The headline: the training is free
Most states leave rider training to private schools and let them price it. Pennsylvania does not. The Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program offers free rider training courses to Pennsylvania residents holding a motorcycle learner’s permit or a Class M license, provides the motorcycle and the helmet for the beginner course, and — the part that matters most — a permit holder who passes it is issued a motorcycle license.
So in Pennsylvania the good route and the cheap route are the same route. That is unusual enough to lead with, and none of the pages competing for this search puts it in front.
Here is how the whole thing fits together.
Step one: the Class M learner’s permit
You complete a Motorcycle Learner’s Permit Application, form DL-5, and take it with the appropriate fee to a PennDOT Driver License Center. There you are given a vision screening and the motorcycle knowledge test. Pass, and the application is processed and a Class M learner’s permit issued.
The permit is valid for one year — longer than Washington’s 180 days, shorter than nothing at all. Three restrictions apply while you hold it:
- Daylight only. Permit holders are authorized to ride between sunrise and sunset. No night riding is permitted at all.
- No passengers, other than an instructor properly licensed to operate a motorcycle.
- Supervision, if this is your only license. If you do not currently hold another class of license — a Class C car license, for instance — you may only operate a motorcycle under the instruction and immediate supervision of a licensed motorcycle operator.
That third condition is the one that catches out riders coming to motorcycling first. A licensed driver adding a motorcycle can practice alone within the daylight rule. Someone with no car license cannot practice alone at all.
How these conditions compare with other states is in what you cannot do on a permit.
Step two: two ways to the license
| Route A — PennDOT skills test | Route B — PAMSP course | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Schedule an appointment at a PennDOT Driver License Center and take the motorcycle skills test | Schedule training through the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program |
| Cost of the step | The test appointment | Free to Pennsylvania residents with a permit or Class M license |
| Machine | Your own | Provided, along with a helmet, on the beginner clinic |
| Result | Class M license issued after passing | Permit holder who successfully completes is issued a motorcycle license |
One practical warning on Route A: only certain Driver License Centers offer motorcycle skills testing on a motorcycle with more than two wheels. If you ride a trike or a sidecar outfit, check the list of testing locations before booking, not after.
The PAMSP clinics
Three courses, and which one you want depends on where you are starting.
Beginner Riding Clinic. An introduction to the fundamentals of safe, responsible motorcycling, consisting of 17 hours of classroom and riding instruction. Students are provided with a motorcycle and a helmet for use during the course. Suitable for beginners and for intermediate or advanced riders. A student holding a motorcycle learner’s permit who completes it successfully is issued a motorcycle license.
Intermediate Riding Clinic. Aimed at experienced motorcyclists, completed in one day, ridden on your own machine. It addresses critical skills and knowledge, and it has the same licensing effect: a permit holder who completes it successfully is issued a motorcycle license. It is also designed as the natural next step for graduates of the Beginner clinic.
Advanced Riding Clinic. For experienced riders with substantial mileage behind them, and not a licensing route.
What the equivalent course looks like elsewhere, and what other states charge for it, is in the Basic RiderCourse, how long is the motorcycle safety course and what the course costs.
Under 18: six months and 65 hours
Riders under 18 face three requirements rather than one, and they stack.
- Hold the motorcycle permit for at least six months.
- Complete 65 hours of supervised riding.
- Since 31 August 2012, take and successfully complete a Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program Beginner Riding Clinic before a motorcycle license can be issued.
Note how that interacts with the one-year permit. A sixteen-year-old has a year of permit validity in which to fit six months of holding, 65 supervised hours and a 17-hour clinic. It is comfortably doable, but not if the clinic is left until month eleven — free courses fill up.
Sixty-five hours is also a serious number in its own right. It is roughly ten to fifteen weekends of riding, and it is the requirement most likely to be under-planned.
The helmet rule that makes the course worth more
Pennsylvania repealed its universal helmet requirement in 2003, and the exemption it wrote is conditional rather than automatic.
Per PennDOT’s own fact sheet, anyone who operates or rides a motorcycle must wear protective headgear unless they are 21 or older and have either two years of riding experience or have completed a motorcycle safety course approved by PennDOT or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
Read that next to the licensing route and something falls out: the free PAMSP clinic you took to get the license is also the document that removes the helmet requirement at 21, without waiting two years. Whether you should use that exemption is a different question — the federal crash data on it is in motorcycle accident statistics — but the course does both jobs.
Full detail, including the labelling rules and the eye protection requirement, is in motorcycle helmet law Pennsylvania, with the national comparison in which states require a helmet.
Once you are licensed
Pennsylvania does not permit riding between lanes, whether traffic is stopped or moving. Its neighbour to the east prohibits it too, by a different legal route — see is lane splitting legal in New Jersey — and the five states where a version of it is lawful are in lane filtering. The national map is in the state-by-state lane splitting map.
The machine’s own paperwork is in registering a motorcycle and how much is motorcycle registration. If you are buying used first, start with the motorcycle VIN decoder and the motorcycle bill of sale. And the general sequence, for comparison with other states, is in what it takes to get licensed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a motorcycle license in Pennsylvania?
Complete form DL-5 and take it with the fee to a PennDOT Driver License Center, where you take a vision screening and the motorcycle knowledge test. That produces a Class M learner’s permit valid for one year. Then either pass the skills test at a Driver License Center or complete a Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program clinic, which issues the license directly.
Is the motorcycle course free in Pennsylvania?
Yes. The Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program offers free rider training to Pennsylvania residents holding a motorcycle learner’s permit or Class M license, and provides a motorcycle and helmet for the Beginner Riding Clinic.
How long is a Pennsylvania motorcycle permit valid?
One year from issue. Permit holders may ride only between sunrise and sunset, may not carry passengers other than a properly licensed instructor, and must be under immediate supervision if they hold no other class of license.
What does a rider under 18 need in Pennsylvania?
They must hold the motorcycle permit for at least six months, complete 65 hours of supervised riding, and successfully complete a PAMSP Beginner Riding Clinic before a motorcycle license can be issued.
How long is the Beginner Riding Clinic in Pennsylvania?
17 hours of classroom and riding instruction. Motorcycles and helmets are provided, and a permit holder who completes it successfully is issued a motorcycle license.
Can you ride at night on a Pennsylvania motorcycle permit?
No. Permit holders are authorized to operate only between sunrise and sunset, and no night-time riding is permitted.