A standard category B car licence generally allows you to drive a van up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass — the van plus its load, its fuel and everyone in it. Most ordinary panel vans are built to sit at or under that figure precisely so category B holders can drive them. Above it, you need additional entitlement.
This is general information, not legal advice, and licensing rules change. Check your own entitlement on the DVLA licence checking service on GOV.UK, and confirm anything that affects legality before you drive.
What category B normally covers
If you hold a full UK car licence you hold category B, and category B generally covers vehicles up to 3,500kg MAM. That is why manufacturers work so hard to keep standard panel vans under that ceiling: it keeps the van drivable by anyone with a car licence, which matters for staff, rental and resale.
Conditions attach to category B, including minimum age and, for some vehicle types, seat count and purpose of use. Check GOV.UK for the exact conditions and minimum age.
MAM is the loaded limit, not the empty weight
This is the point people get wrong, and the one that turns a licensing question into an offence.
MAM — sometimes shown as gross vehicle weight or GVW — is the maximum the vehicle may weigh in use, including the body, the fit-out, the fuel, the tools, the load, the driver and passengers. It is not what the van weighs empty on the forecourt.
So “my licence covers up to 3,500kg” and “my van weighs less than 3,500kg empty” are different statements. What matters is the plated MAM, shown on the manufacturer’s plate — under the bonnet, in the door aperture or on the B-pillar — and on the V5C. Read the plate; it decides which licence you need, whatever is in the back on the day.
Separately, you must not exceed that MAM in use even if your licence covers the vehicle — licensing and overloading are different offences.
If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997
Drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 generally had additional entitlements grandfathered onto their licence, allowing heavier vehicles and larger trailer combinations than a post-1997 category B licence alone. This is genuine and widely relied on in the trades.
Two cautions. Grandfathered entitlements can carry conditions and can fall away, particularly around licence renewal at older ages and medical requirements. Check GOV.UK for which categories are granted, what conditions apply, and at what ages entitlement must be renewed or medically supported. And never assume on somebody else’s behalf: if you employ drivers, check each licence rather than relying on “he’s been driving vans for thirty years”.
Towing: the rules changed
Trailer entitlement rules for car licence holders changed in recent years, and the current position differs from what many drivers were taught and from much of the guidance still online. If you tow anything, check the current rules directly. Check GOV.UK for what category B holders may tow, whether any test or additional entitlement is needed, and how combination weights are calculated.
Two things have not changed. Towing limits are based on the combined MAM of vehicle and trailer, so a van that is fine solo can be a different matter with a loaded trailer. And you remain responsible for the trailer’s condition, loading, noseweight and braking.
Above 3,500kg
Once a vehicle’s MAM exceeds 3,500kg you are into category C1 or category C territory, meaning additional theory and practical testing and generally a medical. This is where larger tippers, dropsides and box vans sit. Commercial use also brings obligations ordinary vans escape:
- Driver CPC. Professional drivers of larger vehicles generally need Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, including periodic training. Check GOV.UK for scope and exemptions.
- Tachographs and drivers’ hours. Rules on recording driving time and limiting hours apply from certain weights and uses. Check the current position on GOV.UK….
- Operator licensing. Carrying goods for hire or reward can require an operator’s licence. Check the current position on GOV.UK….
- Speed limits, MOT frequency and tolls. These can differ for heavier vehicles. Check the current position on GOV.UK….
A heavier vehicle is not a bad idea, but the real cost includes the testing, training and record keeping.
Check the licence, do not assume
Use the DVLA “view or share your driving licence information” service on GOV.UK to see which categories you hold and any conditions on them. The categories are also printed on your photocard. Then read the plate on the van, check the MAM on the V5C, and confirm it against the entitlement you actually hold rather than the one you think you hold. If you employ drivers, check every licence periodically — entitlements expire, and a driver can lose one without the owner knowing.
If anything is unclear — a grandfathered category, a trailer combination, a converted vehicle, entitlement affected by age or health — get it confirmed by DVLA or GOV.UK before you drive. Driving outside your entitlement can invalidate your insurance as well as being an offence in itself. Check the current position on GOV.UK….
Where we fit in
If your work needs more payload than a 3,500kg van provides, you either accept the compliance that comes with a heavier vehicle or find another route — a lighter conversion, a trailer, or a spec that gives back payload. Settle that before you talk about funding.
CW Asset Finance is an independent credit broker in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, serving the whole UK. We are not a dealer and not a lender, and we cannot advise on licensing — DVLA and GOV.UK are the sources to rely on. Once you know what you can legally drive, we arrange funding from a panel of over 60 lenders for a standard [van](/lcv-van-finance/) or a heavier commercial vehicle. We are an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited (FRN 630701), authorised and regulated by the FCA, and a member of the NACFB. There is no broker fee to you; we are paid a commission by the lender on completion, and all lending decisions rest with the lender.