The five classes
| Class | Vehicles | Minimum tenure before applying | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| LR Light Rigid | Trucks with a GVM over 4.5 t up to 8 t; buses seating more than 12 adults including the driver up to 8 t GVM; any towed trailer not over 9 t GVM | Class C (car) licence, not a learner, for 1 year or more | Knowledge test, eyesight test, HVCBA or driving test |
| MR Medium Rigid | Trucks and buses with a GVM over 8 t and 2 axles; trailer not over 9 t GVM | Class C for 1 year or more | As LR |
| HR Heavy Rigid | Trucks and buses with a GVM over 8 t and 3 or more axles, including articulated ("bendy") buses; trailer not over 9 t GVM | Class C for 2 years or more | As LR; the minimum test vehicle is a three-axle rigid over 15 t GVM |
| HC Heavy Combination | Articulated vehicles with 3 or more axles; heavy rigid and trailer combinations with 3 or more axles, including an unladen dolly; any towed trailer over 9 t GVM | MR or HR for 1 year or more (P2 tenure counts, but you cannot learn or upgrade until the MR or HR is unrestricted) | As LR |
| MC Multi Combination | B-doubles; prime mover, low loader dolly and low loader trailer combinations; road trains. "The highest level of licence class", covering every vehicle except motorcycles | HR or HC for at least 1 year; an HR holder must pass an HC assessment before starting MC training | Knowledge test, eyesight test, HVCBA (no driving-test option) and a medical assessment |
Each class includes the ones below it, so an HC driver may drive HR, MR, LR and C vehicles, but "you cannot drive an MC vehicle with an HC licence". The 9-tonne trailer line is what separates rigid classes from combination classes: a rigid truck towing a trailer over 9 t GVM is an HC combination whatever the truck.
Which class do you actually need?
- A 3-axle tipper, a garbage truck, a 12-tonne delivery rigid: HR. Two axles and over 8 t: MR is enough.
- A semi-trailer, or a rigid pulling a dog trailer over 9 t: HC.
- A B-double or a road train: MC. In NSW, HC holders may not drive low loader combinations, though interstate licences that allow it are recognised.
- A small bus over 12 seats and under 8 t: LR. A city bus: MR or HR depending on axles.
Condition B: synchromesh and automatic restriction
The Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook: "if you pass a Driving Test in a vehicle fitted with an automatic or synchromesh gear box you will be restricted to driving these types of vehicles. To have this condition removed you need to pass a Driving Test in a vehicle fitted with a non-synchromesh gear box." Most modern trucks are synchromesh or automated, so many drivers carry the condition without noticing; it matters for road trains and older prime movers with constant-mesh (crash) boxes, where double-declutching is required.
Tenure: how long before you can upgrade
The times in the table are minimums and they stack. From a car licence the fastest legal path to an MC is: one year on a C, then MR; one year on the MR, then HC; one year on the HC, then MC: three years from the car licence. Going through HR instead needs two years on the C before the HR. Provisional P1 holders may not learn to drive LR, MR or HR vehicles; P1 and P2 holders may not learn MC. NSW recognises P2 tenure on an MR or HR towards the HC and MC waiting periods, but the upgrade itself waits for an unrestricted licence.
The MC medical
For class MC a medical examination is required "to first obtain an MC licence, at age 21 then every 10 years, at age 40 then every 5 years, at age 60 then every 2 years, at age 70 then annually". The other classes need only the eyesight test at application, though the national fitness-to-drive standards still apply to every commercial driver.
Driving outside your class
NSW: "Driving a vehicle outside your licence class is a serious offence." The fine is $637 for a first penalty and $1,275 for any subsequent one; the vehicle can be grounded, and an unlicensed driver cannot continue the journey. Employers and schedulers who put a driver in a vehicle above their class are also exposed under the Chain of Responsibility.
Where the classes come from
The five classes are national: every state and territory issues the same LR to MC ladder under the national heavy vehicle driver competency framework, and a licence from one state is recognised in all of them. The eligibility periods, tests and fees are set by each state’s licensing authority; this page uses Transport for NSW’s figures. The tests and the state-by-state process are on how to get an HR licence; the knowledge test is practised with the heavy vehicle knowledge test; training providers are in the heavy vehicle training directory and test centres in the test centre directory.
Common mistakes
- Counting a 2-axle truck over 8 t as HR. Two axles is MR; HR needs three or more.
- Towing a 10-tonne trailer behind a rigid on an HR. Over 9 t GVM makes it an HC combination.
- Going straight from HR to MC training. NSW requires an HC assessment first.
- Forgetting condition B before a job on a road train with a crash box.
- Assuming the HC covers a B-double. It does not.