Motorcycle License in Maine
Verified against Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Secretary of State) ·
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 →
Maine adds a motorcycle endorsement to an existing driver's licence rather than issuing a separate motorcycle licence. Uniquely among its neighbours, Maine requires every applicant, regardless of age, to complete an approved motorcycle rider education course before a learner's permit will even be issued, and the course does not excuse anyone from the state's own written and road tests. Maine's helmet law turns on age and riding experience, and the criteria that exempt an operator are not the same as the criteria that exempt a passenger.
Maine's motorcycle license requirements are verified against Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Secretary of State) (see 29-A M.R.S. §1304 (learner's permits, motorcycle and moped)), current as of 2026-07-28.
Maine Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | Maine |
|---|---|
| Permit | Motorcycle or Moped Learner's Permit |
| Permit minimum age | 16 years |
| Permit fee | $35 |
| Permit validity | 730 days |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | — |
| License fee | — |
| Renewal fee | — |
| Knowledge test | Required |
| Skills test | Required |
Maine attaches the motorcycle endorsement to an ordinary driver's licence rather than issuing a stand-alone motorcycle licence, so the endorsement carries no independent renewal fee or period of its own; it renews with the underlying licence.
How do you get a motorcycle license in Maine?
- Reach the minimum permit age. You must be at least 16 to apply for a motorcycle permit in Maine.
- Pass the knowledge test. Maine requires a motorcycle knowledge test.
- Get your motorcycle permit. The permit costs $35. It is valid for 730 days.
- Pass the skills test, or waive it. Maine requires a motorcycle skills test.
Common questions about motorcycle licensing in Maine
How old do you have to be to get a motorcycle permit in Maine?
You must be at least 16 to apply for a motorcycle permit in Maine.
An applicant must be at least 16, must already have completed an approved motorcycle rider education course, and must pass a vision test and a knowledge test specific to motorcycles or mopeds before the permit is issued; the course is a precondition of the permit itself, not something taken afterward. The $35 fee covers both the permit and the first road test. The permit is valid for two years. Unlike a car learner's permit, a motorcycle or moped permit holder is not required to be accompanied by a licensed operator, but the permit does not allow carrying a passenger or riding after sunset or before sunrise. If the holder does not pass the road test within the two-year validity period, the rider education course must be completed again before a new permit will be issued.
What is the minimum age for a motorcycle license in Maine?
Maine sets no age above which the rider education course stops being required: every applicant, at 16 or at 60, must complete the course before a permit is issued. There is accordingly no separate 'unrestricted' age tier of the kind other states use to describe when training stops being mandatory.
Does Maine require a motorcycle knowledge test?
Yes, Maine requires a motorcycle knowledge test.
A written test specific to motorcycles or mopeds, taken at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office as a condition of receiving the permit. The $35 permit fee covers this test; no separate fee is published for it.
Does Maine require a motorcycle skills test?
Yes, Maine requires a motorcycle skills test.
A road test taken after the permit has been held, within the permit's two-year validity. The fee is bundled with the permit fee under 29-A M.R.S. §1304(2)(H). Completing the rider education course does not excuse an applicant from this test; the course is a precondition to the permit, not a substitute for the road test.
How much does a motorcycle license cost in Maine?
The permit costs $35.
Maine helmet law
Required for some riders
The operator is exempt only if all of the following are true — they do not bind a passenger:
- the operator is 18 or older
- the operator is not riding on a learner's permit and it has been more than one year since the operator successfully passed a driving test — A learner's-permit holder must wear headgear regardless of age, and so must an operator within one year of passing the road test, even if that operator is 18 or older.
For a passenger only, these additional conditions also apply — they do not bind the operator:
- the passenger is 18 or older
- the operator carrying the passenger is not themselves required to wear headgear under this section — 29-A M.R.S. §2083(1)(D) binds a passenger to whatever the operator's own status requires: if the operator must wear headgear (because under 18, on a permit, or within a year of testing), every passenger must wear it too, whatever the passenger's own age. The experience criterion that binds an operator does not separately bind a passenger; only the operator's resulting duty does.
Section 2083 does not read as a single exemption list; it names four classes of person who must wear headgear (an under-18 passenger, an under-18 operator, an operator on a learner's permit or within a year of passing a road test, and any passenger of an operator who must wear headgear) and everyone else is free to ride without it. The section does not apply to an autocycle. Standards are set by reference to ANSI Z90.1 or FMVSS 218.
29-A M.R.S. §2083 · 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, permit, fee and helmet rules come from the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, as published by the Maine Legislature. Training facts come from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles' own instructor- and school-licensing pages.
- Maine requires every motorcycle or moped applicant, at any age, to complete an approved rider education course before a learner's permit is issued. Completing the course does not excuse an applicant from the state's own written or road test.
- Maine's helmet exemption depends on riding experience as well as age: an operator under 18, on a learner's permit, or within one year of passing the road test must wear headgear regardless of age, and any passenger riding with such an operator must wear headgear too, regardless of the passenger's own age or experience.
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: 29-A M.R.S. §1304 (learner's permits, motorcycle and moped)