Do you need a license for a moped (scooter) up to 50cc in 2022?

Driving license categories for driving a moped or scooter

Everything has become both simpler and more complex with the introduction of new categories a few years ago. Previously, a driver's license was not required to operate a scooter, but now it is required. So what kind of driver's license is needed for a moped? The answer is simple - category "M" . It is easy to open it; you just need to pass a theoretical exam on your knowledge of traffic rules, if you have already reached the age of 16 , as well as a practical exam. It will also be automatically opened upon receipt of a license to drive a motorcycle, car or truck.

Purpose of a driver's license

Most often, such low-power mopeds are not taken seriously. It is believed that 49 cubes is very little and it is simply impossible to accelerate in such a vehicle. In this regard, these mopeds for children and a driver’s license are simply not needed here.

These statements cannot be considered true, since despite its small volume, such a vehicle, due to its low mass, can easily accelerate to 60 km/h and even more. Given that there is no protection for the driver, even a minor accident can have serious consequences. There have been a large number of accidents involving mopeds, and if there are no serious consequences for the car, then for the moped driver it can be fatal.

IMPORTANT !!! Even if we do not take into account the low power and other arguments in favor of the frivolity of the moped, the driver must know the rules of the road, which was very rare. Since, until 2014, anyone over the age of 14 could get behind the wheel, the accident rate of scooters was extremely high.

To reduce the number of such accidents, new rules were introduced by law:

The minimum driver age is now 16 years. It is believed that only from this age the human body is able to fully account for the actions being performed, as well as control itself in traffic conditions;
All mopeds are treated as full-fledged vehicles that are allowed to travel on public roads. In this regard, drivers are generally required to follow all traffic rules;
To drive on public roads, it became mandatory to have a category M driver's license. Its absence is considered a serious offense.

IMPORTANT !!! In addition, mandatory registration of mopeds with the traffic police, as well as the issuance of license plates, was established. However, this rule only applies to vehicles whose volume exceeds 50 cubic meters.

Today, a scooter is treated the same as other road users. Because every driver receives training, the number of dangerous road users should decrease.

Vehicle license

To answer the question of how many cubes you need a license for a scooter, just look at the latest edition of the Code of Administrative Offenses or the official website of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate . Now a driver's license with an open category "M" is required to drive anything, even a moped or scooter with a 50 cubic centimeter engine. And traffic police officers, by the way, regularly stop small-capacity motorcycles and check documents, so it’s not worth the risk.

Up to 50 cubic meters

This is where the moped category comes in handy. According to the rules, a moped is considered a two-wheeled vehicle with an engine of no more than 49.9 cubic centimeters and a maximum speed of up to 50 km/h . But no one has been paying attention to the second part of this long-outdated criterion, born in the USSR. Some Aprilia RS50 can easily accelerate to more than 100 km/h, but it still falls under the “M” category . A license for a moped up to 50cc is still needed .

More than 50 cubes

the “A1” subcategory was introduced , allowing you to drive motorcycles with an engine capacity from 50 to 125 cc. cm. Horsepower is not taken into account, as is the maximum speed, although de jure it should not exceed 4 kW. You can also open the “A1” subcategory . For a moped you need an M license, and for a motorcycle like the Yamaha YBR-125 you need an A1 license. That is why, by the way, many motorcycle schools began to massively purchase 150 cc Chinese bikes instead of the time-tested YBR-125, since they can be passed immediately to category “A”, which gives the right to drive any motorcycle at all.

From 150 cubic meters

Officially, there is no such division at all, since motorcycles with an engine of 125 cc or more fall under category “A” , which can now be taken from the age of 18 (previously it was possible from the age of 16). The gradation is quite strange, since there is much less difference between a 50 cc scooter and a motorcycle with, for example, a 250 cc engine than between a similar small-capacity bike and a sportbike like the Yamaha YZF-R1. Category “A” included all motorcycles en masse, from budget “Chinese” and Soviet “Izhi” with Voskhods to incredibly powerful sportbikes and heavy touring Harley-Davidsons.

What does the letter "M" refer to?

In November 2013, a new category of vehicles appeared. The "M" designation includes mopeds and some ATVs. But the rules according to which new licenses should have been issued came into force only a year later. Therefore, a twofold situation arose: licenses were needed, but they had not yet decided how to administer the exams, and, therefore, they could not issue them.

The scooter driver is required to have a driver's license with him and present it if stopped by traffic police officers. All relevant amendments have been made to the traffic rules for category “M”.

The “M” category includes mechanical vehicles with two or three wheels, an engine capacity of no more than 50 cm3 and a maximum speed of 50 km/h. This also includes ATVs with the same technical characteristics.

