To get an HR licence in NSW you need to have held a class C car licence (not a learner licence) for at least 2 years. You pass an eyesight test and the 45-question rigid Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test at a service centre. Then you complete a Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA) with an accredited trainer, or a heavy vehicle driving test where the HVCBA isn’t available.
What an HR licence lets you drive
An HR licence covers trucks and buses with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of more than 8 tonnes and 3 or more axles. You can tow a trailer on it, as long as the trailer’s GVM is no more than 9 tonnes. Articulated (bendy) buses also come under HR. NSW treats them as rigid vehicles even though they bend in the middle.
If you’re aiming for a prime mover and semitrailer, HR isn’t the last step. That needs a Heavy Combination (HC) licence. You need to have held an MR or HR licence for at least a year (P2 time counts), and you can’t start learning for HC until that licence is unrestricted. Our guide to the HC knowledge test covers that next step.
Who can apply
The main requirement is time on your car licence. For HR you need to have held a class C licence, or an equivalent, for 2 years or more. Learner licence time doesn’t count. Light Rigid (LR) and Medium Rigid (MR) need only 1 year. Our guide to the LR licence covers the light rigid class.
If you’ve recently swapped an overseas licence for a NSW one, Service NSW asks you to bring your overseas licence or a confirmation letter. That lets them check how long you’ve held a lower class of licence.
Some applicants have a medical step as well. If you have an existing medical condition, or you’re declaring a new one, you have to show you meet the commercial vehicle standards in Assessing Fitness to Drive. You need that evidence before you can be issued an HVCBA log book or sit the driving test, so it’s worth booking your doctor early.
How the rigid knowledge test works
There isn’t a separate HR test. LR, MR and HR applicants all sit the rigid version of the Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test, and HC and MC applicants sit the combination version. You only need the one that matches the class you’re applying for.
It’s a computer test with 45 questions about road rules and road safety for heavy vehicles. You can book online through MyRTA, or go to a service centre and pay the test fee there. Bring a completed Licence Application form, your proof of identity, and your glasses or contact lenses if you wear them. You also need to pass an eyesight test at a service centre before you can apply for the licence.
The test is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Korean, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. For any other language you can arrange an interpreter by calling Service NSW on 13 77 88. There’s also an audio version, where you listen to the questions, in several languages.
If you don’t pass, you may be able to sit it again the same day, depending on availability. Otherwise you book another time. The test fee applies to every attempt, so check the current amount with Service NSW before you go.
What to study for the rigid test
NSW names three books for this test: the Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook, the Road User Handbook and the Load Restraint Guide. The Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook is a free download from the licence publications page, along with the official rigid question bank, which covers LR, MR and HR.
The question bank is split into general knowledge, road safety and traffic signs sections. A lot of it is ordinary road rules you already know from driving a car, such as when to dip your high beam or how close you can park to another vehicle. The parts that will be new to most car drivers are the heavy vehicle questions. For example, the bank asks what you must do if a vehicle with a GVM over 12 tonnes breaks down on a road without street lights. The answer is to put warning triangles at the side of the vehicle and between 50 and 150 metres in front of and behind it. Another asks for the maximum height of a single-deck vehicle including its load, which is 4.3 metres.
Load restraint, fatigue, and alcohol and drugs each have their own set of questions as well. If you last studied for the car DKT years ago, spend most of your time on those and on the heavy vehicle general knowledge questions, then read through the signs section once to refresh it.
After you pass: the HVCBA or a driving test
Passing the knowledge test lets you move on to the driving side. In most of NSW that’s the Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA), run by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) accredited by Transport for NSW. The steps after the knowledge test are:
- Apply in person at a service centre with your documents, eyesight test and fee, and get your HVCBA Learner Log Book.
- Choose an RTO and complete the mandatory training and assessment hours, recording them in the log book. While you learn, you drive with a licensed driving instructor or under the supervision of someone who holds the right class of NSW licence.
- Pass the Final Competency Assessment, the practical test at the end of your training. It’s recorded by an in-cabin camera.
- Go back to a service centre with a completed Licence Application, proof of identity and the licence fee to get your HR licence.
For HR, the assessment vehicle must be a rigid vehicle with at least 3 axles and a GVM over 15 tonnes. It has to be loaded to at least 75% of its maximum allowable mass (buses are the exception). You can use your own truck if it’s registered, roadworthy and the right type for the class.
Where the HVCBA isn’t available, you sit a heavy vehicle driving test with a Service NSW testing officer instead. You book online, on 13 22 13 or at a service centre, and pay the fee when you book. The officer scores tasks such as braking to a line, keeping buffer zones, merging, using your mirrors and turning, and you’ll be asked to describe a pre-departure check. You need at least 95% and no fail items to pass. If you sit it in an automatic or synchromesh vehicle, your licence will be restricted to vehicles with that kind of transmission.
Practising for the rigid test with DrivePrep NSW
DrivePrep NSW has a Heavy Rigid pathway written for the rigid knowledge test. Category practice lets you skip what you already know from years of driving a car and spend your time on the heavy vehicle questions. The 45-question mock tests are the same length as the real test, and the readiness score and missed-question review show which categories still need work before you book. It’s an independent app, so keep the official handbook and question bank open alongside it.
DrivePrep NSW is free to download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Common questions
How many questions are on the HR knowledge test?
45. LR, MR and HR applicants all sit the same rigid Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test, a computer test on road rules and road safety for heavy vehicles.
Does time on my Ps count towards the 2 years?
NSW says you need to have held a class C licence or equivalent for 2 years or more, and the only time it rules out is learner licence time. It does not spell out provisional time on that page, so confirm with Service NSW before you apply.
Can I go straight to an HC licence without an HR?
No. You need to have held an MR or HR licence for at least a year, and it must be unrestricted before you can learn to drive or upgrade to HC.
What happens if I fail the knowledge test?
Depending on availability, you may be able to sit it again the same day, or you can book another time. You pay the test fee for each attempt.
Is there an HR learners test?
Yes. It’s the rigid Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test, which you pass before you start learning to drive a heavy vehicle. NSW says it’s similar to the Driver Knowledge Test (DKT) you take for your car Ls. Once you pass it and apply at a service centre, you get an HVCBA Learner Log Book. Then you learn with a licensed driving instructor, or under the supervision of someone who holds the right class of NSW licence.
What is the HR licence test after the knowledge test?
The main way to get an HR licence is the HVCBA, which ends with a practical test called the Final Competency Assessment. Where the HVCBA isn’t available, you sit a heavy vehicle driving test with a Service NSW testing officer instead. To pass the driving test you need at least 95% and no fail items.
Official NSW sources
- Getting a heavy vehicle licence: what each class covers and how long you need to have held a car licence.
- Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test: the 45-question test, rigid and combination versions, booking, languages and re-sits.
- Apply for a heavy vehicle licence (LR, MR, HR and HC): eyesight test, medical evidence and what to bring.
- Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA): the log book, training, Final Competency Assessment and vehicle requirements.
- Heavy vehicle driving test: booking, what the testing officer checks, the pass mark and transmission restrictions.
- Licence publications: the Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook and the official rigid and combination question banks.
- Driver knowledge test questions: heavy rigid (PDF): the official question bank for LR, MR and HR, including the example questions above.
DrivePrep NSW is an independent study app and isn’t affiliated with Service NSW or Transport for NSW. Rules, fees and test arrangements can change, so check the official sources before your test.