Learner's licence codes 1, 2 and 3 explained

There are three learner’s licence codes, and you pick one when you apply. Which one you need depends entirely on what you intend to drive.

The three codes

Code 2 is the one most people want. It covers ordinary cars and light delivery vehicles, which is what the overwhelming majority of learners are working towards.

Code 3 is for heavy vehicles, such as trucks and buses above 3 500kg.

Code 1 is for motorcycles, and it is the only code with a split age requirement. At 16 you can write for a motorcycle up to 125cc. Above 125cc you have to be 18.

Codes 1, 2, 3 are not codes A, B, EB

This confuses a lot of people, and it is worth being precise about.

The numbered codes, 1 to 3, are learner’s licence codes. The lettered codes you have probably also seen, A, A1, B, EB, C1 and so on, are driving licence codes. They are two different systems for two different documents.

So when you are applying for your learner’s, the code you want is a number. The letter comes later, when you apply for the driving licence itself.

What changes in the test between codes

Less than you would expect, but the part that changes matters.

Every code sits the same three sections. Rules of the road, road signs, and vehicle controls, for Code 1, 2 and 3 alike.

Rules and signs are identical across all three codes. A stop sign means the same thing whether you are on a motorcycle or in a truck, and the manuals do not distinguish anywhere.

Vehicle controls is the section that differs, and it differs materially. The manual lists nine numbered controls for a motorcycle and eleven for a motor vehicle, and the numbering does not correspond between them. Gears are controls 1 and 2 on a motorcycle but 6 and 8 in a car. Stopping is 4 and 7 on a motorcycle and 9 in a car.

This means studying the wrong set is a real failure mode, and an expensive one, because vehicle controls is the section with the least margin for error. Eight questions, and you can only get two wrong.

Heavy vehicles are a special case: the control table for heavy vehicles is item-for-item the same as the one for light motor vehicles, so Code 2 and Code 3 candidates are studying the same controls.

Which code should you apply for?

Apply for the code that matches what you actually intend to drive. A Code 2 learner’s does not let you ride a motorcycle, and a Code 1 does not let you drive a car. If you want both, you write both.

There is no advantage to applying for a higher code than you need. Code 3 does not include Code 2, and the minimum age is higher.

Practising for your code

Because the controls section changes by code, practising against the wrong one gives you a false read on whether you are ready. The full mock test on this site lets you pick Code 1, 2 or 3 and serves the correct vehicle controls questions for the code you choose, so your per-section score means what it says.

You can also read through the vehicle controls material directly before you test yourself on it.