Fine for not having a license for a scooter

It’s one thing if the driver doesn’t have a driver’s license at all and has never received one, and quite another if he just left it at home. In the latter case, the forgetful driver will face a modest fine of 500 rubles , but a lot of time will have to be spent, since the traffic police inspector will need to check the veracity of his words. But violators who never had a driver’s license will face a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rubles . The exact figure here remains at the discretion of the inspector. The answer to the question of whether you need a license for a moped is clear - yes, you do , if you don’t want to pay huge fines.

Avoidance of punishment

The law does not provide for this. Of course, the inspector may let the offender go, but what are the chances of that? The same law directly obliges him to remove the driver from driving and issue him a fine for not having a driver's license . And attempting to bribe an inspector is a criminal offense.

Exam for obtaining a moped driver's license

The official exam can only be accepted by the traffic police. A visit will require pre-registration on the government services website. There is no state fee for the test, but you may have to pay the driving school to provide a moped. On average, it will cost 500 rubles per hour.

At the appointed time, you must come to the traffic police, where you will first take the theoretical part. Tickets and questions from them are freely available, so you can prepare in advance. During the exam, you are given 1 ticket, which must be solved in 20 minutes. In this case, the maximum number of errors is 2, but for each of them an additional 5 questions are issued on the corresponding topic.

IMPORTANT !!! After passing the theory, a practical part is provided. Just like with a motorcycle, it takes place only on the racetrack, driving around the city is not carried out. At a special site, the driver must show his skills acquired during training. To successfully pass, it is enough to complete several exercises chosen by the inspector.

There are certain regulations that must be followed when taking the exam. If a student performs exercises with violations, the attempt is counted as unsuccessful. A retake is possible no earlier than a week later, and after the second time - only after a month. Since each time you need to pay for the provision of a moped, a large number of retakes is unprofitable for the student himself. In addition, the results of the theoretical exam are valid only for six months, after which you will need to take the test again.

The following requirements are imposed on the inspector who takes the exam:

age at least 25 years;
availability of a driver's license of the appropriate category;
At least five years of experience driving mopeds.
Upon successful completion of all tests, the driver is issued a driver's license made in a new or old model (to choose from). Its validity period is 10 years from the date of issue.

The procedure for registering rights to a scooter

Having reached the age of 16 , you must contact any traffic police department that issues driver's licenses. It is enough to submit the appropriate application, pay the state fee and pass the exams. You first need to pass a medical examination and undergo training at a motorcycle school, which is necessary in order for you to be allowed to take the exam. Everything is quite serious, but upon receipt of any license by a driver who has reached the age of 18, the “M” category will be opened automatically.

Who can get rights

To legally drive a moped, it is enough not to have health problems that are incompatible with driving, which must be confirmed by a medical board . At what age can you get a moped license? As already written above, from 16. But you will have to undergo a medical examination and training at school together with other drivers; the law does not make exceptions here. If you want to get a scooter, it is better to obtain a driver's license in advance, as this process can take quite a long time.

Where does the training take place?

Anyone wishing to open the “M” category must study at any accredited motorcycle school . Most of these institutions offer assistance in learning to drive both motorcycles and cars, and finding the nearest school will not be difficult. Driving a moped is a fairly simple process, and after a couple of lessons, any beginner will get the hang of it.

Cost of education

It depends on the specific motorcycle school you apply to. Typically, terms start from one month, and the price includes both theoretical training and practical training. On average, you will have to pay 11-12 thousand rubles .

Required documents

To obtain permission to take the exams, you must provide all the documents from the list:

General passport
Application (written to the traffic police)
Results of passing a medical examination in psychiatric and drug treatment clinics
Certificate 003-В/у (results of a routine medical examination, during which the general state of health is checked)
Receipt for payment of state duty
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Features of passing the exam

The first stage of passing the traffic police exam will be theory . It includes questions on knowledge of traffic rules and first aid rules . If the theory is successfully passed, the student is allowed to take the second stage . It consists of practice on the site , and takes place in three stages. Each day, inspectors select three exercises to pass. One critical mistake is allowed - if it doesn’t work the first time, you can try again.

Obtaining a driver's license

Due to changes in legislation, at the age of 14 in Russia you will not be able to obtain a driver's license. Now everyone can learn to ride a moped at the age of 16. To do this, it is enough to be fit for health reasons and pass the proposed tests. Licenses are issued only after passing mandatory exams.

As with category B, all issues are dealt with by the traffic police. You can take the exam at any department, regardless of your place of residence and registration. The exam is held at a certain time, which you can find out about by calling in advance or by visiting the official website.

IMPORTANT !!! First you should undergo a medical examination. It is practically no different from the one that is required for category B. You can pass the commission both in a government institution and in a private clinic. The only thing you need to take into account is that the issued conclusion must necessarily correspond to a single state standard - be issued on a unified form.

Any other certificates are not valid and it will not be possible to provide them to the traffic police. The cost of the commission can vary from 1 to 2 thousand rubles.

