If you’re a confident rider and are passionate about passing your skills and experience on to beginners, you may want to find out how to become a motorcycle training instructor. Being a motorcycle instructor can be a really rewarding career move, with lots of fun to be had doing what you love for a living. Qualified instructors often talk about the job satisfaction they get from giving a beginner the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become a fully qualified rider.    

There are a couple of options to become a motorcycle instructor and different ways to find motorcycle instructor training. Below we outline the two main routes of how to become a motorcycle training instructor.

1. Become a DVSA assessed CBT motorcycle instructor

You can apply to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to become a DVSA assessed compulsory basic training (CBT) motorcycle instructor.

To become a DVSA assessed CBT motorcycle instructor you must have a driving licence from either:

• Great Britain or Northern Ireland
• the EU or EEA – but you must register it first

You must also:

• be 21 or older have had a full category A2 or A motorcycle licence for at least 3 years

You’ll have to take a 2-day assessment at a DVSA training and development centre.

When you pass you must work for a motorcycle approved training body (ATB) to be able to:

• provide the CBT day course to learner riders
• train up to 10 instructors at the ATB to also deliver CBT courses (this is known as ‘down-training’)
• apply to become a direct access scheme instructor

2. Become a Direct Access Scheme (DAS) motorcycle instructor

You can apply to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to become a direct access scheme (DAS) certified motorbike instructor.

All provisional licence holders training on a motorbike over 125cc and 11kW power output must be trained by a qualified DAS riding instructor.

To become a DAS certified motorcycle instructor, you must have a driving licence from either:

• Great Britain or Northern Ireland
• the EU or EEA – but you must register it first

You must also:

• be 21 or over
• have had a full category A2 or A motorcycle licence for at least 3 years
• have passed the 2-day assessment to become a DVSA assessed compulsory basic training (CBT) instructor (as detailed above)

You’ll have to take a 2-day assessment at a DVSA training and development centre.

When you pass your assessment, you’ll be able to give DAS training. You will then be a riding instructor – able to train learner riders from CBT to full test, teaching Mod 1 and Mod 2 training and take students you have taught to their motorcycle test.

The above details may sound complicated to become a motorcycle training instructor, but we’re here to help. Simply get in touch and we will be happy to have a chat about your aspirations.