Tractor/driving license

Fendt516

Member
Location
Penzance
Can you, If driving an agricultural tractor and trailer that weighs over 12 tonnes, combined, be driven on a standard car license if your over 21 yrs old?
Reading on gov website, it appears a category c+e is required. Or am I reading it wrong?! I hope so, but think not. Although I have this myself, I will need to ensure if I employ drivers to do it they will need to have one or they can't drive.
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Can you, If driving an agricultural tractor and trailer that weighs over 12 tonnes, combined, be driven on a standard car license if your over 21 yrs old?
Reading on gov website, it appears a category c+e is required. Or am I reading it wrong?! I hope so, but think not. Although I have this myself, I will need to ensure if I employ drivers to do it they will need to have one or they can't drive.

You need a Cat F for Ag tractor, either by taking a Cat F test or you get it automatically with a Cat B ( car ) licence. With a Cat F and if you are 17 or over you can now drive a tractor and trailer combination up to 31 tonnes.
 

Fendt516

Member
Location
Penzance
Licensing requirements for farm vehicles
Under special licensing arrangements, you are allowed to drive larger vehicles on your farm without holding a large goods vehicle (LGV) driving licence entitlement.

If you drive a larger vehicle, the maximum authorised mass - ie the total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry - will determine which driving licence entitlement you require, for example:

  • 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes requires a category C1 licence
  • more than 7.5 tonnes requires a category C licence
You must be at least 18 years of age to drive a vehicle weighing between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, and 21 years of age to drive a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes.
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Licensing requirements for farm vehicles
Under special licensing arrangements, you are allowed to drive larger vehicles on your farm without holding a large goods vehicle (LGV) driving licence entitlement.

If you drive a larger vehicle, the maximum authorised mass - ie the total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry - will determine which driving licence entitlement you require, for example:

  • 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes requires a category C1 licence
  • more than 7.5 tonnes requires a category C licence
You must be at least 18 years of age to drive a vehicle weighing between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, and 21 years of age to drive a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes.

That bit isn't about tractors, it's about large goods vehicle used on a farm. In the table it says tractors are Cat F age 17*, the * bit explains that you can drive a Tractor at 16 on a Cat F provided that it is less than 2.45m wide and has either a single or close coupled axle trailer.
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Licensing requirements for farm vehicles
Under special licensing arrangements, you are allowed to drive larger vehicles on your farm without holding a large goods vehicle (LGV) driving licence entitlement.

If you drive a larger vehicle, the maximum authorised mass - ie the total weight of the vehicle plus the maximum load it can carry - will determine which driving licence entitlement you require, for example:

  • 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes requires a category C1 licence
  • more than 7.5 tonnes requires a category C licence
You must be at least 18 years of age to drive a vehicle weighing between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, and 21 years of age to drive a vehicle over 7.5 tonnes.

PS Cat F is only Tractors, things like Telehandlers, Combines, and Self Propelled sprayers are all on a Cat B licence and if they are over 7.5 tonnes then you have to be over 21.
 
Can you, If driving an agricultural tractor and trailer that weighs over 12 tonnes, combined, be driven on a standard car license if your over 21 yrs old?
Reading on gov website, it appears a category c+e is required. Or am I reading it wrong?! I hope so, but think not. Although I have this myself, I will need to ensure if I employ drivers to do it they will need to have one or they can't drive.
It's confusing to read, but I think their referring to any other vehicles used within agriculture so if you were using a lorry for agricultural use. As it says at the bottom there are exemptions for agricultural tractors. So its confusing but I think the c + e applies to all vehicles in agriculture, except tractors. Don't see anything about the weight limit though....
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
It's confusing to read, but I think their referring to any other vehicles used within agriculture so if you were using a lorry for agricultural use. As it says at the bottom there are exemptions for agricultural tractors. So its confusing but I think the c + e applies to all vehicles in agriculture, except tractors. Don't see anything about the weight limit though....

I agree, it's confusing and poorly written/laid out.
 

Fendt516

Member
Location
Penzance
Also, i use the tractors for hauling other farmers produce, using their trailers, from fields back to their yards/storage facilities. I am likely to travel up to say 30 miles from their yard. Do i need a standard national for this? and work/keep records under domestic rules as i am exempt from eu rules?
 

Simon Chiles

DD Moderator
Also, i use the tractors for hauling other farmers produce, using their trailers, from fields back to their yards/storage facilities. I am likely to travel up to say 30 miles from their yard. Do i need a standard national for this? and work/keep records under domestic rules as i am exempt from eu rules?

Now this is a different matter, this is purely haulage and shouldn't be done with an Ag Taxed tractor.
 

Fendt516

Member
Location
Penzance
mmmm, but how do you get the trailer out the field with a commercial truck? or where do i go from here if i choose to do it with the tractor i have? cant i just apply for an o licence and carry on? i know id have to do maintenance contracts etc.......
 

Fendt516

Member
Location
Penzance
Now this is a different matter, this is purely haulage and shouldn't be done with an Ag Taxed tractor.

mmmm, but how do you get the trailer out the field with a commercial truck? or where do i go from here if i choose to do it with the tractor i have? cant i just apply for an o licence and carry on? i know id have to do maintenance contracts etc.......
 

Derky

Member
Location
Bucks/oxon
This is where the whole job gets muddled and I suspect a can of worms that the dvsa will open at some stage. Its haulage so national o licence, T manager, drivers records white diesel etc. Lots of people hauling crop about that is bordering on road haulage..........................
 
I was told that anything with a three point linkage is classed as a tractor, unless it has tracks.
I was also told that if you take the fifth wheel off of an artic lorry you can drive it on a car license.
Both of which could be utter nonsense. I drove a telehandler for a year thinking it was covered by my tractor license.
 
I was told that anything with a three point linkage is classed as a tractor, unless it has tracks.
I was also told that if you take the fifth wheel off of an artic lorry you can drive it on a car license.
Both of which could be utter nonsense. I drove a telehandler for a year thinking it was covered by my tractor license.
What about a telehandler with 3 point linkage?
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
There is a huge grey area ,between Agricultural Tractor and Agricultural Machine.
There is no line as far as I can see, which has been defined by the courts.
Certainly some machines are not tractors, thus being machines, such as self propelled sprayers combines etc , which are designed for a purpose and only designed to tow, a tender , such as headers or small trailers with their working essentials.
However others such as loaders , teleporter a etc can be argued to be designed to tow agricultural trailers.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top