Nepal Driving Licence Categories Explained: A, K, B and Everything Above Them

Your licence category decides which vehicle you may legally drive. Pick the wrong one on the application form and you pay a category-add fee later and sit the exam and trial again.

For most people the choice is simple: A for a motorcycle, K for a small scooter or moped, B for a car. Everything above those is commercial or heavy, and you cannot jump straight to them.

The three categories most people need

DOTM examines A and K together. Its published question set is titled for the "A/K class", and Category B has its own separate set:

A and K   dotm.gov.np/content/112/written-test-questions-2082-83-for--ak--class/
B         dotm.gov.np/content/111/-b--written-examination-questions-for-class-2082-83/

A or K?

This is the question people get wrong most often.

K is for the small end — mopeds and 50cc-class scooters. Almost every scooter actually sold in Nepal today is a 110, 125 or bigger. If your scooter is a 125, you need A, not K.

A covers more. If you are genuinely unsure which you need, A is the safer choice, and the exam set is the same one either way.

B — what it does and does not allow

B is a private licence. It covers a car, jeep, van or pickup you drive for yourself.

It does not let you drive commercially. Taxi, ride-share, goods delivery for hire, or anything with paying passengers needs a commercial category. Doing that work on a B licence is driving without the correct licence, whatever the vehicle is.

The heavier categories

Above A, K and B come the commercial and heavy categories. They cover, broadly:

• Light commercial — tempo, three-wheeler, mini truck, mini bus
• Heavy goods — truck and lorry
• Heavy passenger — bus
• Plant and construction — crane, dozer, roller, excavator
• Agricultural — tractor, power tiller

Two rules apply to all of them, and these are the parts that matter:

1. You cannot skip the ladder. A heavy category requires you to already hold a lighter one. In practice that means B before anything commercial, and the commercial categories before the heaviest.

2. The minimum age is higher. Commercial and heavy categories generally start at 21, not 18.

A word of caution on the letters. Different websites publish different letter schemes for these heavier categories, and they contradict each other — one list has C as tempo, another has C as mini truck. They cannot both be right. Confirm the exact letter for the vehicle you want on your province portal or at your transport office before you apply. For A, K and B there is no ambiguity, which is why this page states those firmly and the rest carefully.

Adding a category to an existing licence

Very common: you have A for your bike and you want B for a car.

You do not start over. Every province portal lists this as its own service:

अनुमतिपत्र वर्ग थप        (licence category add)

The process:

1. Open your province portal and choose the category-add service.
2. Apply for the new category and pay online.
3. Book your office appointment.
4. Sit the written exam for the new category. Adding B to an A means the Category B paper, which has far more car mechanics in it.
5. Take the trial for the new category.
6. Collect a new smart card. It shows every category you hold on one card.

Reported cost is about NPR 400 for the application plus the smart card charge, but fees are provincial now — check yours. Expect the card itself to take a while; people report a couple of months from application to new card in hand.

The full fee picture covers what changed and why the numbers you see online disagree.

Choosing correctly the first time

Ask yourself three questions before you fill in the form.

What will you actually ride or drive in the next two years? Not what you own today. If a car is coming, consider applying for both.

Is any of it paid work? If yes, you need a commercial category, and you need the private one first.

How big is the engine? A 125cc scooter is Category A. This one alone accounts for a large share of category-add applications that did not need to happen.

Practise for the category you picked

The written exam differs by category, so practise the right set. A and K share one bank; B has its own, with a lot more about clutch, gears, fluids and brakes.

I built Yatayat Likhit to keep those separate — you choose your category and get that bank, with the reasoning next to each answer, timed mocks in the exam format, the Nepali road signs, and an Ishihara-style colour-vision test for the medical. Free, offline, Nepali and English, covering A, K and B.

Get it: Yatayat Likhit — free on iPhone and Android. The link opens your own app store.

If you are adding a category, do not assume your old preparation carries over. Going from A to B means learning the car mechanics section from scratch.

What your category looks like on the card

Nepal issues a smart card licence, not a paper one. DOTM publishes the sample card with its security features at dotm.gov.np/content/56/smart-card-driving-license-with-security-features/.

Your categories are printed on it as letters. One card carries every category you hold, so adding B to an A does not give you two cards — it gives you a replacement card showing both.

That matters in two everyday ways:

• A traffic check reads the letters. If you are driving a car on a card that shows only A, the category is the problem, not the card.
• Adding a category replaces the card. You hand in the old one and wait for the new one to print. Plan around the gap, and check the print list before making the trip to collect it.

How to check whether your card has printed explains the batch system, because "not found" usually means "not yet", not "lost".

The ladder, and why it exists

The rule that you cannot skip straight to a heavy category is not paperwork for its own sake. A bus and a dozer fail differently from a car, and the licence system assumes you have already learned the basics somewhere cheaper.

In practice the path looks like this:

1. A or K — your first licence, at 16. Or B at 18 if you start with a car.
2. B — the private four-wheeler licence. The gateway to everything commercial.
3. Light commercial — tempo, mini truck, mini bus. Requires B.
4. Heavy goods or heavy passenger — truck, bus. Requires the commercial category below it.
5. Plant and agricultural — crane, dozer, roller, tractor, power tiller. Separate skills, separate trial.

Each step is a fresh written exam and a fresh trial on that vehicle type. None of them is automatic, and none of them can be bought as an upgrade.

If your plan is commercial driving, the practical consequence is worth knowing early: get Category B sorted first, even if you never intend to own a car. It is the step everything else is built on.

Common mistakes

• Choosing K for a 125cc scooter. That is Category A.
• Assuming B allows commercial driving. It does not.
• Trying to jump to a heavy category without holding the lighter one.
• Copying a category letter from a random website. For the heavier categories, the published lists contradict each other. Confirm locally.
• Applying for one category when you know you need two. You will pay the add fee and sit another exam and trial.

If you are 16

Categories A and K start at 16, which makes a bike licence the first official document many people in Nepal get. Two things are worth knowing at that age.

You cannot get Category B until 18. There is no early route, and no combination of A plus experience that shortens it. If a car is the goal, A now and B at 18 is the normal path — and A is genuinely useful in the meantime.

Starting at 16 helps later. The commercial categories need Category B first, and B is easier if you already understand road rules from two years of riding legally. The ladder rewards starting early far more than it rewards waiting.

Questions people ask

Which licence category do I need for a scooter in Nepal?

Category A for almost every scooter on sale, because K covers only the small 50cc class. A 110 or 125 scooter is Category A.

What is the difference between Category A and Category K?

K is for mopeds and 50cc-class scooters. A covers motorcycles and larger scooters. DOTM examines them with the same question set.

Can I drive a taxi on a Category B licence?

No. B is a private licence. Paid passenger or goods work needs a commercial category, and you need to hold a lighter licence first.

How do I add a new category to my licence?

Use the "अनुमतिपत्र वर्ग थप" service on your province eDLVRS portal, pay, book an appointment, then sit the written exam and trial for the new category.

What is the minimum age for a driving licence in Nepal?

16 for categories A and K, 18 for Category B. Commercial and heavy categories generally start at 21.

Keep reading

• The complete licence guide — every step, in order.
• Your province portal — where you apply and add categories.
• Bike and scooter questions — the A and K written exam.
• Car questions — the Category B written exam.
• The eye and colour-vision test — the medical every category needs.
• Age limits and documents — the minimum age for each category.
• Using your licence abroad — an IDP cannot add a category.
• What it all costs — including the category-add fee.