Motorcycle License in Texas
Verified against Texas Department of Public Safety, Driver License Division ·
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 →
Texas requires every applicant for a Class M motorcycle license, regardless of age, to complete a training course approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation before applying. Completing the course waives the written knowledge test for almost everyone, and waives the riding skills test as well for an applicant 18 or older who already holds an unrestricted Class A, B or C licence. Texas requires a helmet of every operator and passenger, except a rider 21 or older who has either completed the training course or carries proof of qualifying medical insurance.
Texas's motorcycle license requirements — including a $16 fee to add the endorsement, a minimum age of 18, and a training course completion that can waive the skills test if age 18+ and within 24 months — are verified against Texas Department of Public Safety, Driver License Division (see Texas Department of Public Safety — Motorcycle License), current as of 2026-07-28.
Texas Motorcycle License Requirements at a Glance
| Permit | Motorcycle Learner License (restriction J) |
|---|---|
| Permit minimum age | 15 |
| Permit fee | $16 |
| Permit validity | — |
| Minimum age (unrestricted) | 18 |
| License fee | $16 |
| Renewal | $12 / 8 years |
| Knowledge test | Required |
| Skills test | Requiredgiven by a third-party tester |
Texas Transportation Code § 521.148 restricts a graduate of a three-wheel-motorcycle course to operating three-wheel motorcycles only. An out-of-state applicant who already holds a motorcycle licence from another U.S. state or Canadian province is not required to show proof of Texas course completion. An 'auto cycle' — a three-wheeled vehicle with a steering wheel and a seat that does not require straddling, certified to motorcycle federal safety standards — is defined separately in the same chapter.
Completing Texas's motorcycle safety course waives the state's motorcycle skills test if age 18+ and within 24 months. See Texas’s motorcycle safety course.
Texas helmet law
Required for some riders
A rider is exempt only if all of the following are true:
- the rider is 21 or older
- the rider has completed a TDLR-approved motorcycle operator training course, or carries proof of medical insurance (a card or certificate stating the insurer's name, the policy number, and the policy period) — The manual states this exemption in terms of 'persons 21 years of age or older' and does not separate an operator's condition from a passenger's, so it is recorded here as binding both.
Helmets meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 are required of motorcycle operators and passengers on any motorcycle or moped regardless of size or number of wheels. A rider 21 or older is exempt only if they have completed the TDLR-approved motorcycle operator training course or are covered by qualifying medical insurance; a rider using someone else's motorcycle to take the skills test must wear a helmet unless the same age-and-course-or-insurance condition is met.
TDLR Motorcycle Operator Training Manual — Helmet and Passengers · 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 classes, permits, fees and tests come from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which has administered the state's motorcycle training program since 2020. Training facts come from the same TDLR program pages and its Motorcycle Operator Training Manual. Helmet rules come from the TDLR manual's own statement of the requirement.
- Texas requires every motorcycle-licence applicant, of any age, to complete an approved training course before applying — there is no age below which the course is merely optional.
- A rider 21 or older may go without a helmet only by having completed the training course or by carrying proof of qualifying medical insurance; a rider under 21 must wear one regardless.
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: Texas Department of Public Safety — Motorcycle License