Alberta licence classes, from Class 1 to Class 7

What are the licence classes in Alberta?

Each class also lets you learn on some of the others. With a Class 6, for example, you can drive a car as a learner.

The usual path: Class 7, then Class 5

Every new driver in Alberta starts with Class 7, whatever their age. You get it by passing the knowledge test and a vision test at a registry agent. After at least a year, and from age 16, you can take the road test for a Class 5-GDL. A full Class 5 follows after two years of probation, at 18 at the earliest.

You can’t move up to Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 while you’re still in the GDL program. You need a full Class 5 first.

Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 knowledge tests in Alberta

Each commercial class has its own knowledge test, taken at a registry agent. You need to be at least 18, hold a full Class 5 and bring photo ID. If you’ll drive a vehicle with air brakes, you also need to pass a separate air brake knowledge test.

Study the Commercial Driver’s Guide along with the Driver’s Guide for cars and light trucks. Alberta says the commercial guide adds to the car guide, so you’re expected to know both.

You take a vision test at the registry agent too, and for Class 1, 2 and 4 you need a completed Driver’s Medical Report Form.

The commercial tests are in English only. Translated tests are for Class 7 alone. For Class 1, 2 and 4 the registry agent can read the questions aloud, and there’s an oral test for Class 3. Alberta.ca doesn’t publish a separate question count or pass mark for each commercial test.

Class 4: a knowledge test, but no road test

Class 4 is the only commercial class without a road test. You pass the Class 4 knowledge test, the vision test and the medical, then buy the licence. It’s the class for taxi and ambulance drivers, and for smaller buses, including school buses, that seat fewer than 25 people with the driver.

Road tests for Class 1, 2 and 3

Government examiners give these tests, so the fee is the same anywhere in Alberta. Book through a registry agent or the Alberta Road Test Scheduler. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and you get your money back. Cancel later or miss the test and you lose the fee.

For Class 1, you have to finish Tier 2 of the Class 1 Learning Pathway, the Core Learning Program, before you can book the road test. The pathway replaced the old MELT program on April 1, 2025.