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C1 Licence (7.5 tonne)

The C1 driving licence allows people to drive vans up to 7.5 tonnes. Drivers who pass the 7.5 tonne C1 test will become entitled to drive C1 rigid vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes with a trailer up to 750kg. If you would like to drive a C1 vehicle with a trailer over 750kgs then you must also pass the C1+E test.

The C1 licence is very useful for those people seeking employment making deleveries for local companies, as many of these local companies use 7.5 tonne vans for their deliveries, whcih requires a C1 licence in order to drive.

The other common role for which a C1 licence is required is to work with the NHS as a paramedic or as A&E Support. We are proud to say that we have trained many drivers who are applying to the NHS, many of whom are on a 6 week deadline to obtain their C1 licence, or else risk having their applications discarded by the NHS.

Advantages of the C1 Driving Licence

The C1 driving licence is proving to be the most popular of the LGV driving licences for the following reasons:

The cost for obtaining the licence is considerably cheaper than obtaining a Category C licence
You will not require as many hours tuition, as the test need only be taken in a van as opposed to a lorry
The test will be easier to pass as you will be taking it in a much smaller vehicle
If you were to fail the test on your first attempt, the cost of a resit is much cheaper compared to Category C
The pay rates between C1 drivers and Class 2 (Category C) can be negligible
Many companies (especially for local deliveries) only require their staff to have a C1 licence

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C1 Licence Exemptions

Drivers who passed their Category B (car licence) test before 1st January 1997 will benefit from acquired rights (also referred to as grandfathering rights). This means that these group of drivers already have the C1 entitlement on their driving licence, and will not need to take any additional tests.

People who took their driving test after January 1997 will not have been granted the C1 licence, and will therefore have to take a separate C1 test to get the C1 licence.

Category C1 (7.5 tonne) Requirements

In order to attend any of our C1 courses, you must be at least 18 years of age and have a Category B licence (car licence).

Assuming you already have a Category B driving licence, your first step is attend and pass an LGV medical test (unless you have already completed a medical for an PCV licence). You should be available to arrange for your local GP to conduct this medical, and they will confirm what fee is applicable. You will need to take a D4 Medical Form (download here) with you, and the doctor will complete the form accordingly.

Once you have passed your LGV Medical Examination, you must then make an application to the DVLA for your Category C1 provisional licence. In order to make this application, you will need to complete a D2 Application Form, which can be obtained from your local post office, or can be ordered online from the DVLA here.

At this stage of applying for your Category C1 licence it is also worth applying for Category C (Lorry), Category D1 (PCV - Minibus) and Category D (PCV - Bus/Coach), as currently there is no fee for applying for these provisional entitlements, and should you decide to progress onto any of these tests in the future, it will save you from having to re-apply for the provisional entitlement, and avoid incurring any possible future fees.

You can view full details about your driving licence, including your provisional entitlements on the DVLA's website

The final step you must complete before attending our a C1 training course is to sit and pass your LGV theory test, which can be booked online at the DVSA's website, or by calling the DVSA booking line on 0300 200 1122.

When booking your theory test you will need to book and pass both the LGV Multiple Choice (Module 1a) and LGV Hazard Perception (Module 1b) theory tests. It is also recommended that you book your LGV CPC Case Study (Module 2) at this stage, however it is not essential or required for you to pass this theory test before taking your practical training or LGV practical test. It is worth noting that some occupations (such as NHS drivers) are exempt from CPC requirements.

C1 Driving Licence Training In London

We offer a range of Category C1 training courses to accomdate drivers with different levels of experience. All of our 7.5 tonne C1 courses are provided on a 1-2-1 basis, ensuring that you receive 100% of the instructors attention without the pressure of any other observers. It is this 1-2-1 C1 training by our fully qualified DVSA approved trainiers which leads to our superb first time pass rate. Our training days consist of 4 hours training each day, with all 4 hours being spent by you at the wheel, and not spent with unecessary "coffee breaks" or "lunch breaks" which many other schools use as a tactic to reduce your training time.

