AM licence / moped in France
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The AM licence lets you ride a moped or light scooter from age 14 in France. Often the first licence for young people, it is based on the highway code.
The AM licence in brief
The first licence
The AM licence (moped, scooter up to 50cc) is accessible from age 14, after training and based on the highway code.
The highway code
Training covers the code: signage, priorities, behaviour on the road.
Safety basics
Signs, priority to the right, speed: the code basics are central.
What the AM licence covers
Category AM - long known in France as the BSR - covers mopeds (up to 50 cc or 45 km/h) and light quadricycles. It is obtained from 14, and for machines capable of higher assistance, such as speed pedelecs, separate obligations apply.
The precise sub-classes and the conditions attached to each are set by regulation and have changed over the years. Check the official conditions for the specific machine you intend to ride rather than assuming the category covers it.
A first licence, and a head start on the next one
For many people AM is the first licence, taken around fourteen. It requires a compulsory practical training (currently around eight hours) and rests on road-safety knowledge - the ASSR for school pupils - drawn from the same Highway Code as the car exam: the signs you learn now, the priority rules you practise now, come back unchanged for category B.
That is the strongest argument for studying it properly rather than doing just enough. Every evening invested now is one you will not have to repeat a year later.
Where moped riders lose points
The knowledge tested is of the same kind as for a car, but a few themes carry more weight because they bear directly on riding a two-wheeler.
- Position on the road: when on the carriageway, when on the cycle lane, and how it differs by class of machine.
- Priority to the right, which applies in full both for and against a moped.
- Speed restrictions specific to the machine, independent of the limit posted on the road.
- Helmet and equipment, and what the regulations actually require.
- Insurance and documents: what you must be able to produce at a roadside check.
Being seen is part of the syllabus
A moped rider is narrow, quiet and easily missed at a junction, and French road-safety training treats awareness of that explicitly rather than as advice. Expect emphasis on positioning for visibility, on anticipating drivers who have not seen you, and on the behaviour of vulnerable road users generally.
It is also the part of the syllabus that transfers directly to real riding, which is a reasonable answer to anyone who treats the theory as a formality.
The AM licence at a glance
- 14 — minimum age
- 8 h — compulsory training
- AM — former BSR
- 1 — shared Highway Code
Frequently asked questions
How to revise for the AM theory?
Revise the highway code: signs, priorities and speed. On PermisFrance.fr these basics are free with courses and tests.
At what age can I get the AM licence in France?
From 14, after a compulsory practical training of around eight hours. Check the official conditions for the machine you intend to ride.
Is moped knowledge the same as car theory?
The Highway Code is shared. What you learn for AM about signs, priority, speed and parking carries over in full to category B.
Do I need a licence for a speed pedelec?
A speed pedelec is not treated as an ordinary bicycle and comes with specific obligations. Check the conditions in force for the type of machine you want to use.
What does the AM licence involve?
Road-safety knowledge drawn from the Highway Code plus a compulsory practical training of around eight hours. It is the former BSR.