The Class 2 is the licence most professional drivers start with, and for a lot of them it is the only one they ever need. Officially it is Category C. It puts you behind the wheel of a rigid lorry — one solid vehicle, cab and body in a single unit — and it opens up the bulk of the UK’s supermarket, construction, waste and multi-drop work.
Category C covers any rigid goods vehicle with a maximum authorised mass over 3,500kg, with a trailer of up to 750kg behind it. In practice that means everything from an 18-tonne curtainsider to a 32-tonne tipper, a refuse truck, a skip lorry, a concrete mixer or a supermarket rigid.
What it does not cover is an articulated lorry — a tractor unit pulling a separate trailer. That is Category C+E, the Class 1, and it is a separate test.
Nothing here is difficult, but the order matters — doing it in the wrong sequence is what turns a six-week process into a four-month one.
First, the D4 medical: a twenty-minute appointment covering eyesight, blood pressure and general health. It is not a fitness test and nearly everyone passes. Train with us and it is free — we book it for you.
Second, the D2 provisional application. This is DVLA’s free form for provisional lorry entitlement. Your D2, the doctor-completed D4 and your photocard go to DVLA Swansea in one envelope. The single most common delay in the whole journey is an envelope missing one of those three items.
Third, theory. Two papers: 100 multiple-choice questions in 115 minutes with a pass mark of 85, and a hazard perception test of 19 video clips. Then CPC Module 2, the case studies. We cover these fees and book them around your work.
Fourth, five days of practical training and your test. You will sit the off-road manoeuvres and the on-road drive, plus CPC Module 4, the practical demonstration.
From first phone call to licence in hand, most people are looking at six to ten weeks, and the variable is almost entirely DVLA turnaround on the provisional and DVSA availability for test dates — not the training itself, which is one intensive week.
You can compress it by starting theory revision on day one instead of waiting for your provisional to arrive. Our Learning Hub is free and you can be practising DVSA-style questions the same afternoon you enquire.
Class 2 work in the South East typically starts around £40,000, with tramping, night trunking and shift premiums pushing it higher. Agency day rates run above that but without the holiday pay and pension of a permanent seat.
The demand is real and it is structural: the average UK lorry driver is in their fifties, and rigid work — supermarket deliveries, waste, construction, parcels — cannot be offshored or automated away. We hold direct hiring lines with regional operators across the South East and start matching before you sit your test.
If your goal is the highest possible earnings, then yes — Class 1 (Category C+E) pays more and the fast-track route takes you from a car licence to articulated in one continuous block.
But there are good reasons to stop at Class 2. Rigid work is far more likely to get you home every night. Local multi-drop, waste and construction are Class 2 worlds. And the upgrade to Class 1 is always there later, at a lower cost, once you have earned on your Class 2 for a while.
Category C — the licence for driving a rigid lorry over 3,500kg with a trailer of up to 750kg. It is the standard first professional lorry licence in the UK.
Our all-inclusive Class 2 package is £2,090, which covers the D4 medical, theory and CPC fees, five days of one-to-one training in a full-size lorry and your DVSA test. Beware of "from" prices elsewhere that leave the medical and test fees out.
Six to ten weeks is typical from enquiry to licence. The practical training is one intensive week; the rest is DVLA provisional turnaround and DVSA test availability, both of which you can start early.
Any rigid lorry over 3,500kg — 18-tonne curtainsiders, 26-tonne tippers, refuse and skip lorries, concrete mixers, supermarket rigids — plus a trailer up to 750kg. Not articulated lorries; that needs Category C+E.
Yes. The Class 1 test is taken in an articulated vehicle you can only drive once you hold Category C, so every Class 1 driver passes Class 2 first. A fast-track course simply runs them back to back.
You can start at 18 provided you hold or are working towards the Driver CPC. Without CPC, the minimum age is 21.
Real DAF and Scania lorries, DVSA-registered instructors, one-to-one training and every fee except the DVSA test included in the price. Call 01634 907 229 and we will book your medical this week.
See the Class 2 course · Transparent course pricing · Funding and payment plans · Find your nearest centre · Call 01634 907 229
The Class 1 licence (Category C+E) explained · HGV and LGV licence categories explained · The C1 licence (7.5 tonne) explained · What the Driver CPC actually is · How to get your HGV licence — every step · All HGV and PCV guides