Car driving licences held before 1 January 1997

All drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 keep their existing entitlement to tow trailers until their licence runs out. This means they are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and trailer with a combined weight of up to 8.25 tonnes. They are also entitled to drive a minibus with a trailer weighing more than 750kg.

Drivers who have subcategory C1+E on their driving licence can apply for provisional entitlement to the new subcategory C1+E so they can take the test to drive a vehicle and trailer with a combined weight of 12 tonnes. They do not need to get entitlement to subcategory C1 first, but drivers have to meet higher medical standards and pass both the category C theory test and the subcategory C1+E practical test.