Which licence do you need for a motorhome?

Category B: the car licence

category B (test passed on or after 1 January 1997): up to 3,500kg MAM for petrol and diesel vehicles, up to 8 passenger seats¹. For zero-emission vehicles the limit is higher: 4,250kg for electric or hydrogen vehicles on a category B licence¹.

Category C1: medium-sized vehicles

category C1: vehicles between 3,500 and 7,500kg MAM (trailer up to 750kg)¹. Many large motorhomes fall in this band.

When you passed your test matters

• passed the car test before 1 January 1997: you normally keep existing entitlements (shown as C1E (107)) until the licence runs out at age 70².
• passed on or after 1 January 1997: an extra test is needed for C1².
• At seventy: to keep these entitlements after 70: a D2 application with a D4 medical report, and the higher medical standard². And C1 cannot be renewed online at 70; renew it by post³.

Check your own entitlement on GOV.UK’s “View or share your driving licence information” service before you book anything heavier than a category B vehicle, and tell the hire company which categories you hold.

Weight and insurance go together

Hire insurance can have a weight limit too: for example, Goboony Day Insurance covers motorhomes up to 3500 kg, trips up to 28 days, starting and ending in the UK⁴.

Weight also changes London charges: over three and a half tonnes a motor caravan pays the LEZ rather than the ULEZ (see ULEZ and Clean Air Zones).

Work out your own trip: open the motorhome hire calculator. It starts with sourced defaults and leaves the rest for your quote.

Sources

1. GOV.UK, Driving licence categories. Checked 31 October 2026.
2. DVLA INF30, Requirements for towing trailers in Great Britain (2025). Checked 31 October 2026.
3. GOV.UK, Renew your driving licence if you're 70 or over. Checked 31 October 2026.
4. Goboony, Motorhome Day Insurance. Checked 31 October 2026.