A CBT is not a licence, and a surprising number of riders on 125s believe it is.
It is a training certificate that gives you provisional entitlement. That distinction sounds like semantics until you find out which specific things you have been doing for two years that you were never allowed to do.
What you can do
- Ride a motorcycle up to 125cc and 11 kW on public roads
- From age 17
- With L plates displayed front and rear
- For two years from the date on the certificate
That is the complete list.
What you cannot do
Carry a pillion passenger. Not your mate, not for one junction, not ever. This is the rule most commonly broken and it invalidates your insurance while you are doing it.
Use motorways. Dual carriageways are permitted. Motorways are not.
Ride without L plates. Both ends, visible, and they are a legal requirement rather than a convention.
Ride anything above 125cc or 11 kW. Both limits apply. A 125 that makes more than 11 kW, which some older and imported machines do, is outside your entitlement even though the capacity looks right.
Keep riding after two years without retaking. The certificate expires. There is no grace period.
The four things people get wrong
"I can take a pillion if they have a licence." No. The restriction is on you as a provisional rider, and it makes no difference who is on the back or what they hold.
"L plates are optional if I'm confident." No. Riding without them on a provisional entitlement is an offence and gives your insurer a reason to look closely at any claim.
"A dual carriageway is basically a motorway." For this purpose it is the opposite. Dual carriageways are allowed and motorways are not, which catches people out on routes where one becomes the other.
"My CBT rolls over automatically." It does not. Two years and it stops, and riding on an expired certificate is riding with no entitlement at all.
Insurance is the real risk
Worth understanding, because it turns a rule into a consequence.
Breaking a provisional restriction means riding outside your entitlement. Riding outside your entitlement generally means your policy does not respond. So a pillion passenger for two miles is not a minor infraction. If something happens in those two miles, you are potentially personally liable for the damage and the injuries, including your passenger's.
That is the reason to take the restrictions seriously rather than the licence points.
How to remove the restrictions
Two routes off the L plates, and which suits you depends on your age.
A1 at 17. Theory test plus Module 1 and Module 2 on a 125. Gives you a full entitlement on the same bike you are already riding: no plates, pillion permitted, motorways permitted, no expiry.
A2 at 19. The same tests on a larger machine, giving you a real motorcycle. If you are 18 and can wait, this is usually the better use of the same money.
Worth knowing that a large number of riders never take either. Between March 2023 and March 2025, 77,000 riders renewed CBT courses, making up almost a quarter of certificates issued in that period. The DVSA is proposing minimum waiting periods before a learner can retake an expired CBT, specifically to reduce the number of permanent learners.
If you rely on a 125 for work or commuting, that proposal is worth watching. Nothing has changed yet, but the direction of travel is toward making indefinite CBT renewal harder rather than easier.
Running a 125
MOT from three years old, in Class 1. The fee is the same as any other solo bike, since the cap does not change with the class.
Tax is payable and banded by engine size on bikes rather than by emissions.
Insurance on a 125 for a young rider is the single largest running cost and varies enormously between postcodes and models. Get quotes before you buy the bike rather than after.
Theft. 125s and small scooters are among the most commonly stolen machines, largely because they are light and easy to move. A decent chain and a ground anchor cost less than an excess.
Buying a 125
Check it is A1-compliant if you plan to take the test on it. Some older two-strokes and imports made well above 11 kW from 125cc.
Check the history. Small bikes change hands frequently and cheaply, which is exactly the market where finance, theft and write-off markers get overlooked.
Look at the wear rather than the mileage. A 125 that has done 15,000 urban miles has worked harder than a big bike at the same figure.
FAQs
Can I carry a passenger on a CBT?
No. Not under any circumstances, regardless of what licence the passenger holds.
Can I ride a 125 on the motorway with L plates?
No. Dual carriageways yes, motorways no.
What happens when my CBT expires?
You lose your entitlement to ride. You retake the CBT to get another two years, or you pass a full test and stop needing one.
Can I ride a 125 on a full car licence?
Not without CBT. A car licence issued before February 2001 carries moped entitlement only.