Compulsory basic training is not a test and you cannot fail it — you complete it, get a certificate, and are then allowed to ride a moped at 16 or a motorcycle up to 125 cc and 11 kW at 17, on L plates, with no pillion and no motorways. That certificate lasts two years. Pass your full test inside those two years or you retake CBT or stop riding. Everything else in the British system hangs off that one deadline. Checked August 2026; the DVSA and DVLA pages are the authority.
What CBT actually is
The official position on GOV.UK's CBT page is blunt: CBT is not a test that you pass or fail. It is a course you normally take before riding a moped or motorcycle on the road, and its job is to make sure you can ride safely on your own while you practise for the full test.
In practice a school will not sign off a certificate for someone who cannot ride safely. They will ask you back for more hours. That is not a fail in the licensing sense, and it does not go on any record, but it does mean the day costs more than the advertised single session for a fair number of complete beginners.
After CBT you must use L plates, or L or D plates in Wales. Riding without a valid CBT certificate carries a fine of up to £1,000 and up to 6 penalty points, which for a new rider on a provisional licence is enough to lose it.
There are narrow exemptions. You do not need CBT if you want to ride a moped up to 50 cc and passed your car driving test before 1 February 2001, if you hold a full moped licence from a moped test taken since 1 December 1990, if you already hold a full motorcycle licence in one category and want to upgrade to another, or if you live and ride on certain offshore islands.
The route, stage by stage
| Stage | Minimum age | What you may ride | Time limit attached |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional licence | 16 for AM, 17 for A1 | Nothing on the road until CBT is done | None |
| CBT certificate | 16 moped, 17 motorcycle | Moped, or motorcycle up to 125 cc and 11 kW, L plates, no pillion, no motorway | Two years |
| Theory test | Same | Nothing extra by itself | Both practical modules must be passed within two years of it |
| Full A1 | 17 | Up to 125 cc, 11 kW, 0.1 kW/kg. Trikes up to 15 kW | None |
| Full A2 | 19 | Up to 35 kW, 0.2 kW/kg, not derived from a bike of more than double the power | None |
| Full A | 24 direct, or 21 with two years on A2 | Unrestricted, plus trikes over 15 kW | None |
Those age figures come from the DVLA's published category table, and three of them sit above the European baseline. A1 at 17 rather than 16 and A2 at 19 rather than 18 are deliberate British choices allowed by the underlying directive.
The two deadlines people miss
There are two separate two-year clocks and they do not run together.
The first is the CBT certificate. Two years from the date on the certificate, and it stops being a licence to ride on L plates. The second, from the overview of riding a motorcycle, moped or motor tricycle, is that you must pass both parts of the practical test within two years of taking the theory test, or the theory has to be retaken.
The trap is a rider who does CBT in March, sits the theory in September, takes eighteen months to book module one, and then finds the CBT expired six months before the practical date. The certificate is what makes the practice legal, so an expired one means the practice stops even though the theory is still valid.
Work backwards instead. Decide when you want the full licence, subtract the practical test waiting time in your area, and put the theory and CBT dates after that point rather than before it. Doing CBT the week you turn 17 and then not touching the licence for two years is the most common way to pay for the same day twice.
How to make the CBT day go well
The day runs in five elements, from eyesight and controls in the yard through to a road ride of at least two hours. The road ride is where people are turned back, almost always for the same handful of reasons.
- Practise slow-speed control before the day if you possibly can. Clutch, throttle and rear brake at walking pace is the skill the yard exercises test, and it is the one that cannot be learnt in an hour.
- Bring proper gear. Schools lend helmets and often jackets, but gloves and boots that cover the ankle are usually your problem, and trainers get people sent home.
- Take your licence and check what else the school wants. A provisional licence is required, and if you hold a full EU licence you must first exchange it for a GB licence or register it with DVLA before you can take CBT.
- Book a weekday if you can. Weekend courses run bigger groups, and a group of six on the road ride means less instructor attention per rider.
- Say if you have never ridden anything. Automatic scooters remove clutch and gear workload entirely, and a school that knows this in advance will put you on one rather than watching you stall a geared 125 for two hours.
The trade-off with taking CBT on an automatic is real. If you complete CBT on a scooter with no manual gears, that is what your certificate covers, so a geared 125 means going back. For someone who genuinely intends to ride a geared bike, taking the harder route on day one saves a second day later.
What the licence does not let you do
On CBT and L plates you cannot carry a pillion and you cannot use motorways. Rule 85 of the Highway Code puts the pillion restriction in plain terms — provisional licence holders must not carry a pillion passenger — and the same rule requires that any pillion sits astride the machine on a proper seat with both feet on the footrests.
Motor tricycles are a separate case that has caught out riders who assumed a car licence covered them. Provisional category B car licences and provisional category A licences now only cover motor tricycles for riders with a physical disability. Without a disability, a full A1 licence covers trikes up to 15 kW and a full category A covers those above it, unless you are over 21 and hold a full car driving licence, in which case any power rating is allowed.
None of this restricts where you ride geographically. A CBT-only rider can legally take a 125 from Kent to the Scottish Highlands on A-roads. Whether that is wise on a bike with 11 kW and no motorway access is a different question, and the answer is usually to build the route around single carriageways rather than to fight the restriction.
One more restriction is easy to overlook because it is procedural rather than physical. A provisional licence holder cannot simply keep renewing CBT indefinitely as a substitute for taking the test. The certificate is repeatable, but each repeat means another full day and another fee, and a rider who has done three of them has paid more than the full test course would have cost while gaining none of the entitlements.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a CBT certificate last?
Two years. Pass your full moped or motorcycle test inside that window, or you retake CBT or stop riding.
Can you fail CBT?
Not in the licensing sense — it is not a test. A school can decline to issue the certificate on the day and ask you back for more training, which is common for riders with no previous experience.
What can I ride after CBT at 17?
A motorcycle up to 125 cc with a power output of up to 11 kW, on L plates, with no pillion and no motorway riding. At 16 the entitlement is mopeds only.
Do I need CBT if I have a car licence?
Usually yes. The exception is riding a moped up to 50 cc if you passed your car driving test before 1 February 2001.
What is the penalty for riding without a valid CBT certificate?
Riding without a valid CBT certificate carries a fine and penalty points on your licence. The current maximum fine and point range are set out on the GOV.UK page for compulsory basic training, and both change over time, so read the figures there rather than trusting a number quoted elsewhere.
For how the British ages compare with the rest of Europe, see the guide to European motorcycle licence categories, and for the upgrade mechanics after A2, the breakdown of A1 to A2 to A progression. British riders taking a bike across the Channel should read the paperwork checklist for riding abroad and the notes on low emission zones and motorcycles, since a 125 that is legal everywhere in Britain can still be refused entry to a city centre. If your first year of riding is mostly commuting, a bar-mounted riding system keeps route prompts off a phone screen you should not be looking at in traffic.
