The VA Motorcycle License Test: Knowledge Exam and Skills Test

The VA motorcycle license test is not one examination but two, and they sit in their own statute. Va. Code § 46.2-337 forbids anyone driving a motorcycle on a Virginia highway unless they have passed a special examination including written material and a road test. Fail the road test twice and the same section bars the classification until a rider safety training course is finished. Pass that course first, and both exams can be waived.

What the VA motorcycle license test covers

Section 46.2-337 describes the examination by its purpose: it must pertain to the applicant’s ability to drive a motorcycle with reasonable competence and with safety to other persons using the highways. The section authorizes DMV to adopt regulations for administering it and for endorsing licenses for qualified applicants.

DMV fills in the detail. Its published motorcycle knowledge exam consists of 25 questions drawn from the Motorcycle Operator Manual, is taken on a computer, and is offered in several languages. It has to be passed before the skills test is taken. Using a cell phone during the exam ends the exam, and the applicant has to wait until the next day to try again. As with every DMV examination, it is unlawful to obtain or hand on a copy of the exam, or any of its questions or answers, and unlawful to give or receive assistance during it.

Two road tests, not one

The last sentence of § 46.2-337 is the detail that catches riders out: the road test for two-wheeled motorcycles and the road test for three-wheeled motorcycles shall be separate and distinct examinations, each emphasizing the skills and maneuvers necessary to operate that type of machine.

That is why the authorization a rider ends up with is specific rather than general. Under Va. Code § 46.2-328 C, a motorcycle authorization is a classification on a driver’s license, not a separate license, and it carries a further restriction to two-wheeled only or three-wheeled only where applicable — the M, M2 and M3 designations DMV prints under “Class.” Passing a three-wheeled skills test does not authorize a two-wheeled machine.

Fail the skills test twice and the law steps in

Most Virginia examinations run on a three-strike rule. The motorcycle skills test runs on two.

Section 46.2-337 says that no person applying for a classification to authorize the driving of a motorcycle who fails the road test portion of the special examination two times shall be eligible for that classification until he successfully completes a motorcycle rider safety training course offered by a provider licensed under Article 23 of Chapter 10. DMV’s published rule says the same thing in plainer words: fail the DMV motorcycle road skills test twice and a Virginia Rider Training Program course comes before the Class M designation.

That is a shorter fuse than the one that applies to car applicants, whose two-day wait and three-failure rule are set out on the retake rules for car applicants.

How a rider training course replaces the test

The waiver runs the other way too, and it is the route most Virginia riders take.

If the Commissioner is satisfied that a person intending to operate a motorcycle has demonstrated the same proficiency the special examination requires, by completing a motorcycle rider safety training course from an Article 23 provider — DMV runs these as the Virginia Rider Training Program, he may waive the written material or the road test portion or both. The same discretion applies to a Virginia license holder who is a member, spouse of a member or dependent of a member of the United States Armed Services and has completed a basic motorcycle rider course approved by the Armed Services.

The statute’s word is “may,” so the waiver is discretionary rather than automatic. In published practice DMV grants it: its own motorcycle road skills test page states that DMV will waive the road skills test for those who have completed the Virginia Rider Training Program, that the certificate of completion is valid for one year, and that during that year neither the motorcycle knowledge exam nor the road skills test is required to add an M2 or M3 classification.

Va. Code § 46.2-1188 confirms what those courses are for. It defines motorcycle rider safety training courses as instruction in operating motorcycles — safe on-road operation, the rules of the road and Virginia’s motor vehicle laws — for the purposes of obtaining a waiver pursuant to § 46.2-337, separately for both types, two-wheeled only, or three-wheeled only.

There is a further consequence for older riders. Under § 46.2-328 C, a valid Virginia license held by a person 19 or older amounts to a license with a temporary motorcycle classification when it is carried with documentation of a completed rider safety training course, or of an approved Armed Services basic rider course. That temporary classification lasts 30 days from the completion date shown on the documentation and states whether the holder may ride any motorcycle or only a two- or three-wheeled one.

The motorcycle learner’s permit has an exam of its own

Before any of that, there is a third test. Virginia’s learner’s permit statute allows DMV to issue a motorcycle learner’s permit to a resident over 15 years and six months on successful completion of the written or automated knowledge and vision examinations and an automated motorcycle test — the examination side is covered on the learner’s permit test in VA, and the car knowledge exam it parallels on what the Virginia DMV test covers.

That permit is valid for 12 months, and a fresh one may be issued on application, payment of the fee and successful completion of the examinations again. While it is held, the statute requires the operator to wear an approved safety helmet, to ride under the immediate supervision of a person 21 or older who is licensed to operate a motorcycle, and to carry no passenger at all. Violating the section is punishable as a Class 2 misdemeanor.

What to bring to the skills test

DMV’s published requirements for the motorcycle road skills test are stricter than for a car. An applicant must arrive with a DOT-approved helmet fitted with a face shield, or with safety glasses or goggles; with the motorcycle itself, carrying a valid license plate and a current inspection sticker; and in protective clothing — a long-sleeved jacket, riding gloves, long pants, and boots or shoes that cover the ankles.

The examiner inspects the machine before the test to confirm it is properly registered, inspected and in working order, then runs exercises measuring starting, accelerating, shifting, turning, braking and swerving. Every exercise has to be completed successfully to pass, and the examiner may stop the test for unsafe operation or disregarded instructions. Not every DMV customer service center offers the motorcycle skills test, so the location list is worth checking before booking. The same pre-test vehicle logic applies to cars, as set out on the document and vehicle check for a car road test, and the car examination itself on what an examiner may and may not require.