Can I directly apply for an A3 driver's license now?
4 Answers
Now you can directly apply for an A3 driver's license. To obtain an A3 driver's license, you must be at least 21 years old or have held a driver's license for at least one year without any full-point penalty records, and you need to register for training in your registered residence. Physical requirements for the driver's license test: 1. Height: Applicants for large buses, tractors, city buses, large trucks, or trolleybuses must be at least 155 cm tall; applicants for medium-sized buses must be at least 150 cm tall. 2. Vision: Applicants for large buses, tractors, city buses, medium-sized buses, large trucks, trolleybuses, or trams must have a naked or corrected visual acuity of at least 5.0 on the logarithmic visual acuity chart. For other vehicle types, the naked or corrected visual acuity must be at least 4.9. Applicants with monocular vision impairment can apply for a driver's license for small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed trucks, three-wheeled cars, or small automatic transmission passenger cars for the disabled if their right eye's naked or corrected visual acuity reaches at least 5.0 on the logarithmic visual acuity chart and their horizontal field of vision reaches 150 degrees.
When I was learning to get my driver's license a while ago, some friends asked me if they could directly take the A3 test. It seemed like a new topic, but it's actually not possible. In China's driver's license system, there is no officially recognized category called A3. The standard categories are A1 for large buses or C1 for small cars. If you want to get an A-class license, such as for driving a bus, you have to go step by step: first obtain a C1 manual transmission license, be at least 22 years old with at least three years of driving experience, and then enroll in a driving school for an additional license test. When I was studying for my C1, it cost me over 4,000 yuan, and I trained for two months before passing. The reason you can't take the test directly is for safety—beginners without a solid foundation might struggle to control large vehicles during turns and braking, leading to a high accident rate. I recommend that beginners first practice thoroughly and get a C1 license. After gaining experience with small cars, they can then consider upgrading.
I've been driving for over a decade and often get asked if it's possible to skip levels and directly test for advanced licenses like A3. The truth is, you can't take the test directly. China's regulations require applicants for Class A licenses to have foundational experience. For A1, you must be at least 25 years old and have held a C or B license for over five years. I started with a C1 license myself, driving private cars for five years before upgrading to A1, which involved two months of training for heavy trucks. The tuition cost me over 5,000 yuan back then. It's too risky for beginners to test directly – large vehicles have many blind spots, and without long-term experience, it's easy to rear-end or overturn. Safety comes first, so the rules are set this way; you should follow the proper procedures. I've heard that signing up for driving school is quite convenient now, with mobile apps for scheduling, saving a lot of hassle.
When discussing driver's license categories, Class A is for large vehicles, such as A1 for buses; C1 is for regular cars. Some people mistakenly think A3 can be obtained directly, but that's not the case. You must start from a lower level, for example, getting a C1 license first, driving for a few years before upgrading. Upgrading also requires additional training and tests. The cost is not low either—last year, I spent a month studying theory questions for the C1 exam, and the practical training was quite exhausting. The rules are there to protect everyone—it's too dangerous for beginners to directly operate large vehicles. It's more reliable to follow the steps honestly, don't think about shortcuts.
