the law

There is a lot of confusion regarding the Comulsory Basic Training (CBT) legislation.
When they first came out in 1990, the certificates all carried a notice stating that they would expire in three years. The Government however, did not create the required legislation to make this happen, and so all the early certificates never expired. The required legislation has now been created and all certificates now have a three year life. All old certificates which are more than three years old expired on 1st January 2000. Not many people know this, and from this date there have been many people riding with expired certificates who may have no way of knowing.

Everyone who rides a motorcycle or moped must have a CBT or a full motorcycle licence. The only exception ia a full car licence holder who rides a 50cc moped. This loophole is about to close, and so our advice is that everyone should take a CBT.

At 16 years of age you can ride a 50cc moped when you have obtained a provisional moped licence and completed a CBT.

At 17 years of age you ride up to 125cc - having completed a CBT - and if you wish you can take your test. When you pass your test on a 125cc bike you can then ride up to a 33bhp bike. After 2 years you can ride any size bike without any need to take a further test. If you want to get on a bigger bike straight away, you must take the Direct Access route.

If you are over 21 years of age you can train and test on a bike greater than 46bhp. After passing the test you can ride whatever size bike you want - the test is the same as that for a 125cc. Note: You can train on any size bike you like with Direct Access, but you must display 'L' plates and be accompanied by a Direct Access qualified instructor.

The theory test:
Some of our customers will not need to take a theory test. If you wish to take a full motorcycle licence but only have a provisional, and are not a full car licence holder, then you will need to do a theory test. Do not panic, it is quite straight forward!

To find the latest official information about the law follow this link to the 'Compulsory basic training' page of the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) Website (it will open in a new window)