How to Get a Category CE Driving Licence in the Netherlands

Passing every exam at the CBR does not, by itself, get you a CE licence in the Netherlands. Your municipality (gemeente) issues the card, checks that you have lived in the country for at least 185 of the previous 365 days, and reviews your residency status before handing anything over. The CBR says plainly that it is not liable for your lesson or exam costs if the gemeente then refuses. For anyone who has recently moved to the Netherlands, that split between the body that tests you and the office that issues the card decides what to check before spending a single euro on training.

The second thing is a fork in the road. The Dutch system offers the same CE category by two routes: one for private use, open from 21, and one with the professional qualification known as code 95, open from 18. Which one you take changes your minimum age, the number of exams you sit and whether you can legally drive a lorry for pay at the end. What follows covers the European part of the Netherlands only; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were not researched.

Who does what: the CBR tests, the RDW registers, the gemeente issues

The CBR (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen) runs the theory and practical exams and assesses medical fitness through its health declaration. The RDW maintains the national driving licence register, publishes the category definitions, handles online renewal, and issues a qualification card for drivers living abroad. Your gemeente is the counter where you apply for the physical card, the first time and after each upgrade.

Three more names turn up along the way. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) enforces the code 95 rules, Kiwa Register issues the tachograph driver card, and general guidance is split between Rijksoverheid, the central government site, and Ondernemersplein, the business portal. Knowing which office to ask saves time: ask the CBR about exam booking, the RDW about exchanging a foreign licence, and the gemeente about residence.

What CE covers, and where the weight limits really come from

TheRDW’ss page on driving licence categories sets out the truck ladder. Category C is for a lorry with a maximum authorised mass of more than 3,500 kg, carrying no more than nine people including the driver, with a trailer of up to 750 kg. C1 is the medium band, between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg, again with a light trailer. C1E adds a heavier trailer to a C1 vehicle as long as the combination stays within 12,000 kg.

CE sits at the top. The CBR’s overview of all truck licences puts it as follows: a truck over 3,500 kg together with a trailer over 750 kg. That takes in both a rigid lorry pulling a full drawbar trailer and a tractor unit with a semi-trailer.

The RDW specifies no upper weight limit for a CE combination. That describes the licence, not what you may put on the road. Separate rules govern how heavy a combination can be, including maximum masses, axle loads, and dimensions, and each vehicle’s registration papers.

Two routes to the same category, and why age decides between them

Code 95 is a code printed on the licence next to your categories, showing that you hold the professional driver qualification EU rules require of lorry and bus drivers. The CBR’s explanation of code 95 says it is mandatory for professional drivers in categories C1, C, C1E, CE, D1, D, D1E and DE, but some situations are exempt. Rather than guessing whether your own driving counts, run through the ILT’s code 95 rule helper, which applies the codified EU Driver CPC Directive to your answers.

The age rules follow from this. According to the government’s page on the truck driving licence, confirmed by the CBR, a CE for private use has a minimum age of 21. CE with code 95 can be held from 18, because the professional basic qualification (basiskwalificatie) is completed as part of the route. For C1 and C1E, the minimum is 18 either way. So an 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old has exactly one path to CE: the code 95 route.

Each route has its own prerequisites. The CBR’s page on the truck licence with code 95 requires a valid category B car licence before C. For CE for private use, you must already hold C; for CE with code 95, you must already hold C with code 95. The ladder always runs B, then C, then CE, and on the professional route code 95 is earned at the C stage and carried up.

Vocational students sit slightly outside this picture. Rijksoverheid notes that C and C lessons 1 can start at 17, where they are linked to professional driver training, and the CBR mentions that different rules may apply to MBO (secondary vocational) students. Neither page spells those rules out, so an MBO transport student should take the specifics from the school.

Check your residence before you pay for lessons.s

The 185-day rule appears on the CBR’s page “Do I qualify for a driving licence?”You must have lived in the Netherlands for at least 185 days in the 365 days before you apply. The gemeente checks this when it issues the card, along with your residence status, including any residence permit. Because the check comes after you’ve paid for lessons and exams, the CBR advises you to ask your gemeente about eligibility before you start. That advice matters most for recent arrivals and anyone with a temporary permit.

