Vehicle and driver’s license categories in Croatia

PUBLISHED: 07/12/2021

In Croatia, vehicles are organized into 17 groups according to their main characteristics. The classification is important because driver’s licenses are issued according to these categories. This means there are several types of driver’s license categories as well in Croatia.

In this post, we cover:

• Definition of driver’s license categories
• Types of driver’s license categories
• Validation periods

The facts are these…

Vehicle and driver’s license categories in Croatia

What are the driver’s license categories in Croatia

In Croatia, you can’t drive a vehicle without a valid driver’s license. This license is called “vozačka dozvola” in Croatian or “vozačka” in short. If you want to drive a vehicle, you must obtain a driver’s license for the required driving category. [Read: How to get a driver’s license in Croatia]

If you do not already have a license, you can receive one after finishing driving school for the desired vehicle category that you want to drive. [Read: How to take a driving school in Croatia]

Vehicles are grouped into categories according to their characteristics including:

• Mass
• Length
• Engine capacity
• Engine power
• Number of wheels
• Number of passengers/seats
• Trailers

Vehicle categories have a minimum age limit, between 15 and 24. A low age limit is prescribed for simple vehicles and a higher age limit for more complex vehicles.

If you have a foreign driver’s license, you can drive vehicles from categories that your existing license covers. If you have residence in Croatia, you can exchange your foreign driver’s license for a Croatian driver’s license. The exchange varies depending on whether your license is from an EU/EEA member country or a non-EU/EEA member country.

[Read: How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one]

If you want to enroll in driving school and get a driver’s license for a standard car that belongs to the B category, you will automatically get a license for categories AM (mopeds and cultivators), F (tractors), and G (working machines).

Types of driver’s license categories in Croatia

In Croatia, there are 17 types of driver’s license categories, which are described in more detail below.

#1 Category AM (Standard driving license)

Includes: Mopeds and cultivators.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 15

#2 Category A1

Includes: Motorcycles with or without a sidecar with an engine capacity up to 125 cm3, engine power of up to 11kW, and a power-to-weight ratio of up to 0.1 kW/kg. Motor vehicles on three wheels with a power of up to 15 kW.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 16

#3 Category A2

Includes: Motorcycles with or without a sidecar with a power of up to 35kW and a power/mass ratio of up to 0,2kW/kg. They mustn’t originate from vehicles whose power is twice as large and more.

Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 18

#4 Category A

Includes: Motorcycles with or without sidecar, vehicles on 3 wheels with an engine power of up to 15 kW/kg. The minimum age is 24 years, or 20 years if the driver has a driver’s license for the A2 category for at least two years. The minimum age for a three-wheeled vehicle of category A is 21 years.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 20/21/24

#5 Category B (Standard driving license)

Includes: Motor vehicles that don’t belong to AM, A1, A2, A, F, and G categories with a mass of up to 3.500 kg that can transport up to 8 passengers and a driver. They can be combined with a trailer whose mass is up to 750 kg, but the maximum mass of this vehicle combination is up to 4.250 kg. If a mass of vehicle combination is greater than 3.500 kg, a driver must pass the exam for that combination of vehicles from the subject “Vehicle Management”.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 18

#6 Category BE

Includes: Combination of a vehicle consisting of a category B towing vehicle and a trailer. The mass of the trailer can be up to 3.500 kg.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 18

#7 Category C1

Includes: Motor vehicles that are not from the D1, D, or F categories, with a mass up to 3.500kg, but less than 7.500kg. They can transfer 8 passengers and a driver. They can be combined with a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 18

#8 Category C1E

Includes: Combination of a vehicle consisting of a category B towing vehicle and a trailer with a mass bigger than 3.500 kg. Mass of the combination can be up to 12.000 kg. Combination of vehicles consisting of category B and a trailer with a mass bigger than 3.500 kg, but less than 12.000 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 18

#9 Category C

Includes: Motor vehicles that are not from categories D1, D, or F, with a maximum mass of up to 7.500 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 18/21

#10 Category CE

Includes: Combination of vehicles consisting of a category C towing vehicle and a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 18/21

#11 Category D1

Includes: Motor vehicles that transport up to 16 passengers and a driver whose maximum length is up to 8 meters. They can be combined with a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 21

#12 Category D1E

Includes: Combination of a vehicle consisting of a towing vehicle from the D1 category and a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 21

#13 Category D

Includes: Motor vehicles that can transport 8 passengers and a driver. They can be combined with a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 21/23/24

#14 Category DE

Includes: Combination of a vehicle consisting of a category D towing vehicle and a trailer with a mass of up to 750 kg.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 21/23/24

#15 Category F (Standard driving license)

Includes: Tractors with or without a trailer.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 16

#16 Category G (Standard driving license)

Includes: Working machines.
Validation period: 10 years
Minimum age: 16

#17 Category H

Includes: Trams.
Validation period: 5 years
Minimum age: 21

What you have to know about the validation period

Driver’s licenses for categories AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, F, and G are valid for a period of 10 years. Driver’s licenses of categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE, and H are valid for a period of 5 years.

If you are a driving instructor or a category B driver who drives a vehicle for professional purposes, the validity period of your driver’s license is 10 years.

Before you get your driver’s license, a doctor must confirm that you are medically okay to drive. A medical examination must be performed every time you get a driver’s license or prolong your old driver’s license.

If you are healthy or you don’t have any specific health conditions that could seriously impact your ability to drive, your doctor will give you medical permission for the appropriate validation period.

If you have specific health conditions which are not an obstacle to driving, you are allowed to drive a vehicle. However, in this case, the validation period of your driver’s license will be shorter. Specific health conditions may include problems with eyesight, diabetes, heart diseases, mental diagnoses, and chronic diseases. These diseases may impact your driving or result in dysfunctional motor skills.

For specific health conditions, the doctor will approve a medical certificate for a period of several years, but not shorter than one year. After this period expires, you must visit the doctor again and repeat the same medical examination.

View other vehicle posts

• How to buy a car in Croatia
• How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one
• How to get a driver’s license in Croatia
• How to import your car and belongings to Croatia
• How to register a car or motor vehicle and get an annual inspection in Croatia
• How to take driving school (Autoškola)

Sources:
Kategorije vozila by HAK
Uvijek je dobro znati: Koliko dugo vam vrijede vozačke dozvole za sve kategorije?! by HAK