LGV Category C+E (Formerly HGV Class 1)

The LGV C+E test was formerly known as HGV Class 1. The LGV Category C+E licence will allow drivers to drive any rigid vehicle with a trailer over 750kg (truck and trailer) up to a combined weight of 44 tonnes. Drivers who pass the LGV C+E test will be entitled to drive articulated lorries (artics), or trucks with a drawbar trailer.

C+E entitlement will also automatically grant you C1+E entitlements (7.5 tonne & trailer) and also Category B+E (Car & trailer towing) licences. If you hold any PCV entitlements (ie Category D or Category D1), you will also inherit the entitlement to tow trailers over 750kg on these licences as well (ie Category D+E and Category D1+E) once you pass your HGV Class 1 Category C+E test.

LGV Category C+E (HGV Class 1) Requirements

In order to attend our LGV C+E training courses, you must have first passed your Category C (Rigid Lorry) LGV test. You must ensure that you have Category C+E provisional entitlement stated on the paper counterpart of your driving licence. You will also need to ensure that your existing LGV Category C entitlement is still valid, and has not expired, as candidtaes over the age of 45 will need to renew their LGV medical examination every 5 years for their LGV Category C Licence entitlement to remain valid.

There is no theory test requirement to obtain a C+E licence. This is because the "+E" part of a driving entitlement simply means "and trailer over 750kg". By adding the right to tow a trailer, you are simply extending your existing Category C entitlements (for which you would have already passed a theory test for) as opposed to obtaining a new category of licence.

Manual or Automatic LGV C+E Course?

Just like the Category C Class 2 driving test, if you have a manual Category B licence (car licence), or indeed a manual Category C licence, then you will only be required to take the Category C+E driving test in an automatic vehicle. However, despite this rule, we would still recommend taking the LGV class 1 test in a manual vehicle, as the gearbox sequence in lorries is significantly different to that of a car, and without training or prior experience using a lorry gearbox, you may well find it difficult to seek employment as a HGV Class 2 driver. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Articulated Or Drawbar

You can choose to take your LGV C+E / HGV Class 1 test in either an Articulated lorry (Artic), or truck & drawbar combination. Both have their own respective advantages, as the artic lorries are more widely used by haulage companies so receiving training in this type of lorry may enhance your chances of successfully gaining job opportunities once you pass your LGV C+E test.

On the other hand, the Category C rigid vehicles with drawbar combination are considered to be easier to drive and manouvre, so by choosing this option you may increase the chances of you passing your HGV Class 1 test first time. The other advantage with choosing to pass your LGV C+E test with a truck and drawbar combination is that you will be using the same truck (Category C Vehicle) that you passed your LGV category C test (HGV Class 2 test) in if you completed such training with us. This means that you will already be familiar with the vehicle, and only a few minor ammendments will by required to be taught to you to take into consideration the trailer you would be towing to acquire your LGV C+E Licence.

Despite this, we would still recommend taking your C+E test in an articulated lorry, since once our instructors familiarise you with the differences, you will very quickly adapt your technique to cater for the arctic lorry, and ultimately, arctic lorries are much more common than drawbar (wagon & drag) combinations.

LGV Category C+E Courses In East London

Our LGV training courses in East London are probably the cheapest HGV training courses in London. We offer Cheap HGV Class 1 courses in East London, which offer fantastic value for money, matched by a superb pass rate. Our Cheap Category C+E LGV courses London, and Cheap LGV Training in East London, & all of Essex including LGV Training in Ilford, Romford, Dagenham, Chingford, Enfield, Wanstead, Walthamstow, Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Barking, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Stratford, Hackney, Dalston, and Tottenham. All our courses are very competatively priced, and we are probably the cheapest LGV training school in London, offering cheap LGV courses in East London.

We offer a range of Category C+E training courses to accomodate drivers with different levels of experience. All of our Category C+E courses are provided on a 1-2-1 basis, ensuring that you receive 100% of the instructors attention without the pressure of any other observers. It is this 1-2-1 training by our qualified trainers which leads to our superb first time pass rate.

Our training days usually consist of 4 hours training per day, with all 4 hours being spent by you at the wheel, and not spent with unecessary "coffee breaks" or "lunch breaks" which many other schools use as a tactic to reduce your training time.

