Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Course
Verified against Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety 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 →
In Wisconsin, 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.
Wisconsin's motorcycle safety course requirements — including completion waiving the state skills test if age 16+ and within 12 months — are verified against Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program (see Wisconsin Department of Transportation — Motorcycle Safety Program), current as of 2026-07-28.
Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Course at a Glance
| Program | Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | Wisconsin Department of Transportation, delivered through Wisconsin Technical College System campuses and DOT-approved private training sites |
| 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 | 15 hours |
| Mandatory under age | Yes, under 18 |
| Waives the riding skills test | Yes, if age 16+ and within 12 months |
| Waives the knowledge test | No |
Wisconsin also runs a 3-Wheel Basic RiderCourse of about 3 classroom hours plus 10 on-cycle hours for a three-wheel-restricted license, and a Basic RiderCourse 2 of about 3 classroom hours plus 5 on-cycle hours for licensed riders seeking a refresher, either of which can also produce the road-test waiver.
Course tuition is set independently by each training site — the technical college campus or private sponsor — rather than published centrally by the Department; a lightweight motorcycle and a helmet are supplied for the Basic RiderCourse. A rider under 18 must show proof of enrolment, not completion, in the course before a Class M instruction permit is issued; an 18-or-older rider may take the course without ever holding a permit, provided they do not ride on public roads until they add the Class M classification. Rider coaches are certified by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and approved by the Department.
What Wisconsin’s course covers
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin differs: Wisconsin also runs a 3-Wheel Basic RiderCourse of about 3 classroom hours plus 10 on-cycle hours for a three-wheel-restricted license, and a Basic RiderCourse 2 of about 3 classroom hours plus 5 on-cycle hours for licensed riders seeking a refresher, either of which can also produce the road-test waiver.
Once you complete the course, see license requirements in Wisconsin.
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 classifications, permits, fees and tests come from the Wisconsin Statutes and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles. Training facts come from the Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Program, delivered through Wisconsin Technical College System campuses and DOT-approved private training sites. Helmet and eye-protection rules come from the Wisconsin Statutes.
- Wisconsin's helmet law is conditional: it applies only to a rider who is under 18 or who holds a Class M instruction permit, in either the operator's or a passenger's seat. A full Class M license holder who is 18 or older is not required to wear a helmet.
- Basic RiderCourse tuition is set independently by each technical college campus or private training site rather than published by the state, so no single course price is shown here.
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: Wisconsin Department of Transportation — Motorcycle Safety Program