A CE licence is permission to drive certain vehicles, nothing more. It creates no right to live or work in the Netherlands; it is not a visa, and it does not lead to sponsorship. Where a residence or work permit is required, immigration rules decide, not the CBR or the RDW.

The medical comes first, not last.

Rijksoverheid’s medical examination page states that you must always be examined when applying for, renewing or extending C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E. You can’t sit the practical exam until you’re declared fit, so a slow medical holds up everything behind it.

There are two parts. First, you complete the Gezondheidsverklaring (health declaration) online in Mijn CB by answering questions about conditions that can affect driving. It costs €46.90, according to the page “What does a health declaration cost?”. Then an occupational physician (bedrijfsarts) or a certified occupational health service carries out the examination and bills you directly, separately from the CBR fee. The CBR assesses the result and can refer you to a specialist, again at your cost. It advises submitting the declaration when lessons begin, so the assessment runs in parallel with training.

The order of steps on the code 95 route

The CBR’s page “Steps to get a truck licence with code 95” lays out the sequence for a car licence holder who wants to drive lorries professionally.

1. Decide which licence you need: C, C1, CE or C1E, with or without code 95.
2. Choose a driving school and a trainer approved to hold the code 95 practical tests.
3. Submit your Gezondheidsverklaring and complete the medical examination.
4. Pass theory module 1, the heavy truck theory exam.
5. Pass theory modules 2 and 3, the professional knowledge exams for code 95.
6. Pass the CBR practical exam for category C and the two code 95 practical tests.
7. Apply for your code 95 licence at the gemeente and order your tachograph driver card.
8. Train with a trailer, pass the CE practical exam and apply for a new card showing CE.

The order is less rigid than it looks. Modules 2 and 3 and the two code 95 tests can come before or after the CBR practical exam, which lets schools arrange them around exam availability.

Three theory modules, sat once on the way to C.

The page “How do the truck theory exams work?” describes all three modules. Module 1 is the licence theory for heavy trucks: traffic rules and insight, the vehicle and its technology, loads and administration. Modules 2 and 3 exist only for code 95. Module 2 goes deeper into vehicle knowledge, technology and securing loads; module 3 covers legislation and administration, including driving and rest times, documents, safety and transport-sector rules.

All three share one format: an 80-minute computer exam with 65 questions, passed with 52 correct answers, with results shown on screen as soon as you finish. The minimum age for a truck theory exam is 17, a year below the lowest licence age, so vocational students can complete the theory early without lowering the licence ages themselves.

For someone heading to CE, the useful detail is on the CBR’s exemptions page. A category C holder moving up to CE is exempt from the theory modules. There is no separate CE theory exam: the upgrade includes lessons, a combination, and a practical exam.

Candidates who do not read Dutch well have several options. The page on booking a truck theory exam offers an exam in English, 15 minutes of extra time, personal guidance with the questions read aloud in a separate room, and an exam with an interpreter, also in a separate room with extra time. The interpreter must be an official one arranged through approved channels. Each option carries a surcharge. You book through your training provider, in Mijn CBR or by form, and bring the identity document you registered with, the only document allowed into the exam room.

An 85-minute practical exam, plus two tests the CBR does not run.

The practical exam for C and for CE lasts 85 minutes, according to the page “How does the truck practical exam work?”. It starts with checks on the vehicle and its papers, and preparation for safe driving. Then you drive on different roads, inside and outside built-up areas, do special manoeuvres such as reversing around a corner and turning, and complete a stretch of independent driving. The examiner watches vehicle control, safety, professional behaviour and how you deal with other road users, and gives the result straight after.

The CE version asks for all of that, plus coupling and uncoupling the trailer, and the examiner pays extra attention to how you handle the trailer in traffic. Coupling is where preparation pays off: the fifth wheel and kingpin, the air and electrical connections and the landing legs are easy to rush under exam pressure.

You cannot book the practical exam yourself. The page on booking the practical exam says your training provider reserves it once you have been medically approved and passed theory module 1 within the past two years.

Code 95 candidates face two further tests, held not by CBR examiners but by authorised trainers, who can be found through the practical exams page. According to “How do the code 95 practical tests work?”, the practical test (praktische toets) takes about 60 minutes and covers loading, securing, and unloading cargo; workplace safety; fraud awareness; and emergencies, with questions about the vehicle. The closed-course test (toets besloten terrein) takes about 30 minutes and consists of 11 exercises in vehicle control and manoeuvring in confined spaces. Many Dutch truck schools offer the lessons and the code 95 tests together as a package.

