Motorcycle theory test format and pass marks

The motorcycle and moped theory test in Great Britain is one appointment with two parts: 50 multiple-choice questions and a hazard perception video test. You need 43 out of 50 and 44 out of 75, and you must pass both parts at the same sitting.

The test is run by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Northern Ireland has its own test, run by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA).

Who has to take it

You usually need a motorcycle theory pass before you can take the practical motorcycle test, even if you already hold a full car licence. A car theory pass does not count for a motorcycle.

You do not need the theory test if you are upgrading a full motorcycle licence under progressive access, for example from A1 to A2 after two years. The licence categories and ages guide shows which route applies to you.

You need a provisional motorcycle licence to book. You can take the test from your 16th birthday if you are learning to ride a moped and from your 17th birthday for a motorcycle. It can be taken before or after compulsory basic training; see CBT and the theory test for the order that suits most learners.

The multiple-choice part

Before the clock starts you get instructions and one practice question. Then you have 57 minutes for 50 questions, each with several possible answers and one correct one. You can flag a question, come back to it and change any answer until you finish.

From 5 November 2026, three of the questions are about a short, silent video clip of an ordinary riding situation, such as a town centre or a country road. You can replay the clip as often as you like. Before that date the test used a written case study with five questions, so older revision books may still describe that format.

The questions draw on three books: The Highway Code, Know Your Traffic Signs and DVSA’s Riding: the essential skills. Roughly speaking, they fall into two groups.

• Rules every road user shares: signs, speed limits, junction priority, motorway rules, documents and what to do at an incident.
• Rider knowledge: helmets and visors, clothing, daily machine checks, braking on two wheels, cornering, road surface, pillions and loads.

Car drivers taking the motorcycle test tend to lose marks in the second group. The guides to controls and braking and to being seen, riding gear and pillions cover it.

When you finish the questions you can take a break of up to three minutes before hazard perception begins.

The hazard perception part

After a short introduction video you watch 14 clips of everyday road scenes. Each contains at least one developing hazard, and one clip contains two. You click when you see a hazard start to develop and can score up to five points for each one, depending on how early you respond. Each clip plays once; you cannot go back.

The motorcycle hazard perception guide explains the scoring window and the clues riders should react to.

Your result

You get the result at the test centre before you leave.

• If you pass, your letter carries a pass certificate number. It lasts two years, and you must pass both modules of the practical motorcycle test in that time or sit the theory test again.
• If you fail either part, you retake the whole test, including the part you passed. You must wait at least three working days before the next attempt.

GOV.UK publishes the official description of the motorcycle theory test pass marks and results.

Practise in the same format

Use the free motorcycle mock tests for the multiple-choice part: each has 49 or 50 questions and is marked against 43. When you can clear that mark on tests you have not seen before, read the test day checklist and book.