How to Get a Motorcycle License or Ride a Moped

Getting a motorcycle license or endorsement in New Hampshire, step by step: the learner's permit, rider training and the road test, the fees, the helmet and riding rules, and what a moped needs.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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This guide is written by Granite Record from the official pages it links to. Where a citation allows only one source, cite the official page for the part you rely on. The date below is the day the page was read.

MLA: “How to Get a Motorcycle License or Ride a Moped.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/guides/motorcycle-license. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
APA: Granite Record. (n.d.). How to Get a Motorcycle License or Ride a Moped. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/motorcycle-license
Chicago: Granite Record. “How to Get a Motorcycle License or Ride a Moped.” Accessed November 2, 2026. https://graniterecord.org/guides/motorcycle-license.
BibTeX: @misc{guides-motorcycle-license, title = {How to Get a Motorcycle License or Ride a Moped}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/motorcycle-license}, note = {Accessed 2 Nov. 2026} }

At a Glance

To ride a motorcycle in New Hampshire you need a motorcycle license or endorsement, a 3-wheeled motorcycle endorsement, or a motorcycle learner’s permit. You can start with a permit, then pass a road test on a motorcycle or finish a state-approved rider training course instead. A moped needs less: any valid driver’s license, or a moped license earned with a written test, and a registration.

What will you ride?
- A motorcycle, on 2 or 3 wheelsGet a learner's permit, then pass the road test or finish rider training.
- A mopedRide on any valid driver's license, or pass a written test for a moped license.
Register it before you ride it on the road.
On a motorcycle without a windshield, protect your eyes. Under 18, wear a helmet too.

Step by Step

A motorcycle

Get a learner's permit
A motorcycle learner’s permit lets you ride while you learn, with limits. You can get one if you are 18 or older, or if you are 16 or 17, have finished an approved driver education course and hold a New Hampshire driver’s license. If you are under 18, the DMV also requires you to finish a Basic RiderCourse and bring a parental permission form. You pass a vision test, and a written motorcycle knowledge test or the state’s rider training course in its place. There is no road test for a permit.
Make an appointment with the DMV. Its page lists what to bring: the application for a driver’s license or ID card (form DSMV 450), your current driver’s license and the fee.
With a permit you may ride only after sunrise and before sunset, and you may not carry a passenger. It is good for 45 days, and can be renewed once for another 45 days.
Motorcycle endorsement (DMV)Make an appointment Application (DSMV 450)
The law: RSA 263:32
Pass the road test, or take rider training
To get the license or endorsement itself, you pass a vision test and a driving test on a motorcycle, which the DMV calls the skills test. It gives the test by appointment, in the season when conditions are safe. You bring your own motorcycle, registered and inspected, and you may ride it there only on a valid learner’s permit. A 3-wheeled motorcycle has its own, separate test. If you already have a driver’s license, what you get is an endorsement on it; if you do not, a motorcycle license.
A state-approved motorcycle rider training course can take the place of the skills test: the DMV says its graduates do not take its written and skills tests. Under 18, the course is required. The law opens courses to New Hampshire residents who hold a driver’s license of any kind or could get a learner’s permit, and a course may charge tuition. The DMV’s rider training page lists the courses and what they cost; register online, or call the Motorcycle Rider Training office at (603) 227-4025.
To apply, bring your current New Hampshire license, the application for a motorcycle endorsement, the fee, and either a rider training completion card from within the past year or your passing skills test result.
Motorcycle rider training (DMV)Motorcycle endorsement questions (DMV)
The law: RSA 263:30, RSA 263:31, RSA 263:34-b, RSA 263:34-h
Pay the fee
The law sets these fees: $25 for a first motorcycle endorsement or 3-wheeled motorcycle endorsement, and nothing to renew either one; $50 for a motorcycle license on its own, which the law calls a special motorcycle license, first or renewed; and $25 to renew a learner’s permit. Another $5 is added to each motorcycle permit, license or endorsement, and to each renewal. The DMV’s fees page lists them with the $5 added, and its motorcycle endorsement page gives what a learner’s permit costs. If you paid for a learner’s permit within a year before you apply for the license, the DMV does not charge the license fee.
Licensing fees (DMV)
The law: RSA 263:42, I, RSA 263:34-i, II
Register your motorcycle
A motorcycle is registered the way a car is: first at the clerk’s office of the town or city where you live, which issues the permit for registration, then for the state. The state’s fee for a motorcycle is $30, and another $1 is added to each registration and renewal. Riding an unregistered motorcycle carries a $100 fine. How to Register a Car explains each part.
How to register a car Find your town or city clerk
The law: RSA 261:148, RSA 261:141, III, RSA 263:34-i, I, RSA 261:40
Ride by the rules
If you are under 18, you must wear a helmet of a type the DMV approves, with a neck or chin strap, whether you drive or ride as a passenger. A driver who carries a passenger under 18 without one breaks the law too. The helmet law covers riders under 18.
At any age, if your motorcycle has no windshield or screen that protects your eyes and face, wear eyeglasses, goggles or a face shield while it is moving.
Ride on the permanent seat, astride and facing forward, and carry nothing that keeps both hands off the handlebars. A motorcycle is entitled to a full lane of traffic.
The law: RSA 265:122, RSA 265:123, RSA 265:120, RSA 265:121

A moped

If you ride a moped
The law calls a vehicle a moped if it goes no faster than 30 miles per hour within a mile and, if it has a gas engine, the engine is no bigger than 50 cubic centimeters and has no gears to shift. Anything more is a motorcycle, and needs a motorcycle license.
To ride a moped on the road, you need a valid driver’s license from any state, a motorcycle license, or a moped license. A moped license is for someone with neither, and you get it by passing a written test.
A moped is registered too, with its own kind of plate. The state’s fee is $14, and the town permit that a car or motorcycle needs first is not required. Ask the DMV or your clerk where to register it.
Vehicle registrations (DMV)
The law: RSA 259:57, RSA 259:63, RSA 263:33, RSA 263:33-a, RSA 261:80, RSA 261:148

Common Questions

What if I fail the road test twice?

You cannot take it a third time. The law requires you to finish the motorcycle rider training course instead.

Do I need a car license to ride a motorcycle?

Not under the law: it provides a motorcycle license for someone with no driver’s license, and a motorcycle license, endorsement or permit lets you drive any registered motorcycle, on 2 or 3 wheels, without any other license. The DMV’s permit page, though, lists a current driver’s license among what to bring, so ask the DMV first if you have none. To get a permit at 16 or 17, you need a New Hampshire driver’s license.

Is a 3-wheeled motorcycle different?

A 3-wheeled motorcycle endorsement comes with its own test, on the skills that kind of motorcycle needs. With it alone you may drive a 3-wheeled motorcycle but not a 2-wheeled one. A full motorcycle endorsement covers both.

Is an electric bicycle a moped?

No. The law leaves electric bicycles out of what it calls a moped, and out of what it calls a motorcycle, so the license rules in this guide do not cover one.

Can I carry a passenger?

Not on a learner’s permit. With a license or endorsement, only if the motorcycle is built to carry more than one person: on a seat made for two, a seat firmly attached behind or beside you, or a sidecar. The passenger sits astride, facing forward.

Can I ride between lanes of traffic?

No. You may not ride between lanes or rows of traffic, or pass a vehicle in its own lane. A motorcycle is entitled to a full lane, and two motorcycles may ride side by side in one lane, but no more than two.