Apply for a New Motorcycle Safety School License

Application and Fee

To be approved as a licensed motorcycle school, an applicant must offer the classroom phase, either online or at a brick-and-mortar, and have at least one approved range location.

Applicants must obtain an endorsement from a motorcycle curriculum provider authorized to do business in Texas. The applicant must first contact the curriculum provider of their choice to begin the approval process.

The curriculum provider is responsible for reviewing the proposed classroom location, range location, and range photographs. Upon completion of its review and approval of the locations, the curriculum provider must issue an approval letter for the applicant to submit as part of the motorcycle school licensing process.

The approval letter must be submitted on the curriculum provider’s official letterhead and include all of the following information:

Curriculum Provider Letterhead: The letter must be on the curriculum provider’s official letterhead.
School Physical Location: The complete physical address of the school.
Range Physical Location: The complete physical address of the motorcycle training range.
Approved Courses: A list of all courses the school is authorized to teach.
Approved Range Size: The approved dimensions or size of the motorcycle training range.
Range Type: The classification of the approved range: Alternate, Compact, or Full Size.
Maximum Student Capacity: The maximum number of students permitted to participate in training at the approved range.
Authorized Signature: The letter must be signed by the curriculum provider or an authorized representative.

To apply for a new school license, begin by submitting a completed Motorcycle School License Application Form (PDF) with the non-refundable application fee of $100.

You will need to include with your application materials certain information about the business as well as details about the courses you intend to offer (see below).

Business Information

Controlling Persons

Your application form must list all “controlling persons” in your organization. A controlling person may include:

a sole proprietor
a general partner of a partnership
controlling person of a business entity that is a general partner of a partnership
anyone who possesses direct or indirect control of at least 25% of the voting securities of a corporation
the president, secretary, or a director of a corporation
anyone who has authority to set policy or direct the management of a business entity

Background Check

As part of the licensing process, each controlling person must pass a criminal history background-check before your license can be issued.

Instructor Listings

Include with your application, a list of all motorcycle instructors who will be employed or under contract to teach courses at your school.

Inventory of Facilities and Equipment

Provide a list of all real property that will be used to meet the training site requirements (e.g. driving area, classroom, etc. ) and proof that you own, or have written authorization by the owner to use, each property.

You must also provide a list of motorcycles, if any, that will be available for use by students, including for each motorcycle the year, make, model, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

Range Site Approval

You must request approval from TDLR for the operation of a motorcycle training range before the range can be used for student training.

The range application must be submitted with the motorcycle school application.

See the Training Range Site Approval page for details on how to complete a range application form.

Insurance Requirement

A motorcycle school must be covered by an insurance policy that provides at least $2 million in liability coverage and $10,000 in medical payments coverage.

Curriculum Providers and Course Offerings

TDLR Approved Curriculum Providers

The application must indicate the type of course you will teach; such as Entry Level and or Non-Entry Level.

Must provide an approval letter from each curriculum provider authorizing your school to teach their curriculum.

Exemptions from Licensing

A motorcycle or ATV training school is not required to be licensed, if it meets the following criteria:

the course is taught by law enforcement agencies to law enforcement officers, or
the course is not advertised or otherwise claimed to meet the training requirement for a Class M driver’s license and:
- provides instruction only in off-road dirt bike training for use on trails, tracks, or other nonpublic roadways; or
- provides instruction only in motorcycle racing techniques on a racetrack for the purpose of motorcycle racing competition

Applicants with Criminal Convictions

If you have ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor (other than a minor traffic violation) or pleaded guilty or no contest (resulting in a deferred adjudication) to any in-state, out-of-state or federal criminal offense, you must provide a completed Criminal History Questionnaire (PDF) along with your application materials.

TDLR will conduct a criminal history background check on all persons who apply for a license. Criminal convictions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Licenses may be denied based on the nature of the conviction and how long prior to the application the conviction occurred. Depending on your criminal history, a review can take from one to six weeks to complete.

Individuals may request TDLR review their criminal background before actually applying for a license. TDLR uses the same process for this pre-application evaluation as the process described below. See the Criminal History Evaluation Letter page for more information.

Please see the Guidelines for License Applicants with Criminal Convictions, which describe the process that TDLR uses to determine whether a criminal conviction renders an applicant an unsuitable candidate for the license, or whether a conviction warrants revocation or suspension of a license previously granted.

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