Can I drive a motorhome on a car licence?

Yes, if the motorhome's maximum authorised mass (MAM) is 3,500kg or less. GOV.UK says a motorhome with a MAM between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes needs a category C1 licence and one over 7.5 tonnes needs category C. A car licence is category B, which for anyone who passed their test on or after 1 January 1997 stops at 3,500kg.

MAM is the vehicle's weight plus the maximum load it can carry, in GOV.UK's words. The motorhome payload calculator sets what you carry against it.

If you passed your car test on or after 1 January 1997

GOV.UK lists what category B covers for these drivers:

• Vehicles with up to 8 passenger seats and a MAM of 3,500kg if they run on petrol or diesel, hybrids included.
• Vehicles with a MAM of 4,250kg if they are electric or hydrogen. GOV.UK limits this to zero emission vehicles.
• A trailer with a MAM up to 3,500kg behind either, with the combined MAM of vehicle and trailer no more than 7,000kg.

Category C1 covers vehicles between 3,500kg and 7,500kg MAM, with a trailer up to 750kg. Both the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Caravan and Motorhome Club say a driver licensed since 1997 has to pass a further test to add it.

If you passed before 1 January 1997

GOV.UK says you are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg MAM, and tells you to view your driving licence information to check. Its table of old licence categories shows car licences issued before 1997 carrying C1, and C1E with restriction code 107. The Camping and Caravanning Club reads that as C1 up to 7,500kg, which it says covers all but the largest American-style motorhomes, with code 107 holding the vehicle and trailer together to 8,250kg.

When you reach 70

GOV.UK says that once you reach 70 you must renew your licence every 3 years. Renewing online is free, and DVLA sends form D46P 90 days before your 70th birthday. The same page says you cannot renew a C1 entitlement online: it has to be done by post.

The two clubs explain what that means for a motorhome over 3,500kg. Both say keeping C1 at 70 takes a medical: the Camping and Caravanning Club describes applying on form D2 with a D4 medical examination report filled in by a doctor, which most GP practices treat as a private appointment and charge for, and says a D4 goes with each 3-yearly renewal after that. It also says that renewing online, or with the D46P form alone, renews categories B and BE only, and that a C1 entitlement left to lapse can be put back later with the same two forms.

Northern Ireland

GOV.UK says licence requirements and categories may be different in Northern Ireland. Everything above is what it sets out for Great Britain.

What it means when you buy or sell

The Camping and Caravanning Club says many new motorhomes are built with a MAM of 3,500kg so that a standard licence covers them. If you are selling one that is plated above that, put the MAM in the advert: some buyers cannot drive it without another test or a medical. The other things a buyer asks for are on the motorhome and campervan pages, and the MOT class is covered in the MOT guide.

For your own licence, GOV.UK points you to its view your driving licence information service to check what you hold.