Seasonality in Pass Rates – Light Truck C1 (Camper License)

What is the C1 (light truck / camper) license?

The C1 rijbewijs is often referred to as the camper license. It allows you to drive vehicles with a maximum permissible weight between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg – heavier than a normal car, but lighter than a full truck:

• Large motorhomes and campers
• Small trucks and distribution vehicles
• Horse transporters and other light commercial vehicles

You can start lessons from age 17 and take the exam from 18. If you want to use C1 professionally, you usually need code 95 on your license; that route has a more extensive exam programme than C1 for private use.

For many people – especially camper owners, self-employed drivers, and smaller transport firms – C1 is an attractive alternative to doing the full C license.

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How difficult is the C1 practical exam?

The chart shows weekly slagingspercentages for the C1 practical exam over 53 weeks, plus a green LOWESS curve that smooths out random weekly noise. Underneath you see the weekly number of exams.

From the descriptive statistics:

• Average pass rate: 81.96%
• Typical range (25–75% of weeks): from 79.71% to 84.85%
• Lowest week: about 70.97%
• Best week: 100% (a small-volume week where everyone passed)
• Standard deviation: 5.10 percentage points

In plain language: C1 has a very high and very stable pass rate. In a normal week, around 8 out of 10 candidates pass. The few extreme peaks and dips in the blue line are usually linked to small exam volumes in holiday weeks.

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How many people take the C1 exam?

Over the year:

• Total exams: 3,612
• Average per week: ≈68 exams
• Median per week: 69 exams
• Standard deviation in volume: 18 exams
• Quietest week: 4 exams (week 2024/52, clear holiday effect)
• Busiest week: 102 exams (week 2025/15)

So C1 is a niche but steady market. It’s much smaller than truck C/CE or car licenses, but there is a constant flow of new candidates – especially around spring and summer when camper owners prepare for travel season.

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Seasonality – is there a best time to book?

The LOWESS line in the figure stays close to 80–83% throughout the year:

• Autumn to early winter: pass rates sit just under 82%, with some noisy highs and lows in individual weeks.
• Late winter / early spring: the smoothed line dips slightly toward 80%, then recovers.
• Spring and summer: pass rates move back into the 82–83% band and stay there.

There is no clear “bad month”; the seasonal swings are small compared to the overall high level. For most candidates, the best time to take the exam is simply when they feel well-prepared and have enough recent driving experience, not a specific week on the calendar.

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What this means for candidates and driving schools

For future camper and light-truck drivers – including internationals living in the Netherlands – the numbers are encouraging:

• The C1 exam is demanding but very passable if you invest in proper lessons.
• Because pass rates are high and stable, your personal preparation (backing, size judgment, highway driving, and traffic rules) is far more important than seasonality.

For rijscholen and employers:

• C1 offers a reliable, high-success product with modest but steady demand.
• Linking C1 training to camper season, horse events, or niche delivery work can make it an attractive add-on to B and C training programmes.
• For professional drivers, combining C1 with code 95 opens extra possibilities in light logistics and special-vehicle transport.

In short: the C1 (camper) license is a relatively friendly practical exam in terms of pass rate, and a valuable option for anyone who wants to drive larger vehicles without committing to a full C license.