Youngsters could drive trucks, minibuses and vans without needing another driving test as part of plans to widen the pool of delivery drivers across the UK.
Tory ministers hope to lift EU red tape currently stopping motorists driving anything larger than a 3.5ton vehicle or minibuses with up to 16 seats without facing restrictions.
It could mean anyone who passed their test n 1997 or after can driver 7.5tonne lorries and large vans without further tests.
Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, launched a call for evidence on Friday in a bid to make it easier for youngsters to "kickstart" a career in logistics.
Britain has a shortage of 100,000 lorry drivers, according to recent estimates, affecting the delivery of food, fuel and other items over the past year.
Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey, is understood to have called for the change to enable some youngsters to have a swifter career route into HGV driving.
It would also address the HGV driver shortage as some may move to drive lorries full of food for supermarkets without facing a wrath of restrictions.
Transport Minister Karl McCartney said: "We continue looking for ways to make it easier and quicker to kickstart a rewarding career in logistics.
"That’s why we’re asking people for their views on how we could streamline the licensing process and remove any potential barriers – making the most of our post-Brexit freedoms."
The Government claims a record number of drivers have passed their HGV tests. But Britain is still facing a lorry driver shortage of up to 100,000.
Driven in part by the Covid pandemic, a huge shortage of HGV drivers meant petrol stations ran out of fuel last autumn. The government stepped in by freeing up thousands of HGV tests, and says the number of drivers is now ‘stabilising’.
Government figures show the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency carried out 29,385 HGV tests between March and May – a 54 per cent increase on pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
