Challenge
Most novice drivers know only the 3,500 kg limit and think that covers everything a B licence needs. The book and the regulation add two more limits on top, however: a passenger limit, and a separate calculation model as soon as a trailer is involved.
Read this section on its own page: Challenge: B licence: three limits at once
The model
B licence: mass ≤3,500 kg, ≤8 passengers (excluding driver), from age 18 (Book p.22). With a trailer a fourth rule is added: up to 750 kg is always allowed, heavier only if the combination does not exceed 3,500 kg.
Read this section on its own page: The model: B licence: three limits at once
Core
You may apply for a B licence from age 18 (the law). It gives you access to motor vehicles with a permitted maximum mass of no more than 3,500 kg, built for the transport of at most 8 passengers, excluding the driver — two independent limits, not alternatives to each other. As soon as you attach a trailer, a third calculation model is added: up to 750 kg permitted maximum mass the trailer is always allowed. Is the trailer heavier? Then it is no longer the trailer alone that counts, but the combination of towing vehicle and trailer together — that must then not exceed 3,500 kg. Want to go heavier than that combination ceiling? Then a B licence with code 96 is needed, good for a combination up to 4,250 kg. These figures — 750, 3,500, 4,250 — are the same ones used elsewhere in the licence chapter for the full licence ladder (B96, BE, C1E); this atom covers only category B's own base definition. One precision point: the legal source for these three figures is the law, not the law — the latter concerns licences with a restrictive coding such as medical aids, a different subject.
Read this section on its own page: Core: B licence: three limits at once
Why it matters
Anyone who only remembers the 3,500 kg mass limit loads a nine-seat van full of friends in Nijmegen without knowing a B licence does not cover that — or hitches a heavy caravan without calculating the combination. Checking three limits at once prevents exactly that kind of surprise at a police check.
Read this section on its own page: Why it matters: B licence: three limits at once
Teach back
Explain: which three limits apply to a B licence, and what changes once a trailer heavier than 750 kg is hitched behind the car?
Read this section on its own page: Teach back: B licence: three limits at once
Frequently asked questions
‘From age 17 you may already drive independently with a B licence, just like with 2toDrive supervision’ – is that true?
No. The minimum age for category B is 18. 2toDrive is supervised driving from age 17, not independent authorisation
‘With a B licence you may drive a vehicle for any number of passengers, as long as the mass stays under 3,500 kg’ – is that true?
No. Category B applies to vehicles for at most 8 passengers, excluding the driver, in addition to the mass limit
‘With a B licence you may tow any trailer, as long as the trailer itself is not overloaded’ – is that true?
No. Up to 750 kg is always allowed; heavier is only allowed if the COMBINATION's mass stays at or under 3,500 kg
‘The mass, passenger and trailer limits of a B licence belong to the rules on licences with a restrictive code (e.g. for medical aids)’ – is that true?
No. The 3,500/8/750 figures belong to the definition of category B itself. The rules on licences with a restrictive coding (e.g. medical aids) are a different matter
‘As soon as the car-and-trailer combination is heavier than 3,500 kg, you immediately need a BE licence’ – is that true?
No. Between a 3,500 kg and a 4,250 kg combination, a B licence with code 96 is enough; BE is not the minimum there.