Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 and Council Directive 91/439/EEC and repealing Council Directive 76/914/EEC

This Directive shall not apply to the drivers of vehicles:

1. with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 45 km/h;

2. used by, or under the control of, the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service, forces responsible for maintaining public order, and emergency ambulance services, when the carriage is undertaken as a consequence of the tasks assigned to those services;

3. undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, or the drivers of new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service;

4. for which a driving licence of category D or D1 is required and which are driven without passengers by maintenance personnel to or from a maintenance centre situated in the vicinity of the nearest maintenance base which is used by the transport operator, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver's principal activity;

5. used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions, including vehicles used in the non-commercial transport of humanitarian aid;

6. used for driving instruction for, and examination of, any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), in accordance with Article 6 and Article 8(1), provided that they are not being used for the commercial carriage of goods and passengers;

7. used for non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods;

8. carrying material, equipment or machinery to be used by the drivers in the course of their work, provided that driving the vehicles is not the drivers' principal activity.

With regard to point (f) of this paragraph, this Directive shall not apply to any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or a CPC, in accordance with Article 6 and Article 8(1), when that person is undergoing additional driving training during work-based learning, where that person is accompanied by another person certified by a CPC, or a driving instructor, for the category of vehicle used for the purpose set out in that point.

This Directive shall not apply where all the following conditions are met:

1. drivers of vehicles operate in rural areas to supply the driver's own business,

2. drivers do not offer transport services, and

3. Member States consider that the transport is occasional and does not have an impact on road safety.

This Directive shall not apply to drivers of vehicles used, or hired without a driver, by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, farming or fishery undertakings for carrying goods as part of their own entrepreneurial activity, except if driving is part of the driver's principal activity or the driving exceeds a distance set in national law from the base of the undertaking which owns, hires or leases the vehicle.

The activity of driving as defined in Article 1 shall be subject to a compulsory initial qualification and compulsory periodic training. To this end Member States shall provide for:

1. a system of initial qualification

   • Member States shall choose between the following two options:

     1. option combining both course attendance and a test

        In accordance with section 2(2.1) of Annex I, this type of initial qualification involves compulsory course attendance for a specific period. It shall conclude with a test. Upon successful completion of the test, the qualification shall be certified by a CPC as provided for in Article 6(1)(a);

     2. option involving only tests

        In accordance with section 2(2.2) of Annex I, this type of initial qualification does not involve compulsory course attendance but only theoretical and practical tests. Upon successful completion of the tests, the qualification shall be certified by a CPC as provided for in Article 6(1)(b).

   • However, a Member State may authorise a driver to drive within its territory before obtaining a CPC, when he or she is undergoing a national vocational training course of at least six months, for a maximum period of three years. In the context of this vocational training course, the tests referred to in points (i) and (ii) may be completed in stages;

2. a system of periodic training

   In accordance with section 4 of Annex I, periodic training involves compulsory course attendance. It shall be certified by a CPC as provided for in Article 8(1).

Member States may also provide for a system of accelerated initial qualification so that a driver may drive in the cases referred to in Article 5(2)(a)(ii) and (b) and in Article 5(3)(a)(i) and (b).

In accordance with section 3 of Annex I, the accelerated initial qualification shall involve compulsory course attendance. It shall conclude with a test. Upon successful completion of the test, the qualification shall be certified by a CPC as provided for in Article 6(2).

Member States may exempt drivers who have obtained the certificate of professional competence provided for in Directive 96/26/EC⁽²⁾ from the tests referred to in paragraph 1(a)(i) and (ii) and in paragraph 2 in the subjects covered by the test provided for in that Directive and, where appropriate, from attending the part of the course corresponding thereto.

Access to an initial qualification shall not require the corresponding driving licence to be obtained beforehand.

Drivers of a vehicle intended for the carriage of goods may drive:

1. from the age of 18:

   1. a vehicle in licence categories C and C+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(1);

   2. a vehicle in licence categories C1 and C1+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(2);

2. from the age of 21, a vehicle in licence categories C and C+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(2).

Drivers of a vehicle intended for the carriage of passengers may drive:

1. from the age of 21:

   1. a vehicle in licence categories D and D+E to carry passengers on regular services where the route does not exceed 50 kilometres and a vehicle in licence categories D1 and D1+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(2).

      Any Member State may authorise drivers of vehicles in one of the abovementioned categories to drive such vehicles within its territory from the age of 18, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(1);

   2. a vehicle in licence categories D and D+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(1).

      Any Member State may authorise drivers of vehicles in one of the abovementioned categories to drive such vehicles within its territory from the age of 20, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(1). This may be reduced to the age of 18 where the driver drives such vehicles without passengers;

2. from the age of 23, a vehicle in licence categories D and D+E, provided they hold a CPC as referred to in Article 6(2).

Without prejudice to the age limits specified in paragraph 2, drivers undertaking carriage of goods who hold a CPC as provided for in Article 6 for one of the categories provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be exempted from obtaining such a CPC for any other of the categories of vehicles referred to in that paragraph.

These provisions shall apply under the same conditions to drivers undertaking carriage of passengers in the categories referred to in paragraph 3.

Drivers undertaking carriage of goods who broaden or modify their activities in order to carry passengers, or vice versa, and who hold a CPC as provided for in Article 6, shall not be required to repeat the common parts of the initial qualification, but rather only the parts specific to the new qualification.