Three different code systems, and "Code 10" is in the oldest one
Almost all the confusion on this subject comes from three numbering systems being used as though they were one.
The oldest is the pre-1998 system, where licences were numbered 01 to 15 and a heavy vehicle was a Code 10. Those codes were replaced. The regulations still carry a conversion table for anyone holding an old card, and it is worth knowing what it actually says: a genuine pre-1998 Code 10 driving licence converts to a code EC1 licence, not to C1.
The second system is the learner's licence codes, and there are only three of them: Code 1, Code 2 and Code 3. This is the one you apply under. Code 2 covers a vehicle up to 3 500 kg; anything heavier than that, and any combination of vehicles, falls under Code 3.
The third system is the driving licence codes — A1, A, B, C1, C, EB, EC1 and EC — which is what appears on the card at the end. In everyday speech, "Code 10" now means a rigid truck licence, and in the current table that is C1.
So if somebody tells you to get your Code 10, what they mean in today's language is: sit a Code 3 learner's licence, then do the driving test for a C1.
What the codes mean now
The left column is what you apply for at the learner's stage. The right column is the driving licence it leads towards.
| Driving licence code | The vehicles it covers | Learner's licence you sit |
|---|---|---|
| B | A motor vehicle with a tare not over 3 500 kg, or a minibus, bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass not over 3 500 kg, with or without a trailer up to 750 kg | Code 2 |
| C1 | Tare over 3 500 kg but not over 16 000 kg, or a minibus, bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass in that range, with or without a trailer up to 750 kg | Code 3 |
| C | A bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass over 16 000 kg, with or without a trailer up to 750 kg | Code 3 |
| EC1 | The same weight range as C1, but articulated or with a trailer over 750 kg. This is what an old Code 10 licence converts to | Code 3 |
| EC | Articulated over 16 000 kg, or a bus or goods vehicle over 16 000 kg with a trailer over 750 kg | Code 3 |
None of the C or EC codes includes a motor cycle or a motor tricycle — those are a separate branch of the table entirely.
The heavy-vehicle learner's licence in short
- Learner's licence code
- Code 3Regulation 99(1)(c) — any motor vehicle or combination other than a motor cycle or tricycle
- Minimum age
- 18Section 15(1)(a)(iii) of the Act — 17 applies only to a light motor vehicle learner's licence
- What differs in the test
- The vehicle controls area onlyRegulation 104(2)(a)(iii). Rules of the road and road signs are identical for every class
- Supervision while learning
- RequiredRegulation 99(2)(a) — a licensed driver of that class, seated next to you, or immediately behind you where they cannot sit next to you
- Valid for
- 24 months from the date of the testRegulation 101(1) with Government Notice 134 of 2010. No renewal and no extension
What is actually different about a heavy-vehicle paper
Less than people expect, and the part that does differ is precisely defined.
The examiner must be satisfied that you know the rules of the road, the road traffic signs, and the controls of a motor vehicle of the class to which your application relates. Only the third of those follows your class. Rules and signs are common to every applicant in the building that morning, whatever they are applying for.
Our own mock paper works the same way: you pick your licence class, and the controls questions come from the pool for that class while the rules and signs questions come from the shared pools. That is not a design preference — it is what the regulation describes.
One honest note about the controls material. The Department of Transport's learner-driver manual has a heavy-vehicle section, and what it contains is a photograph of a truck cab and the same eleven numbered controls as the light motor vehicle: mirror, wiper, side mirrors, steering wheel, indicator, gear lever, hand brake, clutch, brake, accelerator, horn. There is nothing in it about air brakes, retarders, fifth wheels or differential locks. If another site tells you the learner's syllabus covers those, ask it where that comes from — we could not find a source, and we are not going to invent one.
Rules that attach to a heavy vehicle rather than to the road
These sit in the rules area, which everyone answers — but they are the ones a heavy applicant is most likely to meet and least likely to have thought about.
| Situation | The rule | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass over 9 000 kg | 80 km/h, and the vehicle must display a sign on the rear saying so | Regulation 293(1)(a) and 293(2) |
| The same vehicle inside an urban area | 60 km/h. Where a road limit and a class limit both apply, the lower governs | Regulations 292 and 293, read with section 59 of the Act |
| A bus, or a minibus or midibus operating under an operating licence | 100 km/h, with a rear sign denoting it | Regulation 293(1)(b) and 293(2) |
| A breakdown vehicle towing another vehicle | 80 km/h | Regulation 293(1)(a) |
| Towing without a drawbar or tow-bar | 30 km/h. With a drawbar or tow-bar, the ordinary limits apply | Regulation 330(e) |
| Following distance | Three seconds minimum for a heavy vehicle, and more in rain or poor visibility | The Department of Transport rules-of-the-road manual, §6.49 |
The speed limits for particular classes of vehicle are in regulation 293(1), which has exactly two paragraphs. If you see a page citing 293(1)(c) or beyond, it is quoting something that does not exist.
The mistake
Studying a car-based guide and assuming the heavy part is a bonus chapter. It is the other way round: rules and signs are the same material for you as for a car applicant, and the controls area — the one that is different — is the shortest and the least forgiving of a dropped mark.
