Louisiana Motorcycle Safety Course
Verified against Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program ·
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 →
Louisiana does not require any rider to complete a motorcycle safety course before getting the endorsement. This page covers who runs the course, what it costs, how long it takes, and exactly which tests completing it can waive.
Louisiana's motorcycle safety course requirements — including completion waiving the state skills test — are verified against Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program (see R.S. 32:402.3 (Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program; dedicated fund account)), current as of 2026-07-28.
Louisiana Motorcycle Safety Course at a Glance
| Program | Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, operated directly by the Louisiana State Police Training Academy |
| Delivery model | Run by the stateThe state agency itself runs the ranges. |
| Typical cost | — |
| Course length | 15.5 hours |
| Mandatory under age | No — not required at any age |
| Waives the riding skills test | Yes |
| Waives the knowledge test | Yes |
The Louisiana State Police also run a 5-hour Intermediate course, on the graduate's own street-legal motorcycle, and a 5-hour Advanced course of range exercises only for a properly licensed rider bringing their own machine, neither of which leads to a licensing waiver. A roughly 65-hour Instructor Preparation Course, open to a licensed rider at least 21, certifies graduates as a nationally recognised Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach.
Participation is voluntary under R.S. 32:402.3(C) for any person who otherwise qualifies for a motorcycle endorsement; the Basic Course requires a 5-hour online e-Course before two riding days of roughly 5 to 5.5 hours each. Department of Public Safety motorcycles are supplied for the Basic Course. The program is funded by a dedicated account credited from part of the motorcycle endorsement fee under R.S. 32:412(C)(2), used solely for operator training, instructor training and motorcycle safety and awareness activities.
What Louisiana’s course covers
Louisiana teaches the Basic RiderCourse (BRC), developed by Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Full detail here.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Basic RiderCourse is designed for beginning riders aged 16 and up, pairing about five hours of classroom or online learning with about ten hours of on-motorcycle training, and it ends in a written knowledge test and a rider skills test.
How Louisiana differs: The Louisiana State Police also run a 5-hour Intermediate course, on the graduate's own street-legal motorcycle, and a 5-hour Advanced course of range exercises only for a properly licensed rider bringing their own machine, neither of which leads to a licensing waiver. A roughly 65-hour Instructor Preparation Course, open to a licensed rider at least 21, certifies graduates as a nationally recognised Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach.
Once you complete the course, see endorsement requirements in Louisiana.
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, testing and fee rules come from the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 32, as published by the Louisiana State Legislature. Training facts come from the Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program, run directly by the Louisiana State Police. Helmet and eye-protection rules come from the same Title.
- Several secondary sources quote a $19 or $15 motorcycle-endorsement fee rather than the $12 or $6 this page cites from statute; the difference may be an additional handling fee charged at the point of sale that was not confirmed on a primary Office of Motor Vehicles source.
- Louisiana requires a helmet of every rider and passenger, at any age, with no exemption for insurance or riding experience — one of the strictest helmet laws among the states in this dataset.
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: R.S. 32:402.3 (Motorcycle Safety, Awareness, and Operator Training Program; dedicated fund account)