trailer weight of over 750kg) also requires the driver to be aged 21. However, if you are a member of the armed forces, you can drive both C and C+E category vehicles aged 17 years. Furthermore, you can also drive these vehicles at age 18 if one of the following criteria apply:
✔ you are learning/taking a driving test to drive a category C1 or C1+E vehicle
✔ you have passed your driving test and Driver CPC initial qualification
✔ you are taking a national vocational training course to get a Driver CPC initial qualification
Minibuses (with or without trailers)
If you want to drive a category D1 vehicle (9 and 16 passenger seats with or without a trailer weighing a maximum of 750kg) you must be aged 21. However, if you are a member of the armed forces, you can drive one aged 17 years. A category D1+E vehicle (D1 but with a trailer weighing over 750kg) must not have a total weight of over 12,000kg for both the vehicle and trailer. It must be driven by someone aged 21 years or over. However, you can drive botha C1and C1+E category vehicles at age 18 if one of the following apply:
✔ you are learning/taking a driving test to drive a category C1 or C1+E vehicle
✔ you have passed your driving test and Driver CPC initial qualification
✔ you are taking a national vocational training course to get a Driver CPC initial qualification