The short answer
Class B covers vehicles up to 3,500 kg permitted total mass with no more than eight seats besides the driver's. A trailer up to 750 kg is always allowed, a heavier one only while the combination stays within 3,500 kg overall. Classes AM and L are included as well.
The question sounds like beginner's knowledge and is most often asked by people who have held the licence for ten years — usually on a Friday afternoon, with a rental agreement in their hand. It has a short answer, and it consists of three numbers.
The three numbers
- 3,500 kg permitted total mass of the vehicle — not the kerb weight, not what it weighs today
- No more than eight seats besides the driver's, so nine people in the vehicle
- A trailer up to 750 kg permitted total mass, always and with no further condition
- A heavier trailer only while towing vehicle and trailer together stay within 3,500 kg
What that means day to day
Practically every car, every estate and every electric vehicle — including the heavy ones, since even large EV models generally stay under the limit. Add the nine-seater for a club trip, the usual rental van, and a motorhome as long as its permitted total mass does not exceed 3,500 kg. Above that there is nothing to interpret: class C1 begins there, and it is trained and tested separately.
Not the 3,500 itself, but where it is printed. People who bring us a registration document almost always point at the kerb weight — and that is the wrong line. We then go to field F.1 together, and often the question is answered right there, with nobody having to do anything new.
What is included without anyone mentioning it
Class B contains two further classes: AM, meaning mopeds and light motorcycles up to 45 km/h, and L, agricultural and forestry tractors up to 40 km/h. Both appear on the back of your licence on their own lines, and nobody applied for either.
What is not included
- Motorcycles up to 125 cc — that needs a separate key number and its own training, from the age of 25 and after five years of class B
- Combinations over 3,500 kg — that needs B96 or BE
- Vehicles over 3,500 kg permitted total mass, even driven empty
- Carrying paying passengers, which requires a separate permit from the authority
Where the number is printed
Registration document part I, field F.1. That is the permitted total mass and the only figure that matters for the licence question. What the vehicle weighs at this moment is irrelevant to it — though not to securing the load.
Everything about the training is on the class B page, and the overview of all classes under licence classes. If you are unsure whether your licence covers a particular vehicle, bring the registration document or ask via contact.
What to take away
Class B is more generous than most people assume — and the single number that decides it is in field F.1, not in the brochure. Look it up once and you never have to ask again.