The CBR doesn’t list a minimum number of lessons for CE on its truck pages; your instructor decides with you when you are ready. The driving school finder is a starting point.

Passed results expire, and not all at the same rate.

Module 1 must be under two years old on the day of the practical exam. The code 95 practical tests count for two years. The practical exam page states that its result is valid for three years, while the theory page states that theory results are valid for two. These periods come from different CBR pages and are reported as stated, because the CBR does not bring them together in one place.

A route stretched over too long a period can therefore lose a pass along the way, and that exam has to be sat and paid for again. Anyone training part-time, or pausing between C and CE, should note the date of every pass. You can rebook a failed exam, but each attempt is charged at the normal tariff.

What the CBR charges, and where the real money goes

The CBR publishes its tariffs and summarises the truck figures on the page “What does a truck licence cost?”. When I researched this, each theory module cost €44.80, so the code 95 route means three of those. The practical exam for C or CE costs €275.00, and the Gezondheidsverklaring costs €46.90. The theory options added €13.50 for extra time, €68.00 for personal guidance, €12.65 for English and €68.00 for an interpreter.

Two charges come from elsewhere. The gemeente charges up to €46.90 for the licence application, depending on the municipality, with extra for urgent processing, and the Kiwa driver card costs €141.57. CBR tariffs are exempt from VAT and adjusted periodically, so check them before budgeting. None of these figures covers the occupational physician or any specialist.

The official fees are small, aside from the training. As one example only, DON Opleidingen advertises a CE course of 30 practical hours including the CBR practical exam at €3,937 excluding VAT, for candidates who already hold C. It is OneSchool’s package, not a typical price, and the hours a given driver needs depend on experience.

Comparing quotes mostly means finding out what is inside them. Ask which CBR fees are included and whether retakes are covered, how many hours the price buys and what an extra hour costs, whether the school runs the code 95 tests itself, and whether the price includes VAT, which matters a great deal to a private customer. The CBR notes that either you or your employer pays the training provider; when an employer pays, read any repayment clause before signing.

Collecting the licence at the gemeente

Once you pass the exams and the medical is approved, apply for the card at your municipality; the CBR links to general guidance on applying for a driving licence. The gemeente checks your identity, residence and exam results before issuing a new card. Ondernemersplein’s code 95 page explains that code 95 is added at this point, so it appears alongside the categories rather than on a separate document.

Because CE comes after C, most drivers visit the gemeente twice: once for C with code 95, and again after the CE practical exam for a card showing the new category.

Code 95 runs on its own five-year clock

Code 95 is valid for five years. To extend it, you complete 35 hours of periodic training (nascholing) every five years, including at least one seven-hour practical training, according to the periodic training page. Completed hours appear in Mijn CBR, and CBR has a course finder to locate training.

Finishing the hours is not the end: you then apply to your gemeente to have the new end date added to your licence. The page on adding the new code 95 explains the arithmetic. While the current code is valid, the new end date is the current one plus five years, so finishing early costs nothing. Once it has expired, the timing of your application affects how long the new code runs, and a long enough delay can mean starting the 35 hours again. Adding only the renewed code needs no new health declaration, as the CBR confirms on its health declaration FAQ; renewing the truck categories at the same visit does.

Some longer-serving drivers never took the basic qualification. The RDW’s code 95 page explains that drivers who held their truck licence before the professional qualification rules started have acquired rights, but must still complete the periodic training.

The licence categories and code 95 expire independently, with different effects. If code 95 lapses, you keep CE and may drive privately, but not professionally where the code is required. If the LIfC and CE lapse, you may not drive those vehicles under whatever code 95 says.

Kiwi driver card and the ADR certificate

Three things often get bundled with CE in conversation, and none is part of it. The tachograph driver card is a personal card that professional drivers of vehicles with a digital or smart tachograph must use. It comes from Kiwa Register, is valid for five years, and must be received in person.

For dangerous goods, you need an ADR training certificate, obtained through separate training and exams that neither the CE nor code 95 includes. Driving and rest times appear in theory module 3, but they are a separate body of law, recorded and enforced through the tachograph.

