Can a C1 license be upgraded to a B2 license?
2 Answers
A C1 license can be upgraded to a B2 license, but it requires passing an exam. If the exam is passed, the vehicle management office will issue a new-level driver's license within 7 working days. The following are the detailed conditions for upgrading from C1 to B2: You must have held a motor vehicle driver's license for at least one year; There should be no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the current scoring cycle or the most recent scoring cycle before application; No involvement in a traffic accident resulting in death where you bore equal or greater responsibility; No history of drunk driving; Your driver's license must not have been revoked or rescinded within the past ten years; Age must be between 20 and 60 years old. C1 is a code for a type of permitted driving license. According to the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses" (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 123), C1 permits driving small and mini passenger vehicles, light and mini cargo vehicles, as well as light and mini special-purpose vehicles. It also allows driving vehicles under the permitted categories of C2, C3, and C4. A B2 license permits driving heavy and medium-duty cargo vehicles or large, heavy, and medium-duty special-purpose vehicles. Heavy and medium-duty cargo vehicles are mainly trucks, such as the large dump trucks commonly seen on roads, which belong to the heavy truck category. Large, heavy, and medium-duty special-purpose vehicles refer to vehicles equipped with special devices or tools, such as sprinkler trucks, concrete mixer trucks, and fire trucks. Article 14 of the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses" states that for first-time applicants, the permitted driving categories include urban buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed cargo vehicles, three-wheeled cars, small automatic transmission passenger cars for the disabled, ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles, ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles, light motorcycles, wheeled self-propelled machinery, trolleybuses, and trams. For those who already hold a motor vehicle driver's license and wish to add a permitted driving category, the additional categories include large passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers, urban buses, medium-sized passenger vehicles, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed cargo vehicles, three-wheeled cars, ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles, ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles, light motorcycles, wheeled self-propelled machinery, trolleybuses, and trams. Article 15 states that for those who already hold a motor vehicle driver's license and wish to add a permitted driving category, there should be no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the current scoring cycle or the most recent scoring cycle before application. This applies to adding medium-sized passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers, and large passenger vehicles. The B2 driver's license exam consists of four subjects: Subject 1 covers road traffic laws and regulations related to driving motor vehicles, including road usage, traffic violations, traffic signals, and accident handling. Subject 2 involves practical operations for large buses, urban buses, tractor-trailers, etc., such as stake tests, side parking, hill starts, and single-plank bridge navigation. Subject 3 includes test drive preparations, starting, driving straight, lane changes, and gear shifting for large buses, urban buses, tractor-trailers, and medium-sized passenger vehicles. Subject 4 covers safe and civilized driving requirements, safe driving knowledge for extreme weather and complex road conditions, and accident handling procedures.
Absolutely! I'm speaking from experience as someone who upgraded from a C1 to a B2 license. There are a few key requirements you must meet: First, you must have held a C1 license for at least 1 year—I drove a manual transmission for over a year before applying. Then, your age must be between 20 and 60; I was 25 when I did it, which was perfect. Most importantly, you cannot have accumulated 12 penalty points in the most recent scoring cycle—last year, I got caught speeding twice but only totaled 6 points, so I passed smoothly. When I signed up at the driving school, the instructor first had me take a physical exam: my vision had to meet the standard, and my height also had to comply with the requirements for truck driving. For the upgrade exam, I had to retake the theoretical test (Subject 1), and the practical tests—Subject 2’s yard test with the large truck’s right-angle turns and reverse parking—were way harder than for a regular car. It took me about two and a half months to get the license, but now driving a 4.2-meter truck for deliveries is so much more convenient.
