A moped is something which is both practically useful and enjoyable to ride and you can usually legally ride a moped after as little as a day’s training. As such, it’s quite understandable why you’re here on this site which will explain to you exactly what you need to do.
A moped specifically describes a motorcycle with a maximum speed of no higher than fifty kilometers per hour, an engine capacity of no more than fifty cubic centimeters, and a total weight of no more than two-hundred-and-fifty kilograms. So, you’re not going to be going long distances on a moped or going very fast, however, they’re quite useful for leisure, or for traveling short distances in a single city or town.
Get your provisional licence
The first stage in obtaining a moped licence in the UK is to go for a provisional moped licence. As long as you’re of at least age 16, you can apply for a provisional moped licence; you either need to apply at the DVLA, or you need to submit form D1 by post. The fee is £50, so this must be included if applying by post, and if applying in person you need to make sure you have the money on hand to pay for the provisional licence fee. Once you have your provisional licence, though, you can’t yet drive on the road. You need to undergo compulsory basic training otherwise known as CBT or sometimes the CBT test.
Take your CBT
Compulsory basic training is a simple, single-day course in the basics of motorcycle and moped riding. It can be done at any DSA-approved location; there are many of these all throughout the United Kingdom, so it’s not hard at all to deal with. This won’t actually get you an official moped licence but will allow you to ride on the roads unsupervised and allow you valuable road time to work towards your full licence.
Once you’ve completed the compulsory basic training, you’ll receive a DL196 certificate, valid for two years. With a provisional licence and a DL196 certificate, you can ride any moped on the road, provided you have L plates (or D plates in Wales), you don’t have a passenger, and you don’t ride on motorways.
If you already have a car licence, you don’t even need the provisional licence- go through the compulsory basic training, and you have a full moped licence, without the restrictions on the provisional one.
Some people will often not even opt to go for the full licence, often deciding to retake their CBT every 2 years as they are happy working under the restrictions in place. There’s nothing wrong with this but it can get annoying having to keep retaking the test.
Get your full motorcycle licence
Once you have a provisional licence and have gone through the compulsory basic training, you’re now able to go for the full moped licence. You need to go through two tests for this:
- the motorcycle theory test
- the practical moped test.
The motorcycle theory test is a simple multiple-choice test on road safety and the highway code; with preparation and forethought, it’s quite simple to ace it. The practical moped test is an examination of your moped riding abilities on road; once you’ve completed it to the examiner’s satisfaction, you will be issued a category P entitlement. This doesn’t need the renewal every two years, and allows you to carry a passenger on your pillion. That being said, you still can’t use motorways on a moped but that really is the only limitation.
A moped is an enjoyable and useful vehicle. With just a little bit of work, you can easily obtain a moped licence in the UK, and have full use of the roads on your brand new moped. Furthermore, the skills developed will come in useful should you move to a larger motorcycle in the future.