The general procedure does not differ from other exams in the traffic police, but it is worth considering separately the training procedure itself, as well as the features of obtaining a license.

Questions and answers

Is it possible to drive a scooter with category “B”?
Yes, this is allowed . The Federal Law “On Road Traffic Safety” directly allows drivers with any open category of license to drive a scooter with an engine up to 50 cc. see. Even if you haven’t changed your old-style driver’s license for a long time, you don’t need a separate “M” category.

110cc moped - what category is this?
Everything up to 50 cubic meters is category “M”. From 50 to 125 cubic meters - subcategory “A1”. Motor vehicles over 125 cubic meters belong to category “A”.

What do you need to ride a moped?
Driver's license category "M", motorcycle helmet. Compulsory motor liability insurance is not required; registration of your vehicle with the traffic police is also not required.

How many cubes can you drive on highways?
Motorcycles with an engine of 125 cc and above are allowed on highways marked with the appropriate sign.

In what cases is it not necessary to obtain separate rights?

First of all, it is worth noting that if you already have a license, no matter what category, then you do not need to obtain separate licenses for a scooter. But there are a number of restrictions regarding this:

Only national Russian driver's licenses are suitable (foreign licenses of category “B” will not work in our country in relation to scooters);
if there is a special o on the back of the driver’s license, then driving a small vehicle is prohibited for medical reasons;
a license that allows you to drive a tractor does not give you the right to drive small-capacity two-wheeled equipment.

general information

When a person already has a driver’s license, category “M” is considered open automatically. There is no need to take an additional training course or pass certification.

Category “M” allows you to drive mopeds, as well as scooters with an engine capacity of fifty cubic meters. If the vehicle volumes are higher, you will have to open other categories - subclass A.

Driver knowledge and skill requirements

Considering that vehicles falling under this category have every right to move on public roads, a number of skills are required from the driver.

The moped driver is obliged

know the rules of the road and follow them;
know the basics of legislation governing legal relations that arise while driving, including liability for violating the rules;
know and be able to competently use in practice the basics of moped control and be able to act firmly and confidently in any critical situation;
know the technical structure of the vehicle in order to sensibly assess the serviceability and technical condition;
have the skills to carry out minimal maintenance of your vehicles;
know and be able to apply in practice first aid measures to victims;
be able to avoid conflict situations that often arise on the road.

The driver candidate learns all this in special courses at a driving school, and confirms his skills by passing the driving license exam.

How the exam works

The theoretical exam takes place in the examination departments of the traffic police. As a rule, there is no need to contact the department at the place of registration; each driving school is “assigned” to its own traffic inspectorate.

Passing a theoretical exam differs little from a similar procedure when obtaining a license of another category. On the contrary, there is a simplification in the form of a simplified list of questions. Examinees also receive a ticket number with questions. Testing is carried out on computers, which allows you to quickly receive an answer about whether you passed or failed immediately upon completion of the test.

According to the rules for successfully passing the exam, you can make no more than two mistakes in your answers. If you exceed this threshold, you will be assigned a retake. A week is given for preparation. Taking the exam itself and subsequent re-exams are free. After successfully passing the exam, the coveted driver's license is issued.

In conclusion, we note that getting a license for a scooter is not at all as difficult as it might seem. The process itself requires less time and financial investment. The theoretical part is simplified, and the practical part is completely absent. But the need to obtain a license in itself reduces the number of irresponsible drivers on the city streets.

Who can get the license?

To obtain rights you must:

To obtain a license, a citizen must be 16 years old (contrary to popular belief, at 14 you will not be able to obtain a license);
To obtain a certificate you must successfully pass the exam;
Before the examination, the candidate must undergo a full medical examination;
If there are any deviations or contraindications, then it will not be possible to obtain a license. This rule applies to licenses of any driving category.

Summing up

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that in order to properly and successfully operate a moped or scooter, drivers must comply with modern legislation.

This will help not only to avoid administrative liability, but more importantly, you can be guaranteed to save your life and health of nearby road users.
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Time and cost of training

Many driving schools have included practical training in driving mopeds and scooters. Each educational institution sets its own individual tuition fees. The average cost of training is:

7,000 - 12,000 rubles theory. It includes sixteen classes spread over two months.
16,000 - 26,000 rubles theory with practice. There are 16 hours of theory and up to 18 hours of practical driving. The average duration is two and a half months. To the indicated cost you need to add the price of fuel and oils. The beginning of practical training takes place in a closed area. When the skills become clearer, the driver can be released into the city.
20,000 - 34,000 all inclusive system. Here the price includes the entire package of services, including payment of fees and medical commission. The maximum training period is two and a half months.

If a student has his own vehicle and equipment, he can significantly save on training and passing exams. Driving schools with weekend training can be much more expensive.