Driver Obligations

Vehicles you can drive	Driving large goods vehicles
Your legal obligations	HGV Training centers
Driving a minibus	Driving passenger carrying vehicles
Driving conduct for larger vehicles, minibuses or buses	How to add higher categories to your driving licence
Vehicle weights explained	Do It Online

Driving passenger carrying vehicles (PCV) on a car driving licence

There are special licensing arrangements allowing you to drive minibuses and buses without having to hold the higher passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) driving licence entitlement. Drivers of minibuses having 9-16 passenger seats will normally need to hold a PCV licence category D1 or a category D licence to drive larger buses.

Exempted passenger carrying vehicles

Holders of a full category B (car) driving licence may drive any of the vehicles listed below:

a passenger carrying vehicle manufactured more than 30 years before the date when it is driven and not used for hire or reward or for the carriage of more than 8 passengers
a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats provided the following conditions are met:

i. the vehicle is used for social purposes by a non-commercial body but not for hire or reward
ii. the driver is aged 21
iii. the driver has held a car (category B) licence for at least 2 years
iv. the driver is providing the service on a voluntary basis
v. the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes or 4.25 tonnes including any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers
vi. if the driver is aged 70 or over, is able to meet the health standards for driving a D1 vehicle

When driving a minibus under these conditions you may not receive any payment or consideration for doing so other than out of pocket expenses or tow any size trailer; you may only drive minibuses in this country. Drivers aged 70 or over will need to make a special application, which involves meeting higher medical standards.

Holders of a full category D (PCV) driving licence can also drive a passenger carrying recovery vehicle. This is defined as a vehicle (not being an articulated goods vehicle combination) which:

has an unladen weight not exceeding 10.2 tonnes
is being operated by the holder of a PSV operators licence and, is being used for the purpose of :

i. proceeding to, or returning from, a place where assistance is to be, or has been, given to a damaged or disabled passenger-carrying vehicle
ii. giving assistance to or moving a disabled passenger-carrying vehicle or moving a damaged vehicle

Minimum age

Drivers of exempted passenger carrying vehicles and any vehicle, which weighs more than 7.5 tonnes can be driven from the age of 21 years.

How are vehicles classified?

DVLA cannot give legal advice on how vehicles are classified for driving licence purposes; they can only give general guidance. The Vehicle Standards and Engineering Division, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham St, London, SW1P 4DR, (0207 944 2064), may be able to help classify a vehicle that falls under, works trucks, agricultural motor vehicles, industrial tractors and engineering plant but only for the purposes of its construction and use.

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