Motorcycle License in Connecticut
Verified against Connecticut 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 →
Connecticut adds an 'M' motorcycle endorsement to an existing driver's licence, and a rider must complete an approved novice motorcycle safety course before the endorsement is added regardless of age; there is no path that skips training. A learner's permit lets a rider practise for up to 60 days while working toward the endorsement. Connecticut requires a helmet only of an operator or passenger under 18, but requires vision protection of every operator regardless of age.
Connecticut's motorcycle license requirements — including a $30 fee to add the endorsement and a training course completion that can waive the skills test — are verified against Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (see Connecticut DMV — Get a Motorcycle Learner's Permit), current as of 2026-07-28.
Connecticut Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Permit | Motorcycle Learner's Permit |
|---|---|
| Permit minimum age | 16 |
| Permit fee | $16 |
| Permit validity | 60 days |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | — |
| License fee | $30 |
| Renewal | — |
| Knowledge test | Required — $40 fee16 questions |
| Skills test | Requiredgiven by a third-party tester |
A duplicate licence fee of $30 also covers the mail-in process by which an active-duty service member stationed outside Connecticut, holding an MSF or CONREP course certificate, may have the endorsement added without a further in-person exam. An endorsement that also carries a '3' restriction limits the holder to three-wheel motorcycles only.
Completing Connecticut's motorcycle safety course waives the state's motorcycle skills test. See Connecticut’s motorcycle safety course.
Connecticut helmet law
Required for some riders
A rider is exempt only if all of the following are true:
- the rider is 18 years of age or older
No person under 18 may operate or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle unless wearing protective headgear meeting the minimum specifications of 49 CFR 571.218. A rider or passenger 18 or older may ride without one. Violation is an infraction carrying a fine of not less than $90. Separately, and without any age limit, every motorcycle learner's permit holder must wear protective headgear while riding on the permit, regardless of age, as one of the permit's own restrictions.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-289g · 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.
- Endorsement rules, permits, tests and fees come from the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. Training facts come from the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which directs the Connecticut Rider Education Program, and from CT State Community College, one of the program's licensed hosts. Helmet and vision-protection rules come from the Connecticut General Statutes.
- Connecticut requires every motorcycle endorsement applicant to complete an approved novice safety course; there is no DMV-administered road test that substitutes for it, at any age.
- While riding on a motorcycle learner's permit, Connecticut requires protective headgear regardless of the rider's age, even though the general helmet law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-289g) applies only under 18.
- Course tuition varies by host. CT State Community College publishes $260 for its standard Basic Rider Course and $150 for its intermediate licence-waiver course; other licensed hosts, including a private school and a dealership riding academy, set their own prices, which are not published centrally.
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: Connecticut DMV — Get a Motorcycle Learner's Permit