Pre Employment checks – Understanding a Driving Licence
Many employers need their prospective employee to drive a car, tow a trailer, drive a tractor, a horse box or HGV lorry and, rather like reference checks, don’t always bother checking an individual’s driving licence for what they are legally able to drive, or even if they have any points or disqualifications.
Let’s get two facts right up front:
- MOST people who say they have a valid, clean license do.
- SOME who say they have a valid, clean license don’t.
Don’t you want to know which of these two you are actually dealing with? Of course you do, you need to know who is going to be doing the odd school run for you, transporting your horses, driving your tractor etc. Do yourself a favour, grab a strong coffee, take the phone off the hook for 10 minutes and have a read of this!
First things first
It is worth noting that this advice is valid only for those where you are looking at a licence issued in England, Wales or Scotland. Northern Ireland and outside these specified areas is not covered by this article.- It is a criminal offence to obtain someone else’s personal information without their express permission.
That being said you can check someone’s driving licence information for vehicles they can drive or any penalty points or disqualifications via this link.
Before you can do this you need to have:
- The last 8 characters of their driving licence number
- A check code from the driver. This must be used within 21 days of issue and you can only use the code once and will have to obtain another code to do another check at a different time.
In order to obtain these you/the driving license owner need:
- Their driving licence number
- Their National Insurance number
- The postcode on the driving licence
Examining a driving licence
The first basic check is that the licence belongs to your prospective employee! Check that the following matches your information on the individual:
- The full name on the licence
- The photo
- The date of birth
- The address on the licence
Understanding categories and codes
To drive a particular type of vehicle (for example a category C/HGV Class 2 vehicle), an ‘entitlement’ for that category appears on the reverse of the driving licence, along with any additional restrictions:
Column 1: shows the date that the licence category was granted.
Column 2: shows the date that the licence category expires and needs to be renewed.
Column 3: shows the restrictions, if any, against the particular licence category (for example, a car licence restricted to automatic transmissions will show ’78’ in the third column on the reverse of the licence).
Again please note, driving licence categories are different in Northern Ireland. You can see a list of interpretations of the codes in the third column on the reverse of a driving licence by clicking here.
It’s worth noting, the ‘groups’ or ‘categories’ on a full driving licence may have changed if the licence was issued before 2013.
Driving licence categories changed in January 2013 and also several times before that. Before June 1990, the types of vehicles you could drive were known as ‘groups’. These are now known as ‘categories’. If a full driving licence was issued before January 2013, you can find the equivalent new category and check what types of vehicles that can be driven here.
Licence Categories
Here is a very basic run through in layman’s terms of the various licence categories:
CATEGORY B – standard car licence
This is the normal standard driving licence that for anyone post-January 1st1997 only allows you to drive a total weight of 3500kg including a maximum weight 750kg trailer.
However, being old has its perks here! If you passed your test before January 1st 1997 you can drive a vehicle of Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) 8250kg inc trailer. In other words, you can drive a 4X4 and trailer or small horsebox (up to 7.5 tonnes) without the need for any extra licences.
CATEGORY BE – standard car licence+trailer
Better known in the horsey world as your trailer licence. This allows the licence holder to tow a MAM (maximum authorised mass) of 3.5t, fully loaded car and trailer.
CATEGORY C1 – 7.5t licence
With this licence, the holder can drive any rigid lorry weighing 3.5t to 7.5t with trailers up to 750kg. Many training providers recommend skipping this category and going straight for your full category C as the price and training are the same and you are automatically awarded the C1 as part of it.
CATEGORY C1E – 7.5t licence+trailer over 750kg
Exactly as the Category C1 licence but with the addition of the licence to tow a trailer over 750kg in weight.
CATEGORY C (the old HGV Class 2 licence)
The maximum HGV licence that any groom is every likely to need this qualification allows you to drive any rigid vehicle over 7.5t. Holding a C1 or C licence does not allow you to tow a trailer over 750kg, this requires a separate test…
CATEGORY CE (the old HGV Class 1 licence)
Exactly as the Category C licence but with the addition of the licence to a trailer over 750kg in weight.
Conditions codes
There are a list of codes which indicate conditions and restrictions applied to the individual licence holder, for example, relating to eyesight and hearing, vehicle modifications and even if the licence holder is an organ donor! You can look up codes here (for Northern Ireland click here)
For quick reference:
| Category | Vehicle | Comment |
| AM | Moped/ quad | You can drive 2-wheeled or 3-wheeled vehicles with a maximum design speed of over 25km/h (15.5mph) but not more than 45km/h (28mph) |
| A | Motorbikes |
You can also drive motorbikes in categories A1 and A2. |
| B1 | Light vehicles & Quads | You can drive motor vehicles with 4 wheels up to 400kg unladen or 550kg if they’re designed for carrying goods. |
| B | Cars (test passed before 1/1/97) | You’re allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass (MAM).
You’re also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM. |
| C1 | Medium sized vehicles | You can drive vehicles between 3,500 and 7,500kg MAM (with a trailer up to 750kg). |
| C | Large Vehicles | You can drive vehicles over 3,500kg (with a trailer up to 750kg MAM). |
| D1 | Minibuses | You can drive vehicles with:
|
| BE | Cars | You can drive D1 category vehicles with a trailer over 750kg MAM.
The combined MAM of both can’t exceed 12,000kg. |
| C1E | Medium Sized vehicles | You can drive C1 category vehicles with a trailer over 750kg.
The combined MAM of both can’t exceed 12,000kg. |
| D1E | Minibuses
|
You can drive D1 category vehicles with a trailer over 750kg MAM.
The combined MAM of both can’t exceed 12,000kg. |
| CE | Large Vehicles & heavy trailer | You can drive vehicles over 3,500kg (with a trailer over 750kg MAM). |
