Motorcycle Licensing, Laws & Costs by State
Gear Rider Hub 
Michigan requires a helmet. The exemption is the exception Start from what the statute actually says, because the popular version of Michigan’s law — “they repealed it, helmets are optional” — skips the part that decides whether you are exempt or in breach. MCL 257.658 opens with a flat requirement: “A person operating or riding … Read more
The course is worth more in Michigan than anywhere else in this series Not because it is better, but because Michigan’s law attaches two separate benefits to it, and both are written into the statutes. First, it waives three tests. MCL 257.312b: “The requirement of a written knowledge test, road sign test, and motorcycle driving … Read more
Michigan’s course waives three tests, not one Across the states covered in this series, a safety course normally removes the riding test and leaves the written one standing. A couple of states remove both. Michigan removes three, and the statute lists them: “The requirement of a written knowledge test, road sign test, and motorcycle driving … Read more
No, and New York says so in those words Most states leave you to work this out from a general lane-discipline rule. New York does not. Its Vehicle and Traffic Law has a section devoted to motorcycles and lanes, and one subdivision of it addresses the maneuver directly: “No person shall operate a motorcycle between … Read more
The rule that catches everyone who moved here New York will waive your motorcycle road test for completing an approved course. It will not do it for a course you took somewhere else, and it says so plainly: “Courses completed in other states do not qualify for waiver.” That single sentence is the most valuable … Read more
Two license classes, and which one you get depends on your age New York’s motorcycle manual is direct about it: “To operate a motorcycle in New York State, you must have a motorcycle operator’s license (Class M) or a motorcycle junior operator’s license (Class MJ).” Class M — the full motorcycle license. Class MJ — … Read more
No, and Ohio’s rule reaches further than most Lane splitting is not permitted in Ohio. As in Illinois, no Ohio statute uses the phrase — the prohibition comes from the general lane-discipline rule that applies to every vehicle. What makes Ohio different, and worth reading carefully if you ride in a city, is how that … Read more
Motorcycle Ohio, and the clock that starts when you pass Ohio runs its own rider training program under its own name — Motorcycle Ohio, administered by the Department of Public Safety. Completing its Basic Rider Skills course does what a safety course does in most states: “Motorcycle Ohio course graduates will have the State of … Read more
Ohio’s route, in the state’s own words The Ohio Department of Public Safety publishes the whole process on a single leaflet, and it is refreshingly concrete. Three steps to the permit: Get the study material. “To help you study for the Knowledge test, be sure to pick up a Motorcycle Operator Manual and a Digest … Read more
No — but Illinois gets there a different way Lane splitting is not permitted in Illinois. What makes the question hard to answer, and what generates the persistent belief that there is a loophole, is that no Illinois statute uses the phrase. Compare that with the states that do name it. California defines lane splitting … Read more