Massachusetts Motorcycle Safety Course
Verified against Motorcycle Basic Rider Course ·
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 →
In Massachusetts, riders under 18 must complete a motorcycle safety course before they can get the license. This page covers who runs the course, what it costs, how long it takes, and exactly which tests completing it can waive.
Massachusetts's motorcycle safety course requirements are verified against Motorcycle Basic Rider Course (see M.G.L. c.90 §8 (motorcycle basic rider course requirement for a minor)), current as of 2026-07-28.
Massachusetts Motorcycle Safety Course at a Glance
| Program | Motorcycle Basic Rider Course |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, which approves the motorcycle basic rider course required under M.G.L. c.90 §8 |
| Delivery model | State-approved sponsorsThe state licenses sponsors, who set their own tuition; the rider picks among them at market price. |
| Typical cost | — |
| Course length | — |
| Mandatory under age | Yes, under 18 |
| Waives the riding skills test | No |
| Waives the knowledge test | No |
M.G.L. c.90 §8 requires a minor under 18 to complete 'a motorcycle basic rider course approved by the registrar' before being issued a license or endorsement. M.G.L. c.90 §8B separately requires ANY applicant, regardless of age, who fails the road test twice to 'successfully complete a course of study at an approved rider training school as provided for in section 35G of chapter 10' before a further road test may be scheduled. Neither provision excuses an applicant from the Registry's own written or road test; the course sits alongside those tests as a mandatory gate for minors and for repeat failures, not a substitute for either test.
What Massachusetts’s course covers
Massachusetts teaches the Motorcycle Basic Rider Course, developed by a rider training school approved by the Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles. Full detail here.
Once you complete the course, see license requirements in Massachusetts.
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.
- License, permit and helmet rules come from the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90, as published by the Massachusetts Legislature. The Registry of Motor Vehicles' own website could not be reached from the environment used to research this record on 2026-07-28, so fee amounts, the exact rider-training program name, and its delivery details could not be independently confirmed against an RMV page and should be treated as provisional pending that verification.
- Massachusetts fixes motorcycle permit, endorsement and renewal fees administratively rather than in statute, so no dollar figures are shown here.
- Massachusetts requires a helmet of every operator and every passenger. The only exemption is for a rider 18 or older taking part in a parade that has been granted an official permit.
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: M.G.L. c.90 §8 (motorcycle basic rider course requirement for a minor)