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Class BE

A heavy trailer.
No problem.

For everything Class B alone no longer covers: caravans, horse boxes, boat trailers, heavy work trailers. No theory test — only the practical test with the combination.

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What you are allowed to tow

Trailer
Up to 3,500 kg maximum authorised mass
Combination
Towing vehicle and trailer together up to 7,000 kg
Towing vehicle
A car up to 3,500 kg — Class B
Typical uses
Caravans, horse boxes, boat trailers, car transporters
Test
Practical test only, no theory test
Where it is valid
Recognised across the EU and internationally

BE or B96

If your combination stays under 4,250 kg, B96 is enough — it has no test of its own, only a course. We work out with you what your combination actually needs, and we do not recommend the bigger class when the smaller one covers it.

Requirements and how it runs

  • Class B required — either already held or taken with us alongside
  • Minimum age 18, or 17 with BF17
  • 5 compulsory special lessons with a trailer
  • Practice lessons for manoeuvring, reversing and hitching up
  • Application to the Straßenverkehrsamt: we file it on the day you sign up
  • We provide the training combination — you bring nothing
  1. 015 minutes

    Register your interest

    On the phone or in the form we work out what you want to tow — and whether that needs BE or B96.

  2. 02In person

    First meeting & signing up

    We go through what you will be towing, explain how it works and register you with the Straßenverkehrsamt.

  3. 03Practice & special lessons

    Driving lessons with a trailer

    Manoeuvring, reversing, hitching up — plus the 5 compulsory special lessons: 3× cross-country, 1× motorway, 1× at night.

  4. 04About 45 minutes

    Practical test

    At the TÜV with the combination: the walk-around check, hitching and unhitching, reversing and driving in traffic.

What is different with a trailer

The paperwork is the smaller part. A car and trailer handle noticeably differently from a car alone, and that is exactly what the training is about.

  • In reverse the trailer steers the opposite way — the manoeuvre that takes the most practice
  • The braking distance grows considerably, downhill especially
  • The trailer cuts the corner when you turn
  • Crosswind on the motorway becomes a subject
  • Manoeuvring in tight spaces, with and without a banksman
  • Hitching up, nose weight, securing the load

The practical test has a manoeuvring part on a closed area and a drive in traffic. There is no theory test, because the theory from class B is recognised.

A trailer licence in Düsseldorf

People who tow rarely tow through the city centre — so the emphasis is on what counts outside it: motorway slip roads, country roads, crosswind, and the reversing that works the opposite way round. From Oststraße the arterial roads are quickly reached, so lessons are not spent getting there. Bring both registration certificates to the first consultation; they decide whether BE is needed or B96 is enough.

Common questions about BE

Do I need BE, or is B96 enough?

The weight alone decides it: as long as the towing vehicle and trailer together stay under 4,250 kg maximum authorised mass, B96 covers you — above that you need BE.

The sum is worked out from the maximum authorised masses in field F.1 of both registration documents, not from what is actually loaded. An estate with a big horsebox or a heavy caravan is over the line quickly.

Bring both registration documents to the first consultation and we work it through in five minutes. If the smaller class is enough, we tell you that too.

Do I have to sit a theory test?

No. Class BE has no theory test, only the practical test at the TÜV.

The reason is simple: BE requires class B, and the theory from it is recognised. So you do not have to attend theory classes either.

That is the main reason BE goes so much faster than first-time training. What is left are the driving lessons with a combination and the five compulsory special drives.

How long does BE training take?

Most people are finished in two to four weeks, alongside work or school.

What you need are practice drives with a trailer plus the five compulsory special drives: three cross-country, one on the motorway, one at night. Theory classes and the theory test fall away, and with them the biggest block of time in first-time training.

How fast it really goes hangs on two things: how often you take your appointments, and when the TÜV has a test slot free for a combination. We plan both in from the start.

Can I do BE at the same time as Class B?

Yes. Both classes run in parallel — you sit the practical BE test as soon as class B is passed.

BE requires class B, but only at the moment of the test. So you may drive the lessons with a combination beforehand and lose no time by it.

For anyone with a caravan or a horsebox coming anyway, that is the leanest route: the application to the Straßenverkehrsamt then runs for both classes together.

How does the practical BE test work?

It lasts around 45 minutes and has two parts: a manoeuvring section on a closed-off area and a drive in public traffic.

On the area you show the pre-drive checks, coupling and uncoupling, and reversing with the trailer. After that the combination goes onto the road — turning, country road, motorway slip road.

The test is taken at the TÜV, with our training combination. You do not have to bring a car or a trailer of your own.

How many lessons do I need for BE?

There is no legally prescribed minimum number of practice lessons. All that is prescribed are the five special drives with a trailer.

How many practice lessons come before them is almost always decided by reversing. A trailer steers the other way round in reverse, and how quickly that feeling arrives differs from person to person.

Anyone who has driven with a trailer at work needs few lessons. Anyone coupling up for the first time should plan a few more — after every lesson we tell you where you stand.

Which trailer may I tow on BE?

Trailers up to 3,500 kg maximum authorised mass, as long as the towing vehicle and trailer together do not exceed 7,000 kg.

The towing vehicle stays a class B car, so up to 3,500 kg itself. In practice that covers caravans, two-horse trailers, boat trailers and car transporters.

The class is recognised across the EU and internationally. What can differ abroad are only the rules for the combination itself, such as the maximum speed allowed with a trailer — each country sets that for itself.

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