Motorcycle License in Indiana
Verified against Indiana Bureau 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 →
Indiana adds a motorcycle endorsement to an existing Indiana driver's licence. A resident reaches it either by completing an approved driver education course and a Ride Safe Indiana safety course at 16, or by holding a motorcycle learner's permit and passing a knowledge and skills exam from 16 years and 270 days. Indiana's helmet law binds only a rider under 18; an operator or passenger 18 or older may ride without one, although a learner's-permit holder of any age must still wear one under the permit's own restrictions.
Indiana's motorcycle license requirements — including a $19 fee to add the endorsement and a training course completion that can waive the skills test — are verified against Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (see Indiana BMV — Motorcycle Endorsement), current as of 2026-07-28.
Indiana Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | Indiana |
|---|---|
| Permit | Motorcycle Learner's Permit |
| Permit minimum age | — |
| Permit fee | $9 |
| Permit validity | — |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | — |
| License fee | $19 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Knowledge test | Required |
| Skills test | Requiredgiven by a third-party tester |
A first-time endorsement carries a one-time $19 fee. As long as the endorsement stays valid on the licence, no fee is charged again at renewal. An out-of-state motorcycle endorsement transfers on request through myBMV.com.
How do you get a motorcycle license in Indiana?
- Pass the knowledge test. Indiana requires a motorcycle knowledge test.
- Get your motorcycle permit. The permit costs $9.
- Train if required. Indiana does not require any rider to complete a safety course.
- Pass the skills test, or waive it. Indiana requires a motorcycle skills test. Completing Indiana's motorcycle safety course waives it.
- Pay the fee and get your license. The license costs $19.
Common questions about motorcycle licensing in Indiana
How old do you have to be to get a motorcycle permit in Indiana?
Available to an Indiana resident who already holds a valid Indiana driver's licence, on passing a knowledge test based on the Motorcycle Operator's Manual. An applicant under 18 needs a parent or guardian's signature on an Agreement of Financial Liability. A permit holder may ride only during daylight hours and must wear a DOT-compliant helmet regardless of age, under the permit's own restrictions rather than the state's general helmet law.
What is the minimum age for a motorcycle license in Indiana?
Indiana offers two routes to the endorsement with two different minimum ages. Completing an approved driver education course and a Ride Safe Indiana safety course opens the endorsement at exactly 16. Testing directly instead — a knowledge exam, a motorcycle learner's permit, and a skills exam with an approved Ride Safe Indiana testing provider — requires the applicant to be at least 16 years and 270 days old. No single 'unrestricted' age applies across both routes, so it is not recorded as a plain number here.
Does Indiana require a motorcycle knowledge test?
Yes, Indiana requires a motorcycle knowledge test.
Based on the Indiana Motorcycle Manual, taken at a BMV branch to obtain the learner's permit. Not required at all on the driver-education-and-safety-course route to the endorsement.
Does Indiana require a motorcycle skills test?
Yes, Indiana requires a motorcycle skills test. In Indiana, completing Indiana's motorcycle safety course waives it.
The skills exam is given by an approved Ride Safe Indiana testing provider rather than by the BMV itself. The applicant must supply the motorcycle used for the exam. Failing it means waiting until the next business day to retry, or two months after a third failure.
How much does a motorcycle license cost in Indiana?
A motorcycle license in Indiana costs $19. The permit costs $9.
How often do you renew a motorcycle license in Indiana?
Renewal costs $0.
Completing Indiana's motorcycle safety course waives the state's motorcycle skills test. See Indiana’s motorcycle safety course.
Indiana helmet law
Required for some riders
A rider is exempt only if all of the following are true:
- the rider is 18 or older
IC 9-19-7-1(b) requires an individual less than 18 years of age who is operating or riding on a motorcycle or motor driven cycle to wear a DOT-standard helmet and protective glasses, goggles or a transparent face shield. The section does not apply to a person in an autocycle. Violating this chapter is a Class C infraction under IC 9-19-7-3. Separately from this age-based rule, the BMV's own restrictions on a Motorcycle Learner's Permit require the permit holder to wear a helmet regardless of age — so a permit holder 18 or older is still bound by a helmet duty, just not the one recorded in conditions[] here, which describes the general statutory rule for a licensed rider.
Ind. Code § 9-19-7-1 · 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 Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Training facts come from Ride Safe Indiana, the BMV's authorised motorcycle safety program. Helmet rules come from the Indiana Code as published in a full-text compilation hosted directly on in.gov, since Indiana's official code browser is a JavaScript application this project's tooling could not fetch directly.
- Indiana's helmet law applies only to a rider under 18. A rider 18 or older who holds the full motorcycle endorsement may ride without a helmet, but a rider of any age who holds only a motorcycle learner's permit must still wear one under the permit's own restrictions.
- Ride Safe Indiana course fees are set by each individual training provider and are not published by the state as a single figure.
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: Indiana BMV — Motorcycle Endorsement