To get an MC licence in NSW, you need to have held a Heavy Rigid (HR) or Heavy Combination (HC) licence for at least a year. Then you pass the combination knowledge test, an eyesight test and a medical, and complete the Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA). There’s no Service NSW driving test option for MC.
What an MC licence lets you drive
MC stands for Multi Combination. It’s the highest licence class in NSW, and it lets you drive any type of vehicle except a motorcycle. The vehicles that need it are B-doubles, road trains, and prime mover, low loader dolly and low loader trailer combinations.
The vehicle you’re assessed in shows the size of the step up. It has to be at least a 3-axle prime mover (the truck unit that does the towing) pulling an A trailer and a B trailer. It must be rated to run as a B-double and at least 22 metres long when it’s set up as a B-double.
Who can get an MC licence in NSW
You must have held an HR or HC licence, or an equivalent, for at least 1 year. MC is always an upgrade from one of those classes, so you can’t go to it straight from a car licence.
Time on a P2 HR licence counts towards that year. But you can’t start learning in an MC vehicle, or upgrade to MC, until you hold an unrestricted HR or HC licence.
If you hold HR, there’s one more step. You need to pass an HC assessment before you can start MC training. If you’ve only recently swapped an overseas licence for a NSW one, bring your overseas licence or a confirmation letter when you apply. Service NSW uses it to check how long you’ve held the lower class.
The steps to an MC licence, in order
Service NSW sets out the MC upgrade in this order:
- Go to a service centre. Pass the Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test and an eyesight test, and show medical evidence that you meet the medical standards for commercial drivers. You need the medical evidence before you’re given an HVCBA log book.
- Do your HVCBA training and assessment with a Transport for NSW accredited Registered Training Organisation (RTO).
- Go back to a service centre with your completed and endorsed log book, your proof of identity and a completed Licence Application form (Form 1001).
After you pass the Final Competency Assessment, you pay the licence fee when you upgrade to MC. There’s also a fee when you apply for the HVCBA. Service NSW doesn’t list the amounts on its MC page. It links to the heavy vehicle licence fees page instead, so check the current amounts there before you go.
The MC knowledge test
The MC knowledge test is the combination version of the Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test, the same one HC applicants sit. You answer 45 questions about road rules and road safety. You only sit the test for the licence class you’re applying for, so for MC that’s the combination test. If you already passed it for HC, ask Service NSW whether you need to sit it again before you book.
You can book online, or at a service centre and pay the test fee there. You sit the test itself at a service centre. Bring a completed Licence Application form, your proof of identity, and your glasses or contact lenses if you wear them. The test comes in English, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Korean, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese, and Service NSW has a free interpreter service on 13 77 88. If you don’t pass, you may be able to sit it again the same day. You pay the fee each time.
Service NSW says to study three books first: the Heavy Vehicle Driver Handbook, the Road User Handbook and the Load Restraint Guide. Our guide to the HC knowledge test goes through what the combination question bank asks, including the B-double and road train questions.
MC needs the HVCBA
For the other heavy classes, people in areas without the HVCBA can sit a heavy vehicle driving test with a Service NSW testing officer. MC applicants can’t. Wherever you live, you must complete the HVCBA.
The HVCBA has two parts. First you train with an accredited RTO and record your required training and assessment hours in the HVCBA Learner Log Book. Then you sit the Final Competency Assessment, which is the practical test at the end. You choose your trainer, the vehicle and your lesson times. Your training and your assessment must be done by different assessors.
You’re filmed during the Final Competency Assessment, and the truck needs an in-cabin camera. When you pass, the assessor sends your result to Transport for NSW. NSW publishes the list of accredited RTOs that deliver the HVCBA, and TAFE NSW is one of them.
The medical for an MC licence
Everyone applying for MC needs a medical. You book a medical assessment with your doctor or specialist when you first apply for an MC licence. It has to show you meet the commercial standards set in Assessing Fitness to Drive.
You don’t need a letter from Transport for NSW to book it. Your doctor can fill in the form and send it online. Do this early, because you can’t get your HVCBA log book until Service NSW has your medical evidence.
MC holders get medical checks at intervals based on age. From 70, you need to pass a medical assessment and a driving test every year to keep your MC licence.
Practising the combination test with DrivePrep NSW
DrivePrep NSW has a Heavy Combination pathway for the combination test you sit for MC. Its 45-question mock tests are the same length as the real one, and missed-question review brings back the B-double and road train questions you got wrong. Service NSW points you to the three handbooks, so read those as well.
If you want to study on your phone between shifts, DrivePrep NSW is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Common questions
Can I go straight from a car licence to an MC licence?
No. You need to have held a Heavy Rigid (HR) or Heavy Combination (HC) licence for at least 1 year first, and that licence must be unrestricted before you can start learning in an MC vehicle.
Is there a driving test for an MC licence?
No. MC applicants can’t take the heavy vehicle driving test. You must complete the Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment (HVCBA) with an accredited Registered Training Organisation (RTO), which ends with a practical Final Competency Assessment.
Is the MC knowledge test the same as the HC test?
Yes. MC and HC applicants sit the same combination version of the Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test. It has 45 questions about road rules and road safety.
Do I need a medical for an MC licence?
Yes. You need a medical assessment when you first apply for an MC licence, and it must show you meet the commercial standards. From 70 years of age, you need to pass a medical assessment and a driving test each year to keep an MC licence.
Official NSW sources
- Getting a heavy vehicle licence: what MC covers, the HR or HC time you need, and the steps including the medical.
- Apply for a heavy vehicle licence (multi-combination only): the order of the steps, what to bring and the HC assessment for HR holders.
- Heavy Vehicle Knowledge Test: the combination test for HC and MC, booking, languages and re-sits.
- Heavy Vehicle Competency Based Assessment: the log book, the Final Competency Assessment and the MC test vehicle.
- Heavy vehicle driving test: who can sit it, and why MC applicants can’t.
- Registered Training Organisations: the list of accredited RTOs that deliver the HVCBA.
- Medical assessments for Fitness to Drive: the medical when you first apply for MC and how your doctor sends the form.
- Older drivers, riders and road users: the yearly medical and driving test for MC holders from 70.
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.