Defender Licence Catagory Issues

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
B

baysidedude182

New Member
Posts
3
Hi there,

I am about to purchase in the following months my first Landrover. However I cannot find on the DVLA site what catagory the vehicle im after fits into.

The vehicle im after a Land Rover Defender 110 which will possibly have 12 seats (I am uncertain about its weight)

Currently I hold a full UK driving licence which i obtained on the 25/03/2005 it stated on the back of the licence B, B1, f, k, p

Am I legally alowed to drive this Defender? just want to clarify this before i hit the road a unwittingly.

Thanks,

Chris.M.
 
I have the same land rover i have a full driving licence, though my licence is alot older.

if in doubt remove the readward side seats it then becomes a 6 seater same for MOT
they cant drag in the mini bus rule regarding seatbelts.
 
Whoa whoa whoa!

You will have the B category on your licence.

This means you can drive motor vehicles with not more than eight passenger seats. If you have more than that, you need a D1 category.

It's all on here:
Vehicles you can drive and how old you must be to drive them : Directgov - Motoring

(Actually, more worryingly, it's all written clearly on the back of your licence.)

Bear in mind ....
- It has nothing to do with minibus seatbelt laws.
- Also, you can't just take out seats and drive it - the number of seats will be recorded on the V5 registration document.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Blippie
 
Aha,

Hopefully this is helpfull :)

I checked with a few people at work and none of them seemed to know. Then my Sergeant brought up the fact about it was not being used to for commercial purposes. So I checked with the Road Traffic Units who where also a bit miffed as to where it fitted in. (even older officers couldnt answer)
They looked into the matter for me and found this legislation which reads.

Exempted passenger carrying vehicles

a passenger carrying vehicle manufactured more than 30 years before the date when it is driven and not used for hire or reward or for the carriage of more than 8 passengers

OR

a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats provided the following conditions are met:

i. the vehicle is used for social purposes by a non-commercial body but not for hire or reward
ii. the driver is aged 21 iii. the driver has held a car (category B) licence for at least 2 years
iv. the driver is providing the service on a voluntary basis
v. the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes or 4.25 tonnes including any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers
vi. if the driver is aged 70 or over, is able to meet the health standards for driving a D1 vehicle
 
Is age limit different for members of armed forces? It ussually is for these things, I got my license through the army.
 
Hmm,

Cant find anything about that. there is a barracks near the station where im based, will ask them tomo if I get a chance :)
 
Monty88 said:
Is age limit different for members of armed forces? It ussually is for these things, I got my license through the army.
Click to expand...

Yes its aged 17 for most vehicle types if in military AND DRIVING A MILITARY VEHICLE!!!! under the orders of a superior in the course of your duty.


minibus
minibus + trailer over 750Kg but under MAM12000 Kg (D1)
bus (D)
and HGV with trailers

Oddly enough B+E isnt covered by this military exemption but never heard of anyone having a problem... if you can drive an artic that weighs who knows what I doubt they would have an issue with a car trailer.

Not sure how youd be fixed driving a civvy vehicle though, if your insurance company would cover you as you are officially too young to drive the vehicle if a civilian...Id definately want it in writing that they were aware of your age.

Cheers Steve
 
baysidedude182 said:
Aha,

Hopefully this is helpfull :)

I checked with a few people at work and none of them seemed to know. Then my Sergeant brought up the fact about it was not being used to for commercial purposes. So I checked with the Road Traffic Units who where also a bit miffed as to where it fitted in. (even older officers couldnt answer)
They looked into the matter for me and found this legislation which reads.

Exempted passenger carrying vehicles

a passenger carrying vehicle manufactured more than 30 years before the date when it is driven and not used for hire or reward or for the carriage of more than 8 passengers

OR

a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats provided the following conditions are met:

i. the vehicle is used for social purposes by a non-commercial body but not for hire or reward
ii. the driver is aged 21 iii. the driver has held a car (category B) licence for at least 2 years
iv. the driver is providing the service on a voluntary basis
v. the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes or 4.25 tonnes including any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers
vi. if the driver is aged 70 or over, is able to meet the health standards for driving a D1 vehicle
Click to expand...


Whoa there, yes this is correct however if you then look into the details further you get, DVLAs site is not clear as there are extra bits of info elsewhere... they didnt look deep enough.....

New rules from 1 January 1998

Your minibus entitlement will remain valid in the United Kingdom (UK) and on temporary visits abroad until your licence is next renewed. When your licence is renewed, your minibus entitlement can only be issued if you make a special application, which will involve meeting higher medical standards.
If your minibus entitlement is renewed you will normally be granted a licence for three years which will allow you to drive a minibus, not for hire or reward, in the UK and on temporary visits to other European Community/European Economic Area (EC/EEA) countries. See below for more details about licences that will be accepted abroad.
Click to expand...

So you can drive a vehicle over 8 seats on a B licence as stated not for hire or reward (ie privately) if you have the minibus B licence entitlement on your licence (not added by default you must request it) which you apply for when renewing your licence and it may be granted IF you meet the medical grounds for D1.

No entitlement added then you should not be driving it on a bog standard B licence if gained after 1998.

It is all listed on the DVLA site but it does take some looking to tie up all the relevant bits.

Cheers Steve
 
i passed my test in the army and im pretty certain that age exemptions only apply to official vehicles in the course of your duties
and that whilst driving a civvy vehicle you are liable to civilian law so age restrictions apply
this is because civilian law always takes precident in peace time
 
baysidedude182 said:
.

Exempted passenger carrying vehicles

a passenger carrying vehicle manufactured more than 30 years before the date when it is driven and not used for hire or reward or for the carriage of more than 8 passengers

OR

a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats provided the following conditions are met:

i. the vehicle is used for social purposes by a non-commercial body but not for hire or reward
ii. the driver is aged 21 iii. the driver has held a car (category B) licence for at least 2 years
iv. the driver is providing the service on a voluntary basis
v. the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes or 4.25 tonnes including any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers
vi. if the driver is aged 70 or over, is able to meet the health standards for driving a D1 vehicle
Click to expand...
This info is available on leaflet INS57P which comes with a new driving licence. Note also that YOU MAY NOT TOW A TRAILER OR DRIVE ABROAD (you would need a tachograph anyway to take a twelve seater abroad legally). The leaflet also says you can drive aminibus at age 17 "if member of armed forces". It does NOT say that you have to be driving on military business, but I sort of suspect that that is implied.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

stumpyj
TD5 Defender 90 front and rear propshaft recommendations
Replies
3
Views
476
stumpyj
stumpyj
ryan_1993
Understanding a few 1990s Land Rover Trim/Options for the CSW (Research)
Replies
11
Views
1K
Stevetheplant
S
L
Best Defender rear window surrounds
Replies
0
Views
549
lrmonks
L
dag019
Hypothetical project feasibility
Replies
17
Views
2K
FlyingPete
FlyingPete
Irish4x4
To buy or not to buy - Land Rover Defender Td5 2004
Replies
13
Views
2K
Irish4x4
Irish4x4
Back
Top