TOWSHEET

Can I legally tow this?

The answer depends on which side of which border you're on. Here is the same outfit, a 2,150 kg car and a 1,500 kg caravan, on a car licence passed in 2006, at home in each place:

  • GBGreat Britain

    Legal

    Every GB car licence has included B+E since 16 December 2021, so a 1,500 kg caravan is fine.

  • NINorthern Ireland

    Not legal

    Car and caravan add up to 3,650 kg MAM. Over 3,500 kg, Northern Ireland still wants a B+E test.

  • IEIreland

    Not legal

    Same sum, same answer: category B stops at 3,500 kg combined. This needs category BE.

Weights are the plated MAMs. Each card uses that country’s own licence. Try it with a GB licence on a trip to all three.

Check your outfit

Four short steps. The ticket updates as you type and nothing leaves your browser.

The trip
Where will you drive? Tick every place on the trip.
Your licence
Who issued your driving licence?
For Great Britain and Northern Ireland the key date is 1 January 1997. For Ireland it is 19 January 2013.
Categories on your licence besides B
The car

Weights are on the VIN plate (usually inside the driver's door or under the bonnet) and in the handbook. Where to find each one.

The top figure on the VIN plate.
Usually the second figure on the plate.
From the handbook or V5C/VLC.
For the 85% caravan guide and unbraked trailers.
Car handbook or tow bar plate.
I know the car's actual loaded weight
With passengers, fuel and luggage. Without it we use the full MAM, which is cautious.
The trailer
The maximum weight on the trailer's plate. This is what licence rules use.
What it really weighs loaded. Blank means we assume the MAM.
Does the trailer have its own brakes?
Optional. Measured at the hitch with the trailer level.
Names for the tow sheet

Your tow ticket

Nothing weighed yet

Waiting for details

Still needed: where you will be driving; where your licence was issued; when you passed your car test (or tick "I don't know"); the car's gross vehicle weight (MAM); the trailer's MAM; whether the trailer has brakes.

Your answer appears here as you fill in the form. Nothing you type leaves this page.

Three rule books, one road network

Great Britain

Since 16 December 2021 a car licence lets you tow a trailer up to 3,500 kg MAM without a B+E test. DVLA adds B+E to your licence record. Pre-1997 licences keep wider rights.

Pre-1997 rights

Northern Ireland

The 2021 change did not reach Northern Ireland. Over 750 kg, a category B licence still only covers car and trailer together up to 3,500 kg MAM. Beyond that you need the B+E test.

B+E in Northern Ireland

Ireland

Category B covers a trailer up to 750 kg MAM, or a heavier one if car and trailer together are 3,500 kg MAM or less. Towing vehicles are limited to 80 km/h.

Irish licence dates

Worked examples

Each one opens in the checker so you can change the numbers.

Guides

Questions

Do I need B+E to tow a caravan?
In Great Britain, not usually: since 16 December 2021 a car licence covers trailers up to 3,500 kg MAM. In Northern Ireland, yes, if the trailer is over 750 kg MAM and car plus trailer are over 3,500 kg MAM, unless you passed your car test before 1 January 1997. In Ireland the same 750 kg / 3,500 kg rule applies to a category B licence.
What weight do licence rules use?
The maximum authorised mass (MAM) on the plates, not what the car and trailer weigh on the day. A trailer plated at 2,000 kg counts as 2,000 kg even when empty.
Does Towsheet store what I type?
No. The checker runs in your browser. The only record is the link in your address bar, which you can copy to reopen or share a result.
Is this official?
No. Towsheet is an independent guide with no link to the DVLA, DVA, RSA or NDLS. Each rule links to the official source it comes from, with the date we checked it.

Towsheet is guidance, not legal advice, and it is not an official service. The law can change and our reading of it can be wrong. Before you rely on an answer, read the official sources on the rules page. Rules last checked 3 November 2026.