Getting a Hawaii motorcycle license

What do you need for a Hawaii motorcycle license?

First you get a Class 2 instruction permit. For that you'll need to:

• Be at least 15 and a half
• Show your basic rider course certificates
• Pass an eye test and bring your identity and residency documents
• Pass the motorcycle written test, which is given in person only, not online
• Pass the general knowledge test too, if you don't hold a Class 3 license

On Kauai the motorcycle written test has 25 multiple-choice questions from the Hawaii Motorcycle Operator Manual. On Oahu, written tests are $2 each and the permit is $5; Kauai's fee chart lists $10 for a written test and $10 for a permit, as of October 2026. If you've transferred an out-of-state license on Oahu since September 1, 2016, Honolulu has you take both the Class 2 and Class 3 written tests.

Riding on a motorcycle permit

You can't carry passengers or ride in darkness. The permit lasts a year, and you can renew it only if you've attempted the skills test before it expires. If it lapses without one, you wait three months before applying for another. Honolulu adds that riders aged 16 to 18 need driver's education certificates and 180 days on the permit before the skills test.

The motorcycle skills test

It's an off-street test. On Oahu it's walk-in on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Commercial Driver Licensing Office, 897 Second Street in Pearl City, with sign-up from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m. and a limited number of tests each day. Bring a safe motorcycle with current registration, a current safety inspection certificate and a liability insurance card.

You may not need it. A skills test waiver certificate from the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety Education Program, or a valid motorcycle license or endorsement from another state, can take its place.

Transferring a motorcycle license to Hawaii

A valid out-of-state motorcycle endorsement transfers along with your license. Honolulu says endorsements from Alabama, and motorcycle licenses from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, can't be transferred. If yours has expired, you take the general and motorcycle written tests and the skills test.