To ride a motorcycle you first need the entitlement on your licence. You may need to send your licence (or provisional licence) to have the entitlement added.

• At 16, you can apply for a provisional licence to ride a moped
• At 17, you can apply for a provisional licence to ride a motorcycle
• If you hold a full car licence prior to 2001, you already have a provisional licence to ride a motorcycle. However, please check your licence before you begin!
• From February 2001, any person who passes their car driving test will be required to undertake a moped riding course before they can ride a moped on the road.

At 16 years old...

At 16 years old you can apply for a provisional licence to ride a moped/scooter.

A moped is a motorcycle which meets the following criteria.

• cannot go faster than 50km/h
• must not have an engine over 50cc
• can be moved by pedals, if the moped was used before 1 August 1977.

You must complete a compulsory basic training course (CBT) before you are allowed to ride a moped or scooter on the road. The only time you can ride on the road without passing a CBT is under the supervision of an approved instructor as part of the course.

Under 21 years old...

If you are under 21, can only get a restricted licence (category A1 Light Motorcycle).

Over 21 years old...

If you are over 21, you can apply for a either a restricted (Category A1) or full motorcycle licence.
If you hold a Category A1 licence, you are restricted to a bike under 33bhp. Please see our BHP Guide for further details.

At any age...

If you DO NOT have a full car licence, you will need to take the theory test before taking your full motorcycle test (Category A1 or A).

From February 2001, any person who passes their car driving test will be required to undertake a moped riding course before they can ride a moped on the road.

Persons who already hold a full car licence, or who passed a car test before February 2001, are not required to take training before riding a moped.

When you have your provisional entitlement on your licence, you need a CBT Certificate. Contact your local training centre - we have some listed in our Directory. So check that out.

A CBT Certificate lasts for 2 years, after this time, if you have not passed your test you will be required to retake your CBT.

From Feb 1st 2001 all new motorcycle riders even if they have a full car licence need to take the motorcycle theory test.