How Easy Is It to Pass a CBT? What Really Happens on the Day

“How easy is it really to pass your CBT?” is the single most common question new riders ask — and the honest answer surprises most of them. Compulsory Basic Training is not a test. There is no examiner, no pass mark and no fail box on a form. It is a full day of training designed from the ground up for someone who has never sat on a motorbike.

One rider who went through it recently had ridden nothing more than an electric scooter around a paddock. By the end of the day, they had their certificate. Their instructor’s summary was blunt and reassuring: “It’s not more of a pass or fail — it’s just a safety check. We just want to get you nice and safe for the roads.”

That is the mindset to walk in with. Here is exactly what the day involves.

Remember: CBT stands for Compulsory Basic Training. The clue is in the name — it is a training course, not a DVSA examination. Nobody is trying to catch you out.

What is CBT and who needs it?

CBT is the mandatory course almost every rider must complete before riding a moped or motorcycle on UK roads with L plates. You need it if you want to ride:

• A 50cc moped from age 16 (restricted to 28mph)
• A 125cc motorcycle (up to 11kW) from age 17

You need a provisional or full UK driving licence to start, and you must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres. You do not need to have passed the motorcycle theory test first — that comes later, when you progress to Module 1 and Module 2 for a full licence.

The five elements of CBT

Every DVSA-approved training body runs the same five elements, in the same order. You cannot skip ahead — each element must be completed to your instructor’s satisfaction before you move to the next.

Element E is the part that makes people nervous, but by the time you get there you have already spent hours on the pad building the exact skills you will use. As one CBT candidate put it after finishing: “We started in the classroom studying the basics, then we were on the road quite a bit. It was all right.”

Did you know? Element E requires a minimum of two hours of continuous on-road riding. Your instructor follows on their own bike and talks to you through a radio earpiece, so you are never out there alone working it out for yourself.

What instructors actually look for

Nobody is scoring you. What your instructor wants to see is a rider who is safe, aware and predictable. The recurring feedback given to new riders comes down to a handful of habits:

1. Look where you want to go. The most common novice fault is staring down at the bike or the front wheel. As one instructor put it: “When you walk, you wouldn’t look down at your feet — so why do it when you’re riding the bike? Always head up, looking where you want to go.” Your bike follows your eyes.
2. Look further ahead. Planning early gives you time to react. It is the same skill the hazard perception test measures — spotting a developing hazard while it is still developing.
3. Do your lifesavers. A rear observation over your shoulder before passing parked vehicles, before moving towards the kerb, and before crossing a white line. Instructors notice when these are missing far more than they notice a slightly wobbly gear change.
4. Balance the throttle against the rear brake. Slow-speed control is what makes U-turns and slow riding feel steady rather than lurching. It is entirely a practice thing, and it clicks within an hour or two.
5. Ride at a sensible pace. Riding too slowly encourages drivers behind you to make impatient overtakes. Build your speed up towards the limit where it is safe to do so.

Tip: Basic bicycle experience genuinely helps. Instructors say the biggest single factor in how quickly someone picks up CBT is whether they already have balance and road-user awareness. If you have cycled in traffic, you are further ahead than you think.

Can you actually fail?

Not in the sense of a DVSA test. There is no pass mark and no record of failure. If you are not riding safely by the end of the day, the instructor simply does not issue the DL196 certificate and books you in for more training. Many riders need a second day, particularly if they have never cycled or driven — and that is entirely normal, not a black mark.

The certificate is valid for two years. After that, unless you have passed Module 1 and Module 2 to get a full licence, you must retake CBT to carry on riding on L plates.

What CBT does not give you:

• You must display L plates at all times
• You cannot carry a pillion passenger
• You cannot ride on motorways
• You are limited to a 125cc / 11kW machine (or 50cc moped at 16)

What comes after CBT

CBT is the first rung on a ladder, not the destination. Once you want to drop the L plates, carry a passenger or ride something bigger, the route runs through the motorcycle theory test — 50 multiple-choice questions plus hazard perception — and then the two practical modules: Module 1 (off-road manoeuvres including the swerve and emergency stop) and Module 2 (on-road riding).

Many riders go straight to Direct Access after CBT, and instructors are keen on it for a reason: the training teaches skills CBT simply does not have time for. Swerve techniques, proper emergency braking, and handling a larger machine all make you a genuinely safer rider rather than just a legal one.

If you are weighing up which route to take, our guides on the full UK motorcycle licence path — CBT, A1, A2 and Full A and on CBT, theory and Mod 1/2 explained walk through the age limits, licence categories and costs in detail.

Tip: The theory test is the one part of the journey where home revision does all the heavy lifting. Riders who turn up having practised the official question bank consistently for two or three weeks pass at a far higher rate than those who cram the night before.

Practise for the part CBT doesn’t cover

Your instructor can teach you throttle control and lifesavers in a day. What they cannot do in that time is drill the several hundred official DVSA questions on signs, stopping distances, safety margins and hazard awareness that stand between you and a full licence — that part is on you, and it is best done in short daily sessions on your phone.

The Motorcycle Theory Test app covers exactly that ground: 707 official DVSA questions on motorcycle handling, safety margins, hazard awareness and the rest of the syllabus, with a detailed explanation on every question so you learn the reasoning rather than memorising letters. Work through it topic by topic, then run full timed mock tests until you are comfortably clearing the pass mark before you book.

It sits within a suite of 8 apps and 5,200+ questions across drivingapps.co.uk, covering car, motorcycle, LGV, PCV, ADI and a full UK traffic signs reference — so if you later add a category to your licence, the same approach carries straight over. You can also try free quizzes on the site with no sign-up required.

Book the CBT. It really is designed for people who have never touched a bike, and most riders finish the day wondering why they put it off for so long.