Many other schools will offer you an 8 hour training day, which may sound like good value on the face of it, but the 8 hour day is not on a 1-2-1 basis, and the driving time is shared with another pupil, meaning you spend half the time squeezed in a drivers cab waiting for your turn to drive and effectively wasting half your day. The other problem with the 8 hour days provided by other trailer training schools in East London is that many of theses training schools will introduce lunch breaks into this 8 hour day meaning that you are not receiving your full time driving/practicing that you are paying for. The final problem with an 8 hour day is tiredness. Driving for such a long time results in a lack of concentration and therefore has to have an adverse affect on your learning. The combination of these problems is quite obvious as to why such schools do not have the same extensive pass rate as we pride ourselves on. However, if you are insistent on having an 8 hour day, we can of course accommodate this, even though we do not recommend it.

7.5 Tonne C1 Courses

Our 7.5 tonne licence training ranges from a 24 hour course aimed at people who have never driven vans, all the way down to a 12 hour course which is aimed at experienced van drivers. We do also offer a 10 hour course, but would only recommend this to people who have lots of experience driving large vehicles, and being exceptionally good at reversing.

Your course will typically be split up into 4 hours training per day, with your test being taken on the final day of your course, where you will receive 2 hours pre-test warm up training, followed your C1 practical driving test for which 2 of your training hours will be allocated for.

Your training will consist of verbal and practical training for the following:

improving your general driving skills to make sure they are up to the DVSA " driving test standard"
showing you popular test routes you are likely to encounter as part of your driving test
teaching you about the reversing manoeuvre which you will be required to do as part of your practical test
teaching you the "show me / tell me" questions which will be asked at the beginning of your test

Our most successful courses are those within the 16 - 20 hour bracket, as these course's generally provide us enough time to adequately cover all the training points mentioned above. Obviously the shorter the course, the less in depth we can cover the training points above.

Please remember when deciding which C1 training course would suit you best, that if you try to select a shorter training course to try to save yourself money, you may not pass your C1 test first time, and may end up spending more money on re-tests than if you selected the most appropriate course for your skill level in the first place. If you are unsure about which C1 course would suit you best, then please contact our office where we will be more than happy to listen to the experience you have and help you make an appropriate choice.

As well as offering the very best C1 licence training in London, we are probably the cheapest LGV Category C1 training school in London as well, offering the very best instruction, matched with unrivalled pass rates at unbeatable prices.

The C1 Driving Test

The C1 7.5 tonne driving test will be taken in the same vehicle in which you do your training in. The test starts off with the examiner asking you some vehicle safety questions, and is usually immeadiatly followed by the reversing excercise. You then proceed to spend the next 50 minutes - 1 hour driving on the public road, going over through the test routes you would have practiced during your training. During this time on the road the LGV examiner will assess your ability to interact with other road users along.

Once you have successfully passed your LGV Category C1 practical test, you will then obtain Category C1 on your driving licence which will entitle you to drive any rigid vehicle up to 7.5 tonnes.

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How do I book my C1 Driving Lessons?

Since all of our C1 sessions are bespoke to each individual, the only way you can book a session is to call our offices on 020 8597 7333 or 0800 848 8418 where our office staff will discuss your personal requirements and discuss availability to help you find a suitable time and date to suit you.

Booking a Course if you have an EU Licence

If you have an EU licence, you must obtain a D91 Form from the DVLA.

To get the D91 Form, you will need to complete a D9 Application Form. Once you complete the D9 Application, the DVLA will then send you a D91 Form in the post, and allocate you UK driving licence number.

Once you have the D91 Form and a UK driving licence number, you can then book onto a course with us as well as being able to book any other driving courses/tests/assessments in the UK.

Please note, you will need to bring the D91 Form form with you to your course, so please make sure you do pyhsically have this in your possession before making your booking.

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