Can C1 be upgraded to B1?

[VonAshlyn]

C1 can be upgraded to B1. To upgrade from a C1 driver's license to B1, the following four requirements must be met: Hold a C1 driver's license for more than three years; No record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the most recent three consecutive scoring cycles; Meet the physical conditions: Age: Between 21 and 50 years old; Height: At least 150 cm; Vision: Naked or corrected vision of both eyes must reach 5.0 or above on the logarithmic visual acuity chart; Hearing: Able to distinguish the direction of sound with each ear at a distance of 50 cm from the tuning fork; Upper limbs: Both thumbs must be intact, and each hand must have at least three other fingers intact with normal limb and finger movement function; Lower limbs: Both lower limbs must be intact with normal movement function, and the length difference should not exceed 5 cm. Note: The B1 upgrade application can only be processed at the local vehicle management office where the driver's household registration is located.

[Janelle]

Just helped a friend check the license upgrade policy a couple of days ago. You can't directly upgrade from C1 to B1 - you need to retake the exam. The requirements are quite strict: first, you must be at least 20 years old and have held a C1 license for over three years. If you've had serious violations like drunk driving or speeding over 50% during this period, you're basically disqualified. If you meet all these conditions, you'll need to enroll in driving school for the additional license test, going through all four exam sections again. The large vehicle operations in Section 2 are particularly more challenging. Only after passing can you add B1 to your license, and your original C1 license will be replaced with a new one. If you don't have that much time and energy, a C1 license is actually sufficient for driving a 7-seat MPV.

[AdelynDella]

After holding my C1 license for three years, I also considered 'upgrading' to a B1 license. Later, I realized there's no such thing as an 'upgrade'—B1 and C1 are entirely separate tracks. Only after meeting specific conditions with three years of C1 experience can you 'add' a B1 license, which essentially means retesting for a medium-sized bus license. The addition requires passing all four exam sections, and the test vehicle must be a 10-seat medium bus. The toughest part is the road test (Section 3)—doubling the vehicle length completely changes the experience for turns and lane changes, and training alone costs around 4,000–5,000 RMB. Another pitfall is the demerit-point cycle reset rule: your record must show no 12-point violations across the three most recent cycles before applying. Even if you had 11 points deducted three years ago, you’d still be rejected upon application now.