Motorcycle License in New Hampshire
Verified against New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division 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 →
New Hampshire issues a motorcycle license or endorsement reached through a motorcycle learner's permit, and lets an applicant of any age substitute the state's own rider-education course for the written knowledge test. New Hampshire has no helmet requirement for a rider or passenger 18 or older; only a rider or passenger under 18 must wear one, and an operator who carries an unhelmeted minor passenger is separately liable.
New Hampshire's motorcycle license requirements — including a training course completion that can waive the skills test — are verified against New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles (see RSA 263:30 (motorcycle license)), current as of 2026-07-28.
New Hampshire Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Permit | Motorcycle Learner's Permit |
|---|---|
| Permit minimum age | 16 |
| Permit fee | — |
| Permit validity | 45 days |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | — |
| License fee | — |
| Renewal | — |
| Knowledge test | Required |
| Skills test | Required |
Driving a motorcycle without holding the required license, endorsement or learner's permit carries a $100 fine under RSA 263:30. New Hampshire statute does not publish a base fee for the learner's permit, the motorcycle license or endorsement, or a renewal period in years; the only dollar figure set in statute is the $5 Motorcycle Rider Education Program surcharge (plus $1 added to each motorcycle registration) charged on top of those fees.
Completing New Hampshire's motorcycle safety course waives the state's motorcycle skills test. See New Hampshire’s motorcycle safety course.
Engine-size tiers
- Moped License (up to 49cc, 30 mph max, separate credential) — A moped is a motor-driven cycle with a top speed of 30 mph or less and, if it has an internal combustion engine, a piston displacement no greater than 50cc with no gear-shifting requirement; an electric bicycle is excluded from the definition. A moped may be driven on any valid driver's license, any motorcycle license, or a separate restricted Moped license issued on passing a written examination alone, with no motorcycle knowledge or skills test required.
New Hampshire helmet law
Required for some riders
A rider is exempt only if all of the following are true:
- the rider is 18 or older
No person under 18 may drive or ride upon a motorcycle or autocycle without protective headgear of a type the Director approves, fitted with a neck or chin strap. A rider or passenger 18 or older may ride without a helmet under this section. An operator who carries a passenger under 18 who is not wearing the required headgear is separately guilty of a violation, regardless of the operator's own age. Paragraph III would void the requirement entirely if federal law no longer conditioned highway funds on it.
RSA 265:122 · 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 and fee rules come from the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, Title XXI, Chapter 263. Training facts come from the same title's Motorcycle Rider Education Program sections. Helmet and eye-protection rules come from Chapter 265. The New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles' own website could not be reached during this review, so fees, test scoring details and the specific training-course brand that are published only on that site are not shown here.
- New Hampshire requires a helmet only of a rider or passenger under 18. A rider or passenger 18 or older may ride without one, but an operator who carries an unhelmeted passenger under 18 is separately liable regardless of the operator's own age.
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: RSA 263:30 (motorcycle license)