Most people arrive saying “I want the normal car licence” — and work out in the first consultation that there are four versions of it. The difference is not a formality: it decides whether you can drive any car after the test, or only half of them.
Class B — the classic
You train and take the test in a manual. Afterwards you can drive anything: manual and automatic, with no restriction. It asks the most of you, because the clutch and the gears arrive at the same time as learning to read traffic.
Class B78 — automatic only
You train and take the test in an automatic. The entry in your licence then restricts you to automatics for good. For plenty of people that is entirely fine — electric cars are all automatic anyway. It stings when you later want to borrow your parents' car and it turns out to be a manual.
Class B197 — the middle way
You learn and take the test in an automatic, plus at least ten lessons in a manual and an internal test drive. After that your licence carries no restriction: you may drive both. The test is calmer, because you are concentrating on the traffic rather than the gear change — and the entitlement is still the full one.
What we suggest
If you are not sure whether changing gear will stress you: B197. You get the full entitlement and take the biggest source of test nerves out of it.
BF17 — accompanied driving from 17
Not a type of car but an earlier start. You do the whole training and the test at 17, then drive with a registered supervisor until your 18th birthday. BF17 combines with B, B78 and B197 — so the two choices are separate.
Statistically, people who went through BF17 have fewer accidents later. That year of supervision is real driving practice with somebody beside you, and that is exactly what is otherwise missing at the start.
And the trailer classes?
BE and B96 are not alternatives to a car licence but extensions of it. Both require you to be 18 and to already hold class B — there is no BF17 route to either.
- B96 is a course with no test, for combinations up to 4,250 kg.
- BE is a full course with a practical test, for heavier trailers.
If you are unsure, just drop in. The first consultation costs nothing, and we will tell you honestly which version makes sense for you — including when that is the cheaper one.