How to Get Your UK Motorcycle Licence: CBT, A1, A2 and Full A Explained

Ask ten new riders how the UK motorcycle licence works and you’ll get ten different answers. Unlike the car licence — one theory test, one practical, done — the motorcycle route is a ladder of ages, power limits and two separate practical modules. It puts a lot of people off before they’ve even sat on a bike.

It shouldn’t. The structure is genuinely logical once you see it laid out, and thousands of riders climb it every year starting from zero experience. One MCN videographer went from never having sat on a bike to holding an A2 licence and a restricted ZXR in two years — and the first rung, the CBT, is a single fun day out.

Here’s the whole ladder, in order.

The UK motorcycle licence ladder at a glance

Did you know? The earliest you can hold a full unrestricted A licence is 21 — but only via progressive access, meaning you passed your A2 test at 19 and held it for two years. Everyone else waits until 24 and takes the direct access route.

Step 1 — Compulsory Basic Training (CBT)

CBT is not a test. There’s no pass mark and nothing to revise. It’s a one-day course, typically around £150, where the school provides the bike and the gear, and you finish with a DL196 certificate that’s valid for two years.

You’ll cover eyesight and bike checks, on-site handling, on-site riding, road safety briefings and then a road ride with an instructor. Complete all five elements and you can ride away on L plates — a 50cc moped at 16, or a 125cc at 17 and over.

Plenty of riders do exactly what the MCN team suggests: pass the CBT, buy a cheap 125 like a Yamaha YBR, and spend a couple of months simply getting used to being on the road on two wheels before booking anything else. That road time is worth more than any amount of classroom theory.

Tip: CBT expires after two years and does not stack. If your certificate lapses before you’ve passed your full test, you retake the whole day. Diarise the expiry date the moment you get your DL196.

Step 2 — The motorcycle theory test

Before you can take any A1, A2 or full A practical test, you need the motorcycle theory test. The format is exactly the same as the car version — a multiple-choice section followed by hazard perception, both on a computer, both passed in the same sitting.

The important thing to understand: the format matches the car test, but the question bank doesn’t. Motorcycle candidates get questions on machine handling, protective clothing, carrying a pillion, sidecars and rider-specific safety margins that never appear on a car paper. Revising with car-only material will leave gaps.

Hazard perception is where riders most often come unstuck, because clicking too early scores nothing and clicking too late scores nothing. If that section worries you, our examiner’s guide to the hazard perception test walks through exactly when the scoring window opens.

Remember: Your theory test pass certificate is valid for two years. If you don’t complete both practical modules within that window, you sit the theory again — a genuinely common and entirely avoidable waste of money.

Step 3 — Module 1 (off-road manoeuvres)

Mod 1 takes place on a closed manoeuvring area, lasts 15 to 20 minutes and has no time limit. Relax, listen to the examiner, and work through the exercises:

1. Wheeling the bike by hand and parking it on the stand.
2. A slalom and figure of eight through cones.
3. Slow-speed riding — controlled, feet up, at walking pace.
4. A U-turn — with a proper shoulder check, because it’s treated as a real-road manoeuvre.
5. Controlled stop at a specified speed.
6. Hazard avoidance (swerve) and an emergency stop, both ridden at a minimum speed through a speed trap.

Most riders find this the harder of the two modules. The margins are tight and the exercises feel artificial, which is precisely why good training pays for itself here. The trick is treating each exercise as a real situation rather than a party piece — check over your shoulder on that U-turn exactly as you would on a residential street.

Step 4 — Module 2 (on-road riding)

Mod 2 runs about 40 minutes with the examiner following on a bike, in radio contact. It opens with an eyesight check — reading a number plate from the required distance — then a show me, tell me question or two. Expect things like show me how you’d operate the horn or tell me how you’d check your rear brake is working.

Then you’re out on the road. The first half follows the examiner’s directions (“take the next left”), and the second half is independent riding — following traffic signs to a destination such as the city centre. It’s always well signposted, so don’t overthink it.

Counter-intuitively, most candidates find Mod 2 the easier module, for one simple reason: Mod 1 already got you used to riding while someone assesses you. That nerve is spent by the time you’re on the road.

Tip: The single best piece of advice from riders who’ve just passed — spend training time on the actual roads around your test centre. Knowing which junctions are awkward and where the signs point turns the independent-riding section into a formality.

Direct access vs progressive access

Two routes to a bigger bike, and the choice mostly comes down to your age:

• Direct access (DAS) — at 24 or over, take your Mod 1 and Mod 2 on a full-power machine and walk away with an unrestricted A licence. No A2 stepping stone required.
• Progressive access — hold an A2 for two years, then take another Mod 1 and Mod 2 on a larger bike to upgrade to full A. This is how you can be riding unrestricted at 21.

Intensive courses exist that take a complete novice through CBT, theory and both modules in around a week, often with two-to-one tuition, bike hire, fuel and test fees included. Some use a “rolling road” — a bike on rollers with stabilisers — so absolute beginners can practise clutch, throttle and gear changes without worrying about balance at all. If you want a full breakdown of the timings and costs at each stage, see our complete guide to the UK motorcycle path.

A realistic timeline

Add bike hire and instruction on top and the whole ladder typically runs to several hundred pounds — which makes the theory test the cheapest place to save money, and the most expensive place to fail. A retake isn’t just £23; it can push your practical dates back by weeks.

Remember: You cannot book Mod 1 without a valid theory pass, and you cannot book Mod 2 without a Mod 1 pass. The theory test is the bottleneck for the entire ladder — get it done early, while you’re building road hours on your 125.

Revise the theory properly, then enjoy the ride

Everything above is practical skill you’ll learn on a bike with an instructor. The theory test is the one part you’re expected to do on your own — and it’s the part that gates everything else.

Our Motorcycle Theory Test app is the complete UK motorcycle theory test app, with 830+ official DVSA questions covering motorcycle handling, safety margins, hazard awareness and the rest of the syllabus. Every question carries a detailed explanation, so you learn why an answer is right rather than memorising letters — which matters, because the real test rewords questions from the published bank.

Two companions worth having open alongside it:

• UK Traffic Signs — 680+ UK traffic signs grouped by category with diagrams and a practice quiz. Useful twice over: signs are the biggest single source of theory questions, and Mod 2’s independent riding section is navigated entirely by them.
• Driving Theory Test — 960+ official DVSA questions across 14 topics plus the full Highway Code, handy if you’re working towards a car licence as well.

Across all six apps on drivingapps.co.uk there are 4700+ official DVSA questions, covering car, motorcycle, LGV, PCV, ADI and traffic signs. You can also try free quizzes here on the site — no sign-up, no download.

Get the CBT booked, get the theory banked, and take your time on the 125. Ride safe.