Hawaii Motorcycle Driver’s License
Under the Hawaii DOT guidelines, anyone who drives a motorcycle anywhere in the state must have a Class 2 motorcycle driver’s license or motorcycle instruction permit. However, Hawii does not have a statewide Department of Motor Vehicles so the registration is managed by each county government but they follow the same guidelines for motorcycle licensing.
Applicants who are 18 years of age or older may apply for a motorcycle license in any DMV offices found anywhere in Hawaii. Applicants must complete a Driver Education Student Completion Certificate and a Behind-the-Wheel Student Completion Certificate in order to get a road test. The motorcycle skills test is the final step in getting the motorcycle driver’s license. In order to pass the road test, you will have to demonstrate your competency in motorcycle operation.
The road skills test will is an assessment of your ability to handle a motorcycle. It is a setting designed to evaluate your proficiency in the following motorcycle driving skills:
- Sharp turn
- Normal stop
- Cone weave
- Quick stop
- U-turn
- Obstacle turn
- Hawaii state ID
- United States passport
- Certified Birth Certificate
- Military ID card
- United State immigration or naturalization papers
- Out-of-state driver’s license with picture
To prove your Social Security number, you have to provide the following requirements:
- Original copy of Social Security card
- Driver’s license
- Military ID card
- Medical card
- W-2 tax form
The state of Hawaii will waive your road skills test and will immediately issue you a license if you have a motorcycle skills test certification for waiver issued by the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety Education Program. You may also use a valid motorcycle or motorcycle endorsement from a state that uses the motorcycle operator skill test so that the state will waive your skills test. The motorcycle courses may last for two to six weeks and will include classroom instruction and driver training in a controlled, off-street environment. After you successfully completed the course, you will be eligible for a motorcycle driver’s license without taking a motorcycle road skills test.
Aside from the road skills test, getting a motorcycle driver’s license will require you pass two more test which are the vision and written test. You are required to pass an eye exam or vision test with a minimum score of 20/40 and a total field of vision of 70. When you fail to pass the test you have to visit an ophthalmologist for corrective lenses before you can retake the exam and to proceed in the next stage of testing.
When you are applying for Class 2 driver’s license but don’t hold a Class 3 license for cars, you need to take the normal general knowledge test and a motorcycle specific exam. If you already have Class 3 license, then you will be exempted from getting the general knowledge test depending on the examiner’s discretion.
For more information on how to get a motorcycle driver’s license in Hawaii, visit the following sites:
City and County of Honolulu – www.co.honolulu.hi.us/csd/vehicle/mvehicle.htm
County of Maui – www.co.honolulu.hi.us/csd/vehicle/mvehicle.htm
County of Hawaii –www.co.hawaii.hi.us/info/mvr/fees/htm
www.co.hawaii.hi.us/forms/mvrforms.html
County of Kauai- www.kauaigov.org/treasury.htm
If you were living in one of these counties or cities, visit their site to get more information about the important requirements in getting a motorcycle driver’s license