Patente C quiz: how the theory exam works if you want to drive a truck in Italy

The patente C is one of the higher licences (patenti superiori), the ones for larger vehicles. If you apply directly for the patente C, or the patente CE, the theory exam has 40 statements. A statement is a sentence that can be true or false: for each one you choose True or False.

The time you have is 40 minutes. You pass the test with at most 4 mistakes.

The exam is on a computer. For the C1, C, D1 and D licences, theory exams on a computer started on 2 March 2015.

Not everyone starts the patente C from scratch. If you already have the patente C1, the licence for smaller trucks, and you apply for the C, you take a shorter test: 20 True or False statements in 20 minutes, passed with at most 2 mistakes.

The same test of 20 statements also applies if you apply for the C1 or the C1E. If you are thinking of starting with the C1, you find the details in the article on the patente C1 quiz.

For the C1, C, D1 and D licences the theory exam is only in Italian or in the languages of the protected minorities, that is French and German. You cannot take it in other languages.

If Italian is not your first language, get used to reading the statements in Italian from the start. Write down the technical words you do not know, for example tachograph (cronotachigrafo), rest periods (periodi di riposo) or vehicle mass (massa del veicolo), and review them often: at the exam you always find them in Italian.

The patente C theory is mostly about working with a heavy vehicle. On PatenteInTasca the theory for the C and C1 licences is divided into 17 chapters, including:

• driving and rest periods (periodi di guida e di riposo)
• the tachograph
• loading vehicles
• brakes and tyres
• receiving, transporting and delivering goods

Study one chapter at a time and answer the statements on that topic before you move on to the next one. When a chapter feels easy, review it now and then together with the others, so you do not forget it.

When you have finished the chapters, move on to the exam simulations (simulazioni d'esame). Some practical tips:

• Do timed simulations: 40 statements in 40 minutes, as in the exam.
• Read each statement to the end: one word can change the answer.
• After each simulation, read the explanations of the wrong answers again.
• Practise a little every day, instead of putting everything into the last days.

Remember that to drive a truck for work you also need the CQC merci (CQC for goods), the carta di qualificazione del conducente (driver qualification card), which has its own exam. PatenteInTasca is not affiliated with the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) or with the Motorizzazione (the vehicle licensing office), and it is not a driving school.