Motorcycle license: How much does it cost to obtain each permit?

Currently, there are four licenses that qualify you to drive different types of motorcycles: AM, A1, A2, and A. We provide you with the approximate costs of each one.

The price to obtain a motorcycle license will always be more than we would like, but it is the only way to access an efficient mode of transportation for some, for others a way of life and a passion. In any case, it should not become an insurmountable obstacle that makes riding a motorcycle inaccessible.

It is not easy to give you an exact price for each motorcycle license, because there are many factors involved that are not fixed (geography, driving school offers…), but we can give you an estimate based on the study conducted by ANESDOR (National Association of Two-Wheel Sector Companies), the group that brings together the main motorcycle brands in our country.

It is clear from this study that it is not an economical process, especially if we compare it with past times, although it is by no means as much as the information that often circulates out there. Let's see, by license category, how much it may cost you and what access requirements you must meet.

AM License: the moped license

The so-called moped license is the AM license. It allows you to drive mopeds or scooters up to 50 cc (or their electric equivalent) limited to 45 km/h and can be obtained from the age of 15. You will take a theoretical exam and then a practical exam on a closed circuit, which is simpler than those for the following licenses. According to ANESDOR, this motorcycle license, including fees, classes, and other costs, should cost you about €300 to €350.

A1 License: the first motorcycle license

The A1 is the first proper motorcycle license. It authorizes you to ride motorcycles or scooters up to 125 cc and 15 hp maximum power (both conditions must be met: you can't ride a 250 cc with 12 hp, for example, nor a 125 cc with 28 hp). You can obtain it at age 16 after passing a general theoretical exam (traffic, signs…) and another specific motorcycle theory exam.

After these, you will pass two practical exams, first one on a closed circuit that is advisable to practice a lot, and another, when you already control the motorcycle, in open traffic. Logically, all these procedures plus the necessary classes to pass them without difficulty make the process more expensive, and its average cost is estimated between €700 and €750.

It also has another added aspect: it authorizes you to drive the same motorcycles that, if you wait, you will be able to ride when you are 21 if you obtain the B license at 18, in any case, after having three years of experience with the car since you obtained this B license.

A2 License: the motorcycle, at 18 years old

At 18 years old, you can obtain the license with which you will be able to ride, now without displacement limit, motorcycles up to 47.6 hp. These are almost all current mid-displacement motorcycles, from 300 to 500 cc, and almost all scooters on the market. You will also be able to ride larger motorcycles and even those that originally have much more horsepower, since the law allows you to modify those motorcycles and limit their power to those 47 hp (35 kW, according to the legal measure) as long as they do not have, in their unrestricted version, more than double, that is, 70 kW, about 95 hp.

In this case, calculating the costs varies greatly depending on the situation, since there are people who reach this motorcycle license without any previous permit and people who already have the A1 or B. In these different cases, it will cost you different amounts, since the paths to having the license in your pocket vary.

It may be that you do not have any previous motorcycle license. In that case, you will have to pass the same four exams as in the A1: general theory, specific theory, practical on circuit, and practical in open traffic.

If you already have the B license—in many cases this is so—you only save the general theoretical exam and will have to take the other three. But if you already have the A1, you have most of the process completed. Then you will only be required to take the practical exam on the street, which, if you have used your A1, will not be too difficult for you to pass. In the worst case, the average cost estimated by ANESDOR is about €650 to €700.

A License: all motorcycles, finally

The A license is the one dreamed of by everyone who starts in this world of two wheels. It is the one that gives you access to any motorcycle approved for road use, without any kind of limitation.

To obtain it, there is no minimum age, but you are required to have had the A2 for at least two years. As a consequence, you can't, in any way, obtain it before the age of 20. But you also can't obtain it at 30 or 50 if you have not previously spent two years with the A2 license. It is a requirement of experience, not age.

Despite this, this motorcycle license has its advantages, because you do not need to take any more exams. Logically, if you want the A, you have gone through the A2 and, therefore, you have demonstrated that you know how to ride a motorcycle. Now you are only required to complete a nine-hour course at the driving school, with theoretical and practical training, but nothing more.

This course usually consists of four parts, one on general theory, which covers aspects such as the necessary protective equipment and how to use it, knowledge of the motorcycle's condition, how to corner or brake, or the differences when carrying a passenger.

A second part on awareness, similar to those in point recovery courses, about accidents, consequences, ways to act in case of an accident, and similar topics. Then there are two practical parts, one on a closed circuit with various types of maneuvers and another in open traffic. These two are designed to give you greater skills when facing the road with a larger and more powerful motorcycle.

According to ANESDOR, the cost of these courses for the A ranges between €450 and €500, although a quick search on the internet will help you, in this case, to find offers and determine a lower price.

B License: the validation

The B license is not, in any case, a motorcycle license. It is the car license, nothing more. But neither are tricycles like Piaggio MP3 or Peugeot Metropolis "scooters" just scooters, so they are not within the motorcycle category. They are motor tricycles for which the law sets its own rules: to drive them, you need, not the A or A2 license, but the B and, in addition, to be over 21 years old to access them.

With the B you can also ride 125 motorcycles. In this case, it is still not a motorcycle license in any case, but the law established years ago a validation, so that if you have at least three years of experience with the car license, you are allowed to drive the motorcycles authorized with the A1 license. Therefore, you can, at the earliest, ride them at 21 if you obtained the license when you turned 18. In any case, three years of driving experience are required.

To obtain the B license, you have to pass three exams: the general theory and the two practical exams. According to ANESDOR, the cost will be about €700 to €750 on average, but it will also be somewhat lower if you already have the A1: you save the general theoretical exam, since you have already passed it.