The second is treating the class speed limit as a permission. A vehicle limited to 80 km/h is not entitled to 80 km/h in a 60 zone. The lower of the two always governs, and a question is far more likely to test that than to test the 80 on its own.
Sit a paper in your own class
Pick your licence class and the controls questions follow it, while the rules and signs questions come from the pools everyone answers. Scored by section, because that is how the real one is passed.
Start a mock in your classCommon questions
Is Code 10 the same as Code C?
Not exactly. "Code 10" is a pre-1998 licence code, and the regulations convert a genuine old Code 10 licence to EC1. In everyday speech it now means a rigid truck licence, which in the current table is C1 — vehicles over 3 500 kg but not over 16 000 kg. Code C is the step above that, over 16 000 kg.
What learner's licence do I need for a Code 10 or Code C?
Code 3. There are only three learner's licence codes: Code 1 for motor cycles and tricycles, Code 2 for vehicles up to 3 500 kg, and Code 3 for anything else, including combinations.
How old do I have to be?
Eighteen. The Act disqualifies anyone under 18 from any licence other than a light motor vehicle learner's licence, which is 17, and a small motor cycle licence, which is 16.
Are the learner's test questions different for a heavy vehicle?
Only the vehicle controls ones. The rules of the road and the road signs are identical for every licence class — the regulation ties just the controls area to the class applied for.
Do I need supervision when driving on a Code 3 learner's licence?
Yes. You must be accompanied by, and under the direct personal supervision of, someone holding a licence for that class of vehicle, seated next to you — or immediately behind you where they cannot be seated next to you. The exemption for motor cycles does not apply to you.
Will I be asked about air brakes or a differential lock?
We cannot tell you, and we will not guess. The official learner-driver manual's heavy-vehicle section lists the same eleven controls as the car, and nothing in the official material we hold covers those systems as part of the learner's syllabus.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 99(1)The three learner's licence codes. Code 1: motor cycle with or without side-car, or motor tricycle. Code 2: a motor vehicle other than a motor cycle or tricycle with a tare not exceeding 3 500 kg, a minibus, bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass not exceeding 3 500 kg, an articulated vehicle or combination with a gross combination mass not exceeding 3 500 kg, or a tractor. Code 3: any motor vehicle or combination other than a motor cycle or tricycle.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 99(4)(a)The driving licence code table. C1 covers a tare exceeding 3 500 kg but not exceeding 16 000 kg, or a minibus, bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass in that range, with or without a trailer not exceeding 750 kg, excluding an articulated motor vehicle. C covers a bus or goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass exceeding 16 000 kg. EC1 and EC are the articulated and over-750 kg trailer equivalents.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 99(4)(b)The conversion table for licences issued before 1 March 1998. The old "code 10: a heavy motor vehicle" — a tare exceeding 3 500 kg but not exceeding 16 000 kg, or a minibus or bus over 3 500 kg, or a goods vehicle in that range, excluding an articulated motor vehicle — appears against the new code EC1.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 99(2)(a)A learner's licence holder must be accompanied by, and under the direct personal supervision of, a person seated next to them, or immediately behind them where that person cannot be seated next to them, holding a licence other than a learner's licence authorising them to drive that class of vehicle. The exception is for a motor cycle or a vehicle with no seating accommodation for a passenger.
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 15(1)(a)Under 16 disqualified for a motor cycle, tricycle or quadrucycle with an engine not exceeding 125 cm³ or propelled by electrical power; under 17 for a learner's licence for a light motor vehicle; under 18 in the case of any other licence.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 104(2)(a)(iii)The examiner must be satisfied that the applicant knows the controls of a motor vehicle "of the class to which the application relates". This is the only class-specific part of the learner's test.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 293Speed limits for particular classes of vehicle. Paragraph (1)(a) sets 80 km/h for goods vehicles and combinations over 9 000 kg, articulated vehicles over that mass, and breakdown vehicles under tow; paragraph (1)(b) sets 100 km/h for a bus and for a minibus or midibus under an operating licence. Sub-regulation (2) requires the corresponding sign on the rear. There are exactly two paragraphs in sub-regulation (1).
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 330(e)No person shall operate a vehicle towing another vehicle at a speed in excess of 30 kilometres per hour unless the towing vehicle is connected to the towed vehicle by means of a drawbar or a tow-bar.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 101(1), read with Government Notice 134 of 2010A learner's licence is valid for 24 months from the date of the examination and test.
- South African Learner Driver Manual, Vehicle Components and Controls (Department of Transport, v1.00, June 2012) — §2.7 and §2.8The heavy motor vehicle section: a truck cab, and the same eleven numbered controls as the light motor vehicle. Checked for air brakes, retarders, fifth wheels and differential locks — the manual does not deal with them.
- South African Learner Driver Manual, Rules of the Road (Department of Transport, v1.00, June 2012) — §6.49"Maintain a minimum 3-second following distance for heavy motor vehicles", increased under adverse conditions.
Last updated 2026-09-21.