Arriving with a foreign licence or a foreign code 95

Whether you may keep driving on a foreign licence after moving to the Netherlands, and for how long, depends on the issuing country. That is the answer on the CBR’s page for exchanging a foreign licence, which refers readers to the RDW for details. Ondernemersplein’s page on driving licence rules gives the principle: valid licences from EU and EEA countries, and from certain other countries accepted by the RDW, can be exchanged at the gemeente. Where exchange is not possible, the holder takes the CBR theory and practical exams like any other candidate.

Exchange is not blanket recognition. For a licence from outside the EU and EEA, only some categories may be exchangeable, and the truck categories are not always among them, so a driver with C or CE from such a country should ask the RDW which categories transfer.

The RDW decides whether an exchange needs a Gezondheidsverklaring, and the CBR advises completing it six months before the date you can no longer drive on the foreign licence. You can no longer exchange an expired foreign licence. An International Driving Permit does not help: it is a translation of the licence, and it neither adds categories nor extends the period a foreign licence may be used.

Professional qualifications from abroad follow their own logic. The RDW explains that a Dutch resident who earned the qualification in another EU or EEA country generally needs a driver qualification card from that country; the Dutch licence does not simply absorb a foreign code 95. Periodic training started in one country can in principle be continued in another, according to Ondernemersplein.

The mirror case is a driver who works for a Dutch employer but lives abroad with no Dutch address, and so cannot get a Dutch licence. If that driver’s code 95 training was done in the Netherlands, the RDW issues a driver qualification card (bestuurderskwalificatiekaart), currently €61.40, provided they hold a valid category C or D and work for a Dutch employer.

Renewing every five years

The RDW lists C and CE as valid for five years, with a medical examination each time, so every renewal repeats the sequence: a new Gezondheidsverklaring, an examination by an occupational physician and a CBR assessment.

The RDW’s online renewal page explains who can renew without visiting the gemeente. You need a DigiD at the right verification level and a digital photo from an RDW-approved photographer or photo booth; an ordinary passport photo will not do. The fee is €53.65, plus the cost of the photo. Otherwise, you renew at the gemeente. You can renew at any time, but renewing early changes the dates on the new card. Leaving the declaration to the last few weeks risks a gap when you may not be allowed to drive a lorry at all.

A new EU directive is adopted but not yet Dutch law.

The Netherlands has several years to transpose the new Driving Licence Directive, which will replace the existing one once member states have done so. Published summaries report that it covers, among other things, the minimum age for C and CE with a professional qualification, accompanied driving at 17 for category C, and a five-year administrative validity for truck categories. We could not read the full directive text reliably and found no Dutch announcement on implementation.

Until Dutch legislation changes, the rules published by the CBR, the RDW and Rijksoverheid apply. The Rijksoverheid driving licence pages are where you would expect an announcement.

A checklist for the Netherlands

1. Ask your gemeente whether you meet the 185-day rule and whether your residence status allows them to issue a licence.
2. Choose the code 95 route if you are under 21 or intend to drive for pay.
3. Submit the Gezondheidsverklaring in Mijn CBR as soon as lessons start.
4. Get written quotes from two or more schools and compare what each includes.
5. Record the date of every pass so nothing expires before you finish.
6. Put the licence expiry and code 95 end dates in your diary, and spread the 35 hours across the five years.

With licence, code 95 and driver card in hand, the job search begins. FastDriver.eu is a job portal where lorry drivers can register a profile and browse driver vacancies; it issues no licences, approves no training or qualifications, and cannot guarantee a job, visa, or work permit.

Where the RDW pages could not be reached

The RDW’s own pages on foreign licence exchange could not be opened during research, so we cannot provide country-by-country exchange rules or the exact period you can drive on a foreign licence after registering. We also did not establish whether the Netherlands offers a shorter initial qualification alongside the full basic qualification, or the details of the MBO student rules. For licences, exchanges, and the qualification card, the RDW has the final word; for exams, medical fitness,  and Code 95 training, the CBR does.

Official sources

• CBR: getting a truck licence
• CBR: truck licence with code 95
• RDW: driving licence categories
• Rijksoverheid: truck driving licence
• Ondernemersplein: code 95 for professional drivers
• CBR: tariffs