How long does it take to upgrade from C1 to A2?
4 Answers
You cannot directly upgrade from a C1 to an A2 driver's license. If you already hold a C1 license, the fastest way to obtain an A2 license is to first upgrade to a B1 or B2 license after holding the C1 license for at least one year. After obtaining the B1 or B2 license, you must have three years of professional driving experience before you can apply for the A2 license. Therefore, upgrading from C1 to A2 requires at least four years. Alternatively, you can take a second approach by directly obtaining a B2 license. With three years of driving experience after obtaining the B2 license, you can also upgrade to an A2 license. This method is faster but does not involve upgrading directly from a C1 license. According to the 'Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses' (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 123) of the People's Republic of China, the following conditions must be met for upgrading a driver's license: Article 14: For those who already hold a motor vehicle driver's license and apply to add a permitted vehicle type, there should be no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the current scoring cycle or the most recent scoring cycle before the application. For applications to add medium-sized passenger vehicles, tractors, or large passenger vehicles as permitted vehicle types, the following additional regulations apply: To apply for adding medium-sized passenger vehicles as a permitted vehicle type, the applicant must have held a license for urban buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed trucks, or three-wheeled vehicles for at least three years, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the three most recent scoring cycles before the application. To apply for adding tractors as a permitted vehicle type, the applicant must have held a license for medium-sized passenger vehicles or large trucks for at least three years, or have held a license for large passenger vehicles for at least one year, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the three most recent scoring cycles before the application. To apply for adding large passenger vehicles as a permitted vehicle type, the applicant must have held a license for medium-sized passenger vehicles, urban buses, or large trucks for at least five years, or have held a license for tractors for at least two years, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the five most recent scoring cycles before the application. In temporary residence areas, the permitted vehicle types that can be added include small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed trucks, three-wheeled vehicles, ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles, ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles, and light motorcycles. Article 15: Under any of the following circumstances, the applicant is not allowed to apply for large passenger vehicles, tractors, medium-sized passenger vehicles, or large trucks as permitted vehicle types: Being responsible for a traffic accident resulting in death with equal or greater liability; Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol; Having the motor vehicle driver's license revoked or rescinded for less than ten years. According to the 'Permitted Vehicle Types and Codes' (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 139) of the People's Republic of China, the A1 permitted vehicle type is large passenger vehicles, which allows driving large passenger cars and also permits driving A3, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, C4, and M vehicle types. According to the 'Permitted Vehicle Types and Codes' (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 139) of the People's Republic of China, the A2 permitted vehicle type is tractors, which allows driving heavy and medium-sized full trailers and semi-trailer trains, and also permits driving B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, C4, and M vehicle types.
I just upgraded my license to A2 last year, and the whole process took over three years. Starting from C1, I first had to upgrade to B2, and I waited a year before taking the B2 license test, mainly to ensure I didn’t accumulate 12 penalty points in two consecutive scoring cycles. After obtaining B2, I had to wait another full two years. During this period, besides maintaining a clean driving record, I had to retake exams from Subject 1 to Subject 3, especially the semi-trailer reverse parking in Subject 2, which was quite challenging. Additionally, you must be at least 24 years old—a friend of mine had to wait half a year because he didn’t meet the age requirement. I recommend planning ahead, making sure your penalty points are cleared before applying.
My cousin just got his A2 license last month, and it took him three years to upgrade from C1 to A2. He obtained his C1 at 22 and waited one year to take the B2 test, only to find out he wasn’t old enough—he had to wait another year until he turned 24. The second year, he passed the B2 upgrade on the first try, but in the third year, he failed the third subject of the A2 test and had to reschedule, which delayed him for over two months. The regulations are quite strict now: you must have held a B2 license for at least 24 months before upgrading to A2, and they check your traffic violation records between each exam. In the final two weeks, he almost missed the deadline because he got 6 points deducted for speeding.
I run a logistics company and often help drivers with license upgrades. The fastest path from C1 to A2 takes three years: after holding C1 for one year, upgrade to B2 first, then wait two years before testing for A2. Two critical requirements: age must be at least 24, and no 12-point penalty within the last 24 consecutive months. Actual timing depends on exam schedules - our fleet's fastest record is exactly three years, while slower cases drag to four and a half years. Note that the pass rate for tractor trailer Category 2 road tests is only about 50%, with many people losing time on retakes.
