Towing a trailer with category B: light trailer, code B96 and B+E

You can always tow a light trailer (MAM up to 750 kg) with category B, and a heavier one when the combination MAM does not exceed 3.5 t. Above that, up to 4250 kg, you need code 96 after a practical test. Heavier outfits, with a trailer MAM up to 3.5 t, mean category B+E from 18.

Three mass thresholds: when B is enough, when you need code 96, when B+E

Two numbers decide which entitlement you need: the maximum authorised mass (MAM, in Polish documents DMC) of the trailer and the MAM of the whole vehicle combination. A light trailer is a trailer with a MAM of up to 750 kg (art. 2(51) of the Road Traffic Act, Prawo o ruchu drogowym). A vehicle combination is vehicles coupled together to move on the road as a whole (art. 2(49)), in this case a car with a trailer.

The legal basis is art. 6(1)(6) and art. 6(2) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami) for category B, and art. 6(1)(12) for B+E. The other entitlements of category B (a 125 motorcycle, an agricultural tractor, a vehicle up to 4250 kg on alternative fuels) are described separately in our article on what you can drive with category B.

How to calculate the MAM of a vehicle combination

You do not weigh anything. You take the two registration certificates and add up the maximum authorised masses entered in them.

1. Read the MAM of the car from its registration certificate.
2. Read the MAM of the trailer from its registration certificate.
3. If the trailer's MAM does not exceed 750 kg, it is a light trailer: stop counting, you drive on ordinary category B.
4. Otherwise add the two MAMs together and compare the result with the 3.5 t and 4250 kg thresholds.

A few worked examples. A car with a MAM of 2000 kg and a trailer with a MAM of 1400 kg give a combination of 3400 kg, so ordinary category B. A car with a MAM of 2300 kg and a trailer with a MAM of 1500 kg make 3800 kg, so code 96 is needed. A car with a MAM of 2500 kg and a trailer with a MAM of 2000 kg make 4500 kg, and that is already category B+E.

What counts is the MAM from the documents, not the actual load. An empty trailer with a MAM of 1500 kg is still a trailer other than light. The exam question catalogue tests this in question no. 10093 (a combination with a total MAM of up to 3.5 t: yes, category B is enough) and in question no. 6401 (a combination with a total MAM of 4.5 t: no).

On top of that comes the limit in art. 62(1)(1) of the Road Traffic Act: the actual total mass of a trailer towed by a passenger car may not exceed the actual total mass of that car. That is question no. 7452 in the catalogue. Also check in the car's documents what trailer mass the manufacturer allows, because this technical restriction applies regardless of your driving licence.

Code 96: an exam without a new category

A combination with a MAM above 3.5 t but not more than 4250 kg may be driven by a person who has passed the practical part of the state exam, confirmed by an entry in the driving licence (art. 6(2) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers). In WORD documents (WORD, Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego, is the regional driving test centre) and in the driver candidate profile, this exam appears as "B code 96" (regulation on examining).

You do not gain a new category. You still hold category B, and next to it code 96, which raises the combination mass limit from 3.5 t to 4250 kg. The Act speaks only of the practical part of the exam.

In the exam you perform the tasks set for category B+E, in the manner prescribed for that category (§ 23(2) of the regulation). The fee for the practical part in the Mazovia region is 288.00 zł (PLN), the same as for B+E (as of September 2026). Amounts in other regions are set by the regional assemblies, so they may differ slightly; the details are in our article on exam fees and booking in 2026.

Category B+E: age, course, exam, fees

Category B+E covers a category B vehicle together with a trailer, where the MAM of the towed trailer may not exceed 3.5 t (art. 6(1)(12)). It is the solution for people who tow larger caravans, car transporter trailers or horse trailers.

The key conditions:

• age: 18 years,
• holding category B (B+E extends category B),
• a course at an OSK (ośrodek szkolenia kierowców, a driving school): at least 15 hours of practical lessons,
• a medical examination by an authorised doctor; a psychological certificate is not required,
• the practical test: a fee of 288.00 zł in the Mazovia region (as of September 2026).

In addition, on Polish territory category B+E entitles you to drive an agricultural tractor with a trailer or trailers (art. 6(3)(2)). A table of all categories with ages and vehicles is in our overview of driving licence categories 2026.

What the practical test with a trailer looks like

The exam for B+E and for code 96 runs the same way. It starts on the manoeuvring area and ends in road traffic.

On the manoeuvring area you perform:

1. Preparation for driving and a check of the technical condition, plus additionally a check of the coupling mechanism (including the brake and electrical lines), the trailer components related to loading, and the way the load is secured.
2. Coupling the trailer to the vehicle. Starting position: the car is standing next to the trailer. You have no more than 15 minutes for this.
3. Moving off and driving along a lane forwards and in reverse.
4. One of two randomly drawn sets: angled parking and perpendicular parking entering in reverse, or perpendicular parking entering forwards and a hill start.

The coupling itself consists of specific steps: driving up in front of the trailer, opening the coupling mechanism, reversing towards the trailer (for B+E the coupling head may be up to 0.5 m from the tow ball), releasing the trailer's parking brake or removing the wheel chocks, connecting the coupling head to the tow ball and securing it against disconnection, connecting the electrical and brake lines, and checking the trailer's lights.

In road traffic you drive for at least 25 minutes (table no. 7 of the annex to the regulation). The assessment rules are the same as for category B: performing the same task incorrectly twice ends the exam with a fail.

Speed and length of a combination with a trailer

A car with a trailer, even a light one, is a vehicle combination and is subject to lower limits outside built-up areas (art. 20(3)(2) of the Road Traffic Act):

In the question catalogue this is tested by question no. 8898 (a passenger car with a light trailer on a motorway: 80 km/h) and no. 13670 (whether you may exceed 80 km/h when overtaking on a motorway with a light trailer: no).

A car may tow only one trailer: a combination towed by a motor vehicle other than an agricultural tractor or a slow-moving vehicle consists of at most 2 vehicles (art. 62(4)). You can practise the maximum length of a car and trailer combination on question no. 6403 from the catalogue.

Typical mistakes by drivers with trailers

The most common mistake is the car transporter trailer. A hired transporter trailer with a car on it usually has a MAM well above 750 kg, and together with the towing car the combination easily exceeds 3.5 t. Without code 96 or B+E you are then driving without the entitlement, even if the car can physically cope.

The second mistake is estimating "by eye" instead of from the documents. You check the MAM, not the unladen mass or the current load. The third is overlooking art. 62: a trailer heavier than the passenger car is prohibited regardless of the driving licence category.

The fourth mistake concerns speed. Many drivers with a light trailer do 140 km/h on the motorway because "it is only a little trailer". The limit for a combination is 80 km/h.

Questions about trailers in the theory test

Trailers appear in both the specialist and the basic part of the exam. From the catalogue it is worth doing questions no. 10093, 6401, 6406 (the definition of a vehicle combination), 7452, 8898, 13670 and 6403. Start with question no. 10093 on a vehicle combination up to 3.5 t, because it has a distractor with a speed of 30 km/h, which the Act does not provide for anywhere.

Then start a category B mock exam, and after every mistake in a question about trailers come back to the first table in this article. Three thresholds (750 kg, 3.5 t, 4250 kg) and two speed limits (80 and 70 km/h) deal with most of the questions in this group.