Native tool · INT.04 Drive · runs on this page
Tow Match
Can this car tow that trailer, on your licence, in your country? Type the plate figures and get six answers on one screen: the outfit ratio, the towing limit, the train weight, the noseweight window, the licence category and the speed you may drive.
Tow match · v1.0
Plate figures in, verdicts outThe car (VIN plate, V5C or COC)
The trailer or caravan
Your licence
US: no federal licence class below 26,001 lb GCWR. The tool shows where that line sits; state classes differ.
Inside every checked limit
Rules as of 2026-09. Licence and speed rows come from the official pages listed below (gov.uk/towing-with-car, gov.uk/speed-limits); the 85 % and noseweight rows are guidelines, not law. Your plate always wins.
The six checks, and where each one comes from
Two kinds of number sit on this screen. The towing limit, the gross train weight, the noseweight limit and the licence rule are hard ceilings: the manufacturer's plate and the licence law. The 85 % ratio and the 5–7 % noseweight window are guidance from the towing bodies, built on decades of sway data. The tool never mixes the two: a guideline row says WARN, a legal row says OVER.
Outfit ratio divides the trailer's maximum permissible laden mass by the car's kerb weight. The Caravan and Motorhome Club recommends staying at or under 85 % if you are new to towing and never going above 100 %. Kerb weight excludes the driver; an EU "mass in running order" includes 75 kg for one, which is why the selector exists.
Noseweight is the downward force of the hitch on the ball. Too little and the trailer starts to snake; too much and the car's rear axle and the towbar carry more than they were rated for. The window used here is 5–7 % of the trailer's actual laden weight in Europe and the UK, 10–15 % on a US bumper hitch, capped in every case by the car's plated maximum. The Noseweight & Rack Load tool goes deeper, including bike racks on the ball.
Rule table, as of 2026-09
| Country | Licence rule applied | Speed with a trailer | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Issued before 1 Jan 1997: 8 250 kg combined MAM. From 1 Jan 1997: trailer up to 3 500 kg MAM. | 60 / 60 / 50 / 30 mph | gov.uk towing · gov.uk speed limits |
| Germany | B: trailer ≤ 750 kg, or combination ≤ 3 500 kg. B96: combination ≤ 4 250 kg. BE: trailer ≤ 3 500 kg. | 80 km/h outside towns | FeV § 6 · StVO § 3 |
| Netherlands | EU categories as above. | 90 km/h motorway (< 3 500 kg) | Directive 2006/126 · Rijksoverheid |
| France | EU categories as above. | PTRA ≤ 3.5 t: car limits · > 3.5 t: 90 / 80 km/h | Directive 2006/126 · Code de la route R413-8 |
| Lithuania | EU categories as above. | 90 km/h motorways and paved roads | Directive 2006/126 · KET 131.5 |
| United States | Federal CDL line: 26,001 lb GCWR with a trailer over 10,000 lb. Non-commercial classes differ by state. | state law, not printed | 49 CFR 383.5 |
Guideline sources: 85 % ratio and 5–7 % noseweight, Caravan and Motorhome Club; US 10–15 % tongue weight, Wikipedia, Trailer (vehicle). Unbraked ceiling of 750 kg: the category B definition in Directive 2006/126.
What is out of scope
Motorhomes towing a car on an A-frame, agricultural trailers and anything over 3 500 kg MAM follow different rules and are not modelled. Country rows exist only where the rule could be read from an official page this month; if your country is missing, that is why.
FAQ
No. It is the Caravan and Motorhome Club guideline for people new to towing: keep the trailer's laden weight at or under 85 % of the car's kerb weight, and never above 100 %. The legal ceilings are the plate figures: maximum braked towing mass, gross train weight and maximum noseweight.
Since the 2021 rule change, a car licence lets you tow a trailer up to 3 500 kg MAM regardless of the combined weight. Licences issued before 1 January 1997 keep the older allowance of 8 250 kg combined MAM. The car's own plated limits still apply.
A trailer up to 750 kg MAM, or a heavier trailer as long as car and trailer together stay at or under 3 500 kg MAM. B with code 96 raises the combination to 4 250 kg after training or a test; BE covers trailers up to 3 500 kg MAM. Germany, the Netherlands, France and Lithuania apply the same directive.