You have a car, a tow hitch, and a horse trailer — and then comes the question of whether your regular category B license is actually enough. The answer doesn't depend on how much your horse weighs, but on the weights listed on the registration documents of your car and your trailer. Below: which driver's licenses exist, how to calculate the permitted weight, and where you cross the limit.
It's About the Permitted Mass, Not What's Inside
The first mistake people make is thinking it's about what you're actually carrying: the combined weight of the horse, the trailer, and your tack. For the driver's license, that doesn't count. What counts is the maximum permitted weight (in Dutch: maximum toegestane massa, abbreviated MTM or MMM on the registration documents): the maximum weight a vehicle is allowed to have, fully loaded, according to the manufacturer and the vehicle registration.
You'll find this on the registration certificate and in the RDW (the Netherlands Vehicle Authority) records:
- Maximum permitted weight of the car — listed in the vehicle data for your towing car.
- Maximum permitted weight of the trailer — listed on the registration plate or type plate of the trailer itself.
So an empty trailer with a light pony can still fall under a heavier license category, simply because the trailer has a high maximum permitted weight. Always calculate using the figures on paper, not the weighbridge.
The Three Driver's Licenses in Play
For the car-plus-horse-trailer combination, there are roughly three variants. The limits sit around 750 kg for the trailer and 3,500 kg for the whole combination; you can check the exact application for your situation with the RDW.
| License | Roughly What You're Allowed to Tow |
|---|---|
| B | Car plus a light trailer (trailer's permitted mass up to about 750 kg), or a heavier trailer as long as car and trailer together stay under about 3,500 kg |
| B with code 96 (B96) | Same as B, but the combination may be heavier: up to roughly 4,250 kg combined |
| BE | Car plus a heavier trailer; the combination may go considerably higher |
Code 96 isn't a separate license but an endorsement added to your B license after a short driving skills course — not a full exam. BE, on the other hand, is a separate license category with its own practical test. Which of the three you need follows directly from the calculation below.
How to Calculate It
The core of it is one sum and one comparison. Get the paperwork for your own car and your own trailer — general examples won't help here, since it differs per vehicle.
- Look up the maximum permitted weight of your trailer. Many single-axle trailers for one horse sit around 750 kg; a sturdy two-horse trailer is clearly above that.
- Look up the maximum permitted weight of your car. An average passenger car sits somewhere between 1,800 and 2,500 kg; a larger SUV or van higher still.
- Add both permitted masses together. That's the permitted mass of your whole combination.
- Compare it against the limits:
- Does the trailer stay under about 750 kg? Then a category B license is usually enough, regardless of the car.
- Is the trailer heavier, but does the total stay under about 3,500 kg? Then B is usually still sufficient.
- Does the total fall between about 3,500 and 4,250 kg? Then you typically need B96.
- Does the total exceed that? Then you need BE.
An example to illustrate: a car with a permitted mass of 2,200 kg and a two-horse trailer with a permitted mass of 2,000 kg comes to 4,200 kg combined. That's more than 3,500, so B alone isn't enough — but it stays under 4,250, so B96 is sufficient in this example. Switch to a heavier trailer or a bigger car, and you can shoot past the B96 limit, putting BE on the table.
Treat these figures as a guide to asking the right question, not as a final legal ruling. The binding calculation and the current limits are available from the RDW and the CBR (the Dutch driving test authority).
Towing Capacity of the Car: A Separate Limit
Besides the driver's license, there's a second limit people overlook: the maximum permitted towing capacity of your car itself. That's how much your car is allowed to tow according to the manufacturer, and it's separate from which license you hold.
The registration documents usually list two values:
- the maximum towing weight for a braked trailer (a trailer with its own overrun brake — practically all horse trailers);
- the maximum towing weight for an unbraked trailer.
The loaded trailer may not exceed this figure, even if your license is ample enough. So a light car with a perfectly good BE license behind it still isn't allowed to tow a heavy two-horse trailer if that car's towing capacity is too low. License and towing capacity are two separate checks, and both have to check out.
Common Mistakes
A few things that go wrong most often:
- Calculating with the actual weight. It's about the maximum permitted weight on paper, not what happens to be in the trailer that day.
- Forgetting the hitch and tongue weight. Besides towing capacity, your tow hitch also has a maximum tongue weight (the downward pressure on the ball). A poorly loaded trailer — too much weight ahead of the axle — can exceed that.
- Thinking a light pony solves everything. An empty weight says nothing; a two-horse trailer with a high permitted mass tips your combination over the B limit even with just one pony inside.
- Switching the car-trailer pairing without recalculating. Borrow a different trailer or drive a different car, and the sum — and possibly the required license — changes.
- Forgetting insurance and registration. A trailer above a certain weight needs its own registration plate and separate insurance. That's separate from the license; check with your insurer.
In Short
Whether your regular category B license is enough doesn't depend on your horse but on two figures on the registration documents: the maximum permitted weight of your car and that of your trailer. Add them up. Stay under roughly 3,500 kg, and B is usually enough; above that, you need B96 or BE. Also always check the permitted towing capacity of your car itself — that's a separate requirement. If you're unsure about the exact limits for your combination, use the data and calculation tool from the RDW and the information on license categories from the CBR; those are the binding sources, not this guide.
See also: Insuring a Horse Trailer or Truck · Horse Show Packing Checklist · What Horse Riding Costs in the Netherlands · Glossary for this level