Vermont Motorcycle License: Routes, Costs, and Helmet Law

To get a Vermont motorcycle license, you add a motorcycle endorsement to your existing Vermont driver’s license, and you can earn that endorsement one of two ways: complete the state’s RideWell rider education course, or pass a written knowledge exam for a learner’s permit and then a DMV off-road skills test.¹ The permit costs $24 and the endorsement itself adds $4 per year to your license.

Who Needs the Endorsement

If you ride a two-wheeled motorcycle or a three-wheeled trike on Vermont roads, you need the endorsement. Riders of three-wheel motorcycles can opt for a three-wheel-only endorsement that limits them to those vehicles.²

Two groups are off the hook. Motor-driven cycles with engines of 50cc or less, 2 brake horsepower or less, and a top speed of 30 mph fall outside the motorcycle definition. Autocycle operators are also exempt, even though autocycles otherwise fit the motorcycle definition.

Eligibility

You must already hold a valid Vermont driver’s license or junior driver’s license before adding a motorcycle endorsement. If that underlying license is suspended or revoked, you can’t apply.

Applicants under 18 need written consent from a parent, legal guardian, or someone standing in that role, filed with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.³ Younger riders on a junior driver’s license must also have completed a state-approved driver education course first.

Everyone takes a vision screening. The standard is 20/40 or better, with or without corrective lenses.

Route 1: Take the RideWell Course

The Vermont Rider Education Program, branded as RideWell, is the faster path. Finish the Basic RiderCourse and you’re exempt from both the written knowledge exam and the DMV skills test.⁴ The course mixes classroom time with hands-on riding exercises covering low-speed maneuvers, emergency braking, and swerving. Pass, and you receive a completion card that functions as your proof of competency when you visit the DMV to add the endorsement.

Separate courses exist for two-wheel and three-wheel motorcycles, and each waives the corresponding tests.

Route 2: Learner’s Permit, Then Skills Test

If you skip the course, start with a learner’s permit. You’ll take a 25-question multiple-choice knowledge exam drawn from the Vermont motorcycle manual and need an 80% to pass. The exam is available online through the DMV.⁵ Topics include traffic laws, lane positioning, protective gear, and group riding.

The permit costs $24 and is valid for 120 days.⁶ You can renew it twice. Watch this deadline carefully: if you don’t pass the skills test or finish the rider training course within those three permit periods, you’re locked out from getting another permit for 12 months after the last one expires.⁵ That’s an entire riding season gone.

Permit Restrictions

A learner’s permit comes with real limits. You can only ride during daylight hours. You cannot carry a passenger. And the permit is only valid in Vermont, so crossing into New Hampshire or New York on it means riding without legal authorization. You also have to carry the physical permit on you while riding.⁷

Break a permit restriction and you face a fine of up to $50 and a 90-day permit recall. If you’ve already used both renewals, that recall can trigger the 12-month waiting period. The one practical limit on enforcement: an officer can only cite you for a permit violation after stopping you for a separate traffic offense.

The Skills Test

Once you’re ready, schedule the off-road skills test at a DMV location. It runs on a controlled course, not in traffic, and you bring your own registered and insured motorcycle. For two-wheel riders, the test has four exercises:

A cone weave followed by a smooth, non-skidding stop with the front tire in a marked box.
A right turn from a stop and a U-turn inside a painted box. Box size depends on engine displacement: 20 feet for bikes under 600cc, 24 feet for larger machines.
A quick stop from 12 to 20 mph, using both brakes once your front tire crosses a marked line.
An obstacle swerve left or right, also from 12 to 20 mph, when your front tire passes a marker.

Three-wheel riders take a modified version with different geometry for the turning and weave portions, but the same speed targets for the quick stop and swerve.

What It All Costs

Vermont’s motorcycle fees are modest. The learner’s permit is $24 for its 120-day run.⁶ The endorsement itself adds $4 per year to your license, so you’ll pay $8 on a two-year renewal cycle or $16 on a four-year cycle, depending on which your underlying license runs on.⁸

Paperwork and What to Bring

Complete Form VL-021, the License/Permit Application, available on the Vermont DMV website or at any DMV office.⁹ It asks for your legal name, date of birth, mailing address, and existing Vermont license number.

If your residency documents aren’t already current with the state, bring two items showing your name and current physical address. A utility bill with the service address, a signed lease, a property tax bill, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, or official mail with your street address all qualify.¹⁰ Check that your name is spelled exactly the same way on every document. Mismatches hold applications up more than almost anything else.

After the DMV processes your paperwork and payment, you’ll leave with a temporary paper license good for 45 days. The permanent card typically arrives by mail in 7 to 10 business days.¹¹ Keep the temporary document on you every time you ride until the card shows up.

Helmet Law

Vermont is a universal helmet state. Every operator and passenger must wear protective headgear meeting federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards under 49 C.F.R. § 571.218, which you’ll see called DOT certification. Check for the DOT sticker on the back of any helmet before you buy it. The only exception covers occupants of fully enclosed autocycles with a windshield, full roof, and side enclosures.¹²

Vermont law doesn’t separately require eye protection if your helmet has a face shield.

Insurance

A motorcycle registered in Vermont has to carry liability insurance like any other motor vehicle. The state minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $10,000 for property damage. Vermont also requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on every motor vehicle policy, with minimum UM/UIM limits of $50,000 per person and $100,000 for two or more people.¹³

Penalties for Riding Without the Endorsement

Riding a motorcycle in Vermont without the proper endorsement or permit is a violation of 23 V.S.A. § 601. A first offense is a civil traffic violation. A second conviction within two years escalates to a potential criminal charge carrying up to 60 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.²

1
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Motorcycle Endorsement
2
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 23 VSA 601 – License Required
3
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code Title 23 Section 617
4
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vermont Rider Education Program
5
Department of Motor Vehicles. Motorcycle Learner’s Permit
6
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s License Fees
7
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 23 VSA 615 – Unlicensed Operators
8
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 23 VSA 608 – Fees
9
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. License/Permit Application – English
10
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vermont Residency
11
Department of Motor Vehicles. Temporary License
12
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 23 VSA 1256
13
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 23 VSA 941