Many other schools will offer you an 8 hour training day, which may sound like good value on the face of it, but the 8 hour day is not on a 1-2-1 basis, and the driving time is shared with another pupil, meaning you spend half the time squeezed in a drivers cab waiting for your turn to drive and effectively wasting half your day. The other problem with the 8 hour days provided by other trailer training schools in East London is that many of theses training schools will introduce lunch breaks into this 8 hour day meaning that you are not receiving your full time driving/practicing that you are paying for. The final problem with an 8 hour day is tiredness. Driving for such a long time results in a lack of concentration and therefore has to have an adverse affect on your learning. The combination of these problems is quite obvious as to why such schools do not have the same extensive pass rate as we pride ourselves on. However, if you are insistent on having an 8 hour day, we can of course accommodate this, even though we do not recommend it.

LGV Category C+E Courses (HGV Class 1 Training)

Our LGV/HGV class 1 training courses start off at 24 hours, and are aimed at people with no previous experience driving LGV's, especially with no experience towing trailers. The 24 hour LGV Course has been our most popular and successful LGV course, and has led to the highest pass rates. We also do offer 20 hour, 16 hour, and 12 hour hgv class 2 course's to match existing experience and to accommodate those people who may have some experience driving lorries in other countries or other large vehicles such as buses or coaches.

Your course will typically be split up into 4 hours training per day, with your test being taken on the final day of your course, where you will receive 2 hours pre-test warm up training, followed by your C+E practical driving test for which 2 of your training hours will be allocated for.

Your training will consist of verbal and practical training for the following:

• improving your general driving skills to make sure they are up to the $DVSA " driving test standard"
• showing you popular test routes you are likely to encounter as part of your driving test
• teaching you about the reversing manoeuvre which you will be required to do as part of your practical test
• teaching you the "show me / tell me" questions which will be asked at the beginning of your test
• teaching you how to un-couple and re-couple the trailer correctly as your examiner will expect to see it

Our most successful courses are those within the 20 - 24 hour bracket, as these course's generally provide us enough time to adequately cover all the training points mentioned above. Obviously the shorter the course, the less in depth we can cover the training points above.

Please remeber when deciding which LGV training course would suit you best, that if you try to select a shorter trailer training course to try to save yourself money, you may not pass your LGV test first time, and may end up spending more money on re-tests than if you selected the most appropriate course for your skill level in the first place. If you are unsure about which LGV course would suit you best, then please contact our office where we will be more than happy to listen to the experience you have and help you make an appropriate choice.

As well as offering the very best LGV training in London, we are probably the cheapest LGV training school in London as well, offering the very best instruction, matched with unrivalled pass rates at unbeatable prices.

The LGV Category C+E Driving Test

The C+E test will be taken in the same vehicle in which you do your training in. The test starts off with the examiner asking you some vehicle safety questions, and is usually immediately followed by the reversing excercise.

You then proceed to spend the next 50 minutes - 1 hour driving on the public road, going over through the test routes you would have hopefully practiced during your training. During this time on the road your examiner will assess your ability to interact with other road users in a safe and appropriate manner following correct road traffic procedures. Upon returning to the test centre, the examiner will ask you to un-hitch & then re-hitch your trailer as the final part of your test.

C+E Price List

All courses INCLUDE training and practical test fees. (An additional £30 will be charged for any practical test booked on a weekend or as classed as out of hours by the DVSA)

How do I book my C+E Driving Lessons?

Since all of our C+E sessions are bespoke to each individual, the only way you can book a session is to call our offices on 020 8597 7333 or 0800 848 8418 where our office staff will discuss your personal requirements and discuss availability to help you find a suitable time and date to suit you.

Booking a Course if you have an EU Licence

If you have an EU licence, you must obtain a D91 Form from the DVLA.

To get the D91 Form, you will need to complete a D9 Application Form. Once you complete the D9 Application, the DVLA will then send you a D91 Form in the post, and allocate you UK driving licence number.

Once you have the D91 Form and a UK driving licence number, you can then book onto a course with us as well as being able to book any other driving courses/tests/assessments in the UK.

Please note, you will need to bring the D91 Form form with you to your course, so please make sure you do pyhsically have this in your possession before making your booking.