Motorcycle License in California
Verified against California Department of Motor Vehicles ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetMotorcycleLicense Research Team — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
California issues two motorcycle licence classes: Class M1 for any two-wheeled motorcycle and Class M2 for a moped, motorised bicycle or motorised scooter. Riders under 21 must complete a California Motorcyclist Safety Program course and hold a motorcycle instruction permit for six months before applying; riders 21 and older may take the course instead of the DMV riding test, or take the riding test directly. California requires a helmet on every rider and every passenger, with no age or insurance exemption.
California's motorcycle license requirements — including a $46 fee to add the endorsement, a minimum age of 21, and a training course completion that can waive the skills test if within 12 months — are verified against California Department of Motor Vehicles (see California DMV — Motorcycle Licenses), current as of 2026-07-28.
California Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Permit | Class M1 or M2 Motorcycle Instruction Permit |
|---|---|
| Permit minimum age | 15.5 |
| Permit fee | — |
| Permit validity | 365 days |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | 21 |
| License fee | $46 |
| Renewal | $46 |
| Knowledge test | Required80% passing score |
| Skills test | Required |
A temporary licence is issued at the office and is valid for 60 days while the permanent card is produced.
Completing California's motorcycle safety course waives the state's motorcycle skills test if within 12 months. See California’s motorcycle safety course.
Engine-size tiers
- Class M2 (motorised bicycle, moped or motorised scooter) (separate credential) — Class M2 authorises a motorised bicycle, moped, motorised scooter or any bicycle with an attached motor. Class M1 covers everything Class M2 covers plus any two-wheeled motorcycle.
California helmet law
Required for all riders
Every driver and every passenger on a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or motorised bicycle must wear a safety helmet meeting the standards set under Vehicle Code § 27802. The helmet must be fastened by its straps and fit securely without excessive lateral or vertical movement. The requirement does not reach a fully enclosed three-wheeled vehicle at least seven feet long and four feet wide weighing 900 pounds or more unladen.
Cal. Veh. Code § 27803 · verified 2026-07-28
Source Notes
Where a source is stale, conflicting, or required a judgment call, we document it here rather than presenting a single confident-sounding number. See our methodology for how these calls are made.
- Licence classes, ages, permit rules and fees come from the California DMV. Training facts come from the California Highway Patrol, which administers the California Motorcyclist Safety Program, and from the program's own site. Helmet rules come from the California Vehicle Code.
- Two state agencies name this course differently. The CMSP is run by the California Highway Patrol, which calls the course the Motorcyclist Training Course and names Total Control Training, Inc. as its contractor. Some DMV pages still call the same 15-hour course a Basic Rider Course, a name belonging to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's separate curriculum. This page follows the CHP as the agency that administers the programme under Vehicle Code sections 2930 to 2935.
- CMSP course prices are set by each training site and are not published centrally, so no tuition figure is shown here.
- The DMV publishes two different motorcycle retest fees: $7 on its motorcycle licensing page and $9 on its general licensing fee schedule. The motorcycle-specific figure is shown here.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
Data last verified: 2026-07-28 (verified by: agent) | Source: California DMV — Motorcycle Licenses