Starting out in HGV driving means picking up a new vocabulary alongside the driving itself. This A–Z covers the terminology you’ll hear during training and on your first shifts: the licence categories (Cat C, C+E, C1, C1+E), what CPC actually means, the difference between an artic and a rigid, and everyday jargon like tramping, tachographs, and multidrop.
Why the jargon matters from day one
Licences and qualifications
Vehicles and equipment
The working day
Industry bodies and registration
Translate the jargon into a career
Frequently asked questions
Walking into your first HGV training session, you’ll hear acronyms that aren’t designed to make you feel anxious – but they might anyway. CPC, ADR, LGV, POD, DVSA. It can feel really overwhelming and that there’s too much to learn.
At HGV Driver Training Centre, we train new drivers every week and tend to hear the same questions during that first week. Nobody’s born knowing what a Moffett is, and pretending you do rarely ends well. There’s jargon in every industry, and we’re adamant that it doesn’t become a barrier for our customers.
Here’s an A–Z of the words that actually matter when you’re starting or switching careers into driving. Grouped by theme so you can find what you need, and written for people who aren’t already in the industry.
Your licence category dictates what you can drive, so this is where most people begin. The four HGV categories cover different vehicle weights and trailer setups.
Cat C is the most common HGV licence. It covers rigid vehicles over 3,500kg with a trailer up to 750kg. If you picture a supermarket delivery lorry, that’s usually a Cat C. You can find out more about Cat C training here.
Cat C+E is the top tier truck licence. It lets you drive a Cat C vehicle towing a separate trailer over 750kg, which is the classic articulated lorry setup. Cat C+E drivers are the ones you see hauling long distances on the motorway network. Head to our course page for more details.
Cat C1 covers medium-sized vehicles from 3,500kg to 7,500kg. For example ambulances, horseboxes, and small delivery lorries. Anyone who passed their car test before January 1997 has C1 by default. Everyone else can train for it with this course.
Cat C1+E adds a trailer over 750kg to your C1, provided the fully loaded trailer weighs no more than the vehicle itself and the combined weight stays under 12,000kg.
The other qualifications you’ll hear about:
| Licence | Vehicle weight | Trailer allowance |
| Cat C1 | 3,500kg to 7,500kg | Up to 750kg |
| Cat C1+E | C1 vehicles | Over 750kg (combined weight up to 12,000kg) |
| Cat C | Over 3,500kg | Up to 750kg |
| Cat C+E | Cat C vehicle plus separate trailer | Over 750kg |
LGV is the same thing as HGV in most contexts. It stands for Large Goods Vehicle and the terms are used interchangeably in the UK, with LGV appearing more often in DVSA paperwork.
O Licence is the operator licence a company needs to run commercial vehicles. You won’t hold one as a driver, but you’ll hear it mentioned in conversation.
You’ll spend your working time around trucks, trailers, and the kit that goes with them. Here are the terms worth learning early.
Artic is short for articulated. The ‘tractor unit’ at the front is separate from the trailer, joined by a pivot point so the trailer can swing when you turn
Curtain-sider or tautliner is a trailer with canvas sides you can pull back to load pallets from a forklift
Draw bar trailers have their own front and rear axles, connected by a metal bar to a pivoting front axle that steers with you
FLT means forklift truck, the workhorse of every warehouse yard
HIAB is a truck with a small crane attached for lifting awkward loads. It’s an abbreviation of a brand name (Hydrauliska Industri AB) but you can also think of it as a hydraulic arm and boom
Moffett is a truck with its own forklift bolted on the back, popular in builders’ merchant deliveries
Rigid is the opposite of an artic. The body and cab are one unit with no pivot
Tail lift is the mechanical platform on the back that raises and lowers goods when there’s no loading bay
Tractor unit is the front of an artic, the part with the engine, cab, and driver
Wagon and drag describes a rigid vehicle towing a separate trailer, with a combined weight up to 44 tonnes. This needs a Cat C+E licence
Once you’re on shift, you’ll need to get familiar with a whole new set of terms that will become part of your daily life.
Backload is the return leg of a journey, often at a lower rate because it covers your trip home. Part load or LTL (Less than Truck Load) is a job that doesn’t fill the trailer.
GIT is Goods In Transit. Anything you’re carrying between collection and delivery counts.
Multidrop is a shift with lots of separate deliveries rather than one big haul. Local delivery driving often means multidrop work, and we’ve written more on what makes a good local delivery driver if that path appeals to you. You can work in multidrop roles in both Class 1 and Class 2 driving, with Class 1 tending towards 2-8 drops a day, and Class 2 more like 8-25.
Night out is when you park up and sleep in your cab. Tramping is doing multiple nights in a row. Trunking is the opposite, where you cover set routes on main roads and get home most nights. Shunting is moving trailers around a yard without going on the road.
POD stands for Proof of Delivery. It’s the signed document confirming goods arrived, and no POD usually means no payment.
Tachograph is the device that records your driving time, speed, and rest periods. All commercial HGVs have digital tachographs, and you’ll be issued a tachograph card the size of a bank card that stores 28 days of your driving data. It’s a legal requirement to carry this on shift.
When you’re talking about qualification, working patterns, and regulations you’ll come across these terms.
Cabotage covers foreign-registered vehicles doing deliveries within the UK, subject to specific journey rules
DVLA issues your licence and handles vehicle registration
DVSA sets driving standards and runs the practical test
JAUPT was the body who approved CPC training courses and locations. Since 2022 it has been part of the DVSA
Placard is the diamond-shaped hazard sign displayed on all four sides of trucks carrying dangerous goods
RHA is the Road Haulage Association, the trade body representing hauliers and campaigning on industry conditions
You’ll also hear about the driver shortage, which refers to the UK’s ageing HGV workforce and the ongoing need for new drivers coming through. The RHA’s Future of Roads Report sets out the wider conditions facing hauliers, from congestion on the network to the infrastructure the sector relies on.
Learning the language is half the battle when you’re starting out in a new industry, and reading this list already puts you ahead of most people on day one of training. HGV driving offers steady work, a licence that stays with you for life, and a route into a sector actively looking for new talent.
If you’re weighing up your options, our beginner’s guide to HGV training walks you through the whole process from provisional licence to full qualification, and our initial and periodic CPC guide clears up what you need and when.
Get in touch with one of our advisors, who’ll help you with everything you need to get qualified.
No. Your training provider will introduce every term you need as you go. This dictionary gives you a head start and helps you decide whether HGV driving is the right career fit before you sign up.
Nothing meaningful. Both stand for the same class of vehicle (Heavy Goods Vehicle or Large Goods Vehicle) and the terms are used interchangeably. Licence categories use LGV in official DVSA paperwork, but everyone on site says HGV.
If you got your vocational HGV licence before 10 September 2009, you have acquired rights and don’t need the initial CPC. You still need to complete 35 hours of periodic CPC training every five years to keep driving commercially.
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