Learning to ride: CBT, A1, A2 and full motorcycle licences explained

Motorcycle licensing in the UK doesn't work the same way as learning to drive a car, where one test leads to full entitlement. Instead, it's staged by age and by the size and power of machine you're allowed to ride, and understanding where a given starting point actually leads is worth doing before booking any training.

Compulsory Basic Training, CBT, is the entry point for almost everyone. It's a one-day course, not a formal pass or fail test, and it's required before anyone rides a moped or motorcycle solo on the road, on L-plates, under provisional entitlement. It commonly costs £130-£170 and covers basic machine control in a controlled area followed by a period of supervised riding on the road. A CBT certificate is generally valid for two years, during which the holder can ride within the limits of their provisional entitlement, but a full theory and practical test needs to be passed within that window to progress further, or the CBT has to be repeated.

The AM licence is the earliest entry point, available from age 16, covering mopeds up to 50cc with a top speed of 28mph. After completing CBT, a 16-year-old can ride a moped on L-plates, and from age 17, a CBT holder can ride a 125cc motorcycle on L-plates under provisional entitlement, without necessarily having taken a full motorcycle test yet.

The A1 licence becomes available from age 17 and covers motorcycles up to 125cc and 11kW. Full training packages that take a rider through the required theory and practical tests commonly start from around £790, with the exact cost depending heavily on how much riding experience someone already has coming in.

From age 19, the A2 licence opens up motorcycles up to 35kW, a meaningful step up in power from the A1 category. A2 training courses commonly cost £800-£1,300, again varying with prior experience and how many training days are needed to reach test standard.

Whichever category you're working toward, A1, A2 or a full A licence, the test structure is the same shape. A motorcycle theory test is required for every category, even for someone who already holds a full car licence, and a pass remains valid for two years, during which the practical test needs to be completed. The practical itself is split into two parts: Module 1, held at a dedicated off-road manoeuvring area and typically taking 15-20 minutes, covers close-control work including a slow ride, a cone slalom, a figure of eight, a U-turn, and speed-checked exercises such as an emergency stop and a hazard-avoidance swerve; Module 2 is an on-road riding test with an examiner, assessing general road sense, positioning and hazard awareness in real traffic. Both modules need to be passed, in order, to gain the licence.

Riding on L-plates at any stage, whether on a moped after CBT or a 125cc machine on an A1 provisional entitlement, requires its own insurance, since a provisional motorcycle entitlement doesn't come with cover built in. Learner motorcycle insurance is priced on broadly the same factors as car insurance for a new driver, chiefly the bike's size and power and the rider's lack of a full licence, and third-party-only is the minimum legal level of cover while riding as a learner, though a fully comprehensive policy is sometimes similarly priced or even cheaper depending on the bike and rider.

A full, unrestricted category A licence, any size or power of motorcycle, can be reached by two different routes. The progressive route is available from age 21, after holding an A2 licence for two years and passing a further practical test. Direct access, sometimes abbreviated DAS, is available from age 24 and skips the A2 stage entirely, involving a theory test plus two practical modules, Mod 1 and Mod 2, ridden on a larger machine, commonly at least 595cc, 50kW and 180kg. Direct access training built on an existing base of riding experience commonly costs in the region of £200-£300, though the total varies with how much additional tuition is needed before a rider is genuinely ready for the test.

A couple of practical points are worth knowing before committing to any stage. Once a full A1, A2 or A licence has been obtained, it doesn't need renewing with further training or retesting, unlike the CBT and provisional stages that precede it. And because each stage generally requires its own separate training and test rather than being a simple top-up of the last, it's worth asking a training school directly what your existing experience, whether that's a car licence, a previous CBT, or riding on other vehicle types, actually counts toward before booking, since the answer can change both the amount of training time needed and the total price quoted for getting to a full licence.

Frequently asked questions