How does the category B practical test work?

How does the test run?

In three parts. The examiner, under article 121, paragraph 3, of the Codice della Strada an employee of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport qualified for the role, gets in with the instructor or accompanying driver and gives the route. The test starts with checks while stationary, moves on to manoeuvres and ends with driving on roads open to traffic. The route is not published in advance and differs between offices.

The structure comes from the European driving licence directive 2006/126/EC, annex II, which sets minimum requirements for the test in every member state. The same directive says driving on the road must last no less than 25 minutes.

Which vehicle is used?

A category B car with dual controls, compulsory under article 121, paragraph 9. The Ministry page on obtaining the category B licence adds that the vehicle must be able to reach at least 100 km/h. Candidates coming through a driving school use the school's car. Independent candidates have to arrange a compliant vehicle, which is why many of them rent a car from a driving school for the day of the test.

What should be brought on the day?

A valid identity document and the foglio rosa. The booking, made no later than the fifth day before the test (article 121, paragraph 11), must already include the receipt for the N019 tariff, 16.00 euro in stamp duty, and the certificate of the compulsory driving school lessons, six or eight hours depending on the decree that applies to the foglio rosa.

How long does it take?

Driving on the road cannot last less than 25 minutes under directive 2006/126/EC. The initial checks and the manoeuvres come on top, so the total length varies with the route, the traffic and the number of manoeuvres asked. The Ministry does not publish an average test length.

Who may watch, and where does it take place?

Exams are public, under article 121, paragraph 7. For candidates who attended a driving school, paragraph 6 allows the exam to be held at the school, if its premises are recognised as suitable by the local office. In practice the starting point is agreed between the school and the Motorizzazione.

What happens at the end?

The examiner gives the result. If it is a pass, article 121, paragraph 12, has the office issue the licence at the same time: from that day the holder is a new driver for three years, with the limits described on the page about what new drivers may drive. If it is a fail, the foglio rosa stays valid and the test can be retaken after at least one month, up to three tests in total.

What happens if something goes wrong on the day?

The consequences depend on the problem. Two concrete cases.

If an independent candidate in Genoa turns up with the family car, which has no dual controls, the test cannot take place in that vehicle (article 121, paragraph 9, of the Codice della Strada). She has to arrange a compliant car and book again, with a new payment, within the validity of the foglio rosa.

A candidate in Perugia gets through the checks and manoeuvres, but in city traffic fails to give way to a car coming from the right and the instructor brakes with the dual controls. The examiner ends the test with a fail. Two attempts remain on the foglio rosa, the next one no sooner than a month later.

How likely is a pass?

In 2025, 83.82 per cent of the 734,553 category B practical tests ended in a pass, according to the "Esiti Esami" data of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The figure counts tests sat, not people. The gap between offices is wide, from 60.94 per cent in Sassari to 99.43 per cent in Enna: the full ranking is on the statistics page. The mistakes that lead to a fail are listed on the page about practical test mistakes.

Legal source: Articolo 121 del Codice della Strada e direttiva 2006/126/CE, allegato II. The consolidated text of the Codice della Strada is on Normattiva.