Is an exam required for upgrading from a C1 to a B2 driver's license?

[SkylarMarie]

Yes, an exam is required. 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 conditions for upgrading from C1 to B2: To add a new permitted driving category to an existing motor vehicle driver's license, the applicant must have held the (C1) permitted driving category license for more than three years. Additionally, there should be no record of accumulating 12 penalty points from the current scoring cycle to the most recent scoring cycle before applying for the new permitted driving category. Only then will the vehicle management office approve the application for the new permitted driving category. C1 is one of the codes for permitted driving categories of a driver's license. According to the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses" (Ministry of Public Security Order No. 123), C1 refers to the driver's license that 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. The B2 driver's 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 heavy-duty trucks. Large, heavy, and medium-duty special-purpose vehicles refer to vehicles equipped with special equipment or devices, 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 the first-time application for a motor vehicle driver's license, the permitted driving categories that can be applied for include urban buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed cargo vehicles, three-wheeled vehicles, small automatic transmission passenger vehicles 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 categories that can be applied for include large passenger vehicles, tractors, urban buses, medium passenger vehicles, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed cargo vehicles, three-wheeled vehicles, 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 and the most recent scoring cycle before applying. This applies to applications for adding medium passenger vehicles, tractors, and large passenger vehicles to the permitted driving categories. 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 traffic rules, traffic violations, traffic signals, and accident handling. Subject 2 includes operations such as pile testing, side parking, stopping and starting on slopes, and passing single-side bridges for large passenger vehicles, urban buses, tractors, and other vehicle types. Subject 3 involves test drive preparations, starting, driving straight, lane changing, and gear shifting operations for large passenger vehicles, urban buses, tractors, medium passenger vehicles, and other vehicles. Subject 4 covers the operational requirements for safe and civilized driving, safe driving knowledge in extreme weather and complex road conditions, and knowledge on handling accidents when they occur.