Driving licence requirement
- Driving licence
Licence to operate a certain category or categories of motor carriages. The current driving licence is in the form of a plastic card the size of a credit card.
You must always carry a driving licence with you while driving in or on a vehicle for which a driving licence is needed. You must show it every time it is asked by an authorised person, such as a police officer. This is not allowed to be a copy and the driving licence may not be damaged. Your citizen service number (BSN) is also listed on the driving licence, allowing it to also serve as proof of identity in many cases. As soon as something is not in order with your driving licence, you are no longer allowed to operate the corresponding vehicle.
A driving licence is only valid for the vehicle category or categories it is issued for. Restrictions may also be indicated on a driving licence, such as mandatory use of an automatic clutch or wearing glasses or lenses. Sometimes, driving licences are only valid when adjustments have been made to a vehicle, because, for example, you cannot use your foot properly. Restrictions on the driving licence are indicated by defined codes.
Driving licence categories
The driving licence lists different categories for which the licence can be valid. These are:
Driving licence AM
This is the moped driving licence and you need this to operate a moped, snorfiets, speed pedelec and brommobiel. To obtain this driving licence, you must take a theoretical exam and a practical exam. You may take the theory exam from the age of 15.5, taking lessons and the practical exam may be done from the age of 16.
At the practical exam, you can choose for an exam on a two-wheeled moped, after which you are allowed to operate all vehicles in this category.
If you only want to use a brommobiel, you have the possibility to do a brommobiel practical exam. The disadvantage to this is that you are then only allowed to drive a brommobiel. So no moped, snorfiets or speed pedelec.
You will also receive driving licence AM with driving licence A (motorcycle) and B (passenger car). So if you have obtained driving licence A or B, you no longer have to obtain AM.
- Restrictive code brommobiel (AM4)
If you take the exam in a brommobiel, then you will receive a driving licence AM with the restrictive code AM4 if you pass. This code indicates that you are only allowed to drive in a brommobiel. The practical exam for the brommobiel mainly tests vehicle control and is conducted entirely on an enclosed site.
Driving licence A
You need driving licence A to be able to operate a motorcycle. Depending on your age and possible previously obtained motorcycle driving licences, you are allowed to go for category A1, A2 or A.
Driving licence B
This is the driving licence for passenger cars. With this driving licence, you are allowed to drive all passenger cars up to a maximum permissible weight of 3,500 kg. It may not (cannot) carry more than eight passengers, excluding the driver. You can possibly tow a light trailer.
Driving licence E behind B
If you have driving licence B and do you want to drive with heavier trailers and combinations than is allowed with driving licence B, then you must obtain driving licence E behind B.
Driving licence C1 and C1E
These driving licences are necessary for light lorries and company cars, with a maximum permissible weight between 3,500 and 7,500 kg. They cannot accommodate more than eight passengers. Driving licence C1E is required to tow trailers heavier than 750 kg.
Driving licence C and CE
With these driving licences you are also allowed to drive heavier lorries. Again, if you want to tow trailers heavier than 750 kg, you need driving licence CE.
Driving licence D1 and D1E
Driving licence D1 is meant for smaller auto buses, up to a maximum of 8 metres and a maximum of sixteen passengers, excluding the driver. Driving licence D1E is required to tow trailers heavier than 750 kg.
Driving licence D and DE
Driving licence D is valid for bigger auto buses, such as coaches an public buses, longer than eight metres and for more than sixteen passengers, excluding the driver. Driving licence DE is required for towing trailers heavier than 750 kg.
Driving licence T
This is the driving licence you need to drive an agricultural or forestry tractor or mobile machine on public roads.
Age
There are different minimum ages at which you can obtain the driving licence for a certain motor carriage. For example, you may get your licence for a moped earlier than for a motorcycle. And different rules apply to a lorry or bus.
If you take your test in a brommobiel, you will only be permitted to drive a brommobiel afterwards, and not any other type of moped.
If you only have a tractor driving licence, you will still need to obtain a moped driving licence if you want to ride a moped. Conversely, you are not allowed to drive a tractor with only a moped driving licence.
| Minimum age practical exam | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| AM Moped |
16 years | Is included with A and B |
| A1 Motorcycle max 11 kW |
18 years | You can take lessons from the age of 17 |
| A2 Motorcycle max 35 kW |
20 years | If you already have A1, then you can take lessons from the age of 19 |
| A All motorcycles |
21 years | Restrictive code 80 |
| 22 years | If you have held the A2 licence for 2 years, no code 80 | |
| 24 years | No A2 needed, no code 80 | |
| B Passenger cars |
17 years | 2toDrive, with coach, only in the Netherlands You can take lessons from the age of 16.5 Drive independently from the age of 18 |
| BE Trailer |
18 years | |
| C1(E) Light lorry |
18 years | |
| C(E) Heavy lorry |
18 years | With certificate of competence |
| 21 years | Without certificate of competence | |
| D1(E) Small auto bus |
18 years | With certificate of competence |
| 21 years | Without certificate of competence | |
| D(E) Big auto bus |
18 years | With certificate of competence |
| 24 years | Without certificate of competence | |
| T Agricultural vehicles |
16 years |
Requirements for the student and the instructor
To be able to take lessons, both the student and the instructor must follow certain rules. Rules for driving lessons on the moped and in a brommobiel are:
- The student must have passed their theory. This result is valid for maximum of 1.5 years.
- The instructor must have a valid instructor’s pass and always carry it with them. You are always allowed to ask for this!
- If the instructor sits behind a student on a moped or next to a student in a brommobiel, they may only teach that one student.
- If the instructor drives behind the student, they may teach up to four students at once. They must then be in contact with all students, for example, via a walkie-talkie and an earpiece.
- The instructor is not allowed to combine a moped driving lesson with a different category, for example, with a car driving lesson or a motorcycle driving lesson.
On the website www.ibki.nl/bevoegdheidschecker, you can check whether your driving instructor is qualified.
Front of the instructor’s pass
Back of the instructor’s pass