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Posted on July 7, 2026 in DUI
You cannot get a motorcycle license in Arizona while your driver’s license is suspended or revoked due to a DUI.
Your Arizona driver’s license is a single credential that covers every kind of motor vehicle you operate. Hence, a DUI conviction affects your right to ride a motorcycle in the same way it affects your right to drive a car. You cannot bypass a DUI suspension by applying for a separate motorcycle license; Arizona simply does not work that way.
The good news is that once you complete your suspension or revocation period, satisfy any ignition interlock and SR-22 obligations, and add or restore your Class M motorcycle endorsement, you can legally get back on your bike.
The aftermath of an Arizona DUI arrest or conviction often results in the temporary loss of driving privileges.
Even a first-time DUI arrest can lead to a 90-day license suspension, subject to limited exceptions. A repeat DUI, or a more severe form of DUI, can result in a revocation of your license, and either outcome puts your motorcycle license at risk along with the rest of your driving privileges.
In this post, we cover what you must do to restore your motorcycle license privileges after a DUI in Arizona, including the motorcycle license requirements for adding a Class M endorsement to your license.
To learn more about how we can help you restore your motorcycle driver’s license, and to schedule a free initial consultation with us at any of our offices throughout Arizona, call us at any time at (480) 248-7666, or you can reach us online, and we will promptly respond to your communication.
Your Arizona driver’s license can be suspended or revoked as an administrative action or as part of your sentence upon a DUI conviction.
The difference between the two is that an administrative license suspension is a civil process that is focused on public safety. In contrast, a criminal suspension or license revocation is part of your sentence.
Although they are independent of each other, administrative and criminal license suspensions can both apply to you after a DUI, concurrently or sequentially.
The Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) of the Arizona Department of Transportation has the authority to administratively suspend your Arizona driver’s license after a DUI arrest.
You have 30 days from the notice of your administrative suspension (usually the date of your arrest) to request a hearing with the ADOT Executive Hearing Office to contest it. If you request such a hearing, then your license suspension will be put on hold until the outcome of your ADOT hearing.
If you prevail in the ADOT hearing, then you can avoid the administrative suspension. But this will not affect any license suspension that is imposed as part of your sentence should you ultimately be convicted of DUI (see below).
ADOT will impose a license suspension or revocation on you if you are convicted in criminal court of DUI.
Now that we have a basic understanding of how administrative and criminal sentencing, license suspensions, and revocations can apply to you, next, let’s consider what you can do to get your motorcycle license back as soon as possible.
In Arizona, to get your suspended or revoked license back, you must meet the following general requirements:
A DUI conviction in Arizona will trigger an SR-22 requirement before you can get your license back. If you do not own a vehicle, including a motorcycle, you may still be required to obtain a “non-owner” SR-22 certificate.
Typically, you need to maintain an SR-22 certificate on file for three years after the date on which you become eligible to reinstate your driver’s license. However, in repeat-offense DUI convictions or an aggravated DUI conviction, this could be longer.
Motorcyclists are not exempt from the SR-22 requirement.
The term “SR-22 insurance” can be misleading. A certificate of future financial responsibility is not a form of insurance, but rather is a form your auto insurance company files with the MVD that attests that you carry at least the minimum liability insurance required of you by Arizona law.
This certificate effectively tags you as a high-risk driver; you can expect to pay more for your motorcycle insurance premiums, by 100% or more, sometimes double or even triple what you paid before, while the DUI remains on your record and SR-22 is required.
These increased premiums often last for three to five years before they begin to go back down again, provided you keep a clean driving record during that time.
Sometimes your motorcycle insurer may cancel or refuse to renew your policy. If this happens to you, then you may need to seek coverage from a specialized high-risk insurer or Arizona’s assigned risk plan for motorcycle insurance.
These high-risk insurance policies can come with much higher premiums and may offer only liability coverage.
Arizona requires an IID for all alcohol‑related DUI convictions. Drug-only DUI does not trigger an IID requirement. An IID is a breathalyzer device wired to a vehicle’s ignition. You must blow into the IID and give an alcohol-free sample to start the car, and while you are driving, the IID will periodically require you to provide a “rolling sample.”
Alcohol DUI offenders must use an IID on any vehicle they drive. How long you need to keep the device in your car depends on the nature of the underlying DUI conviction:
Installing an IID does not, in itself, constitute a license or permit to drive. You must also hold a Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License, or SIIRDL, to legally drive while your regular license is suspended or revoked.
Under Arizona law, an SIIRDL is a special license that allows you to drive during:
To receive an SIIRDL, you must:
Once issued, the SIIRDL permits you to drive only a vehicle equipped with an IID.
Arizona does not approve IID installation on motorcycles, so you cannot legally operate a motorcycle during an IID requirement. So, you must typically drive a car with an IID for the required period before resuming your motorcycle riding privileges.
If you ride a motorcycle during your IID requirement, then you are committing a Class 1 Misdemeanor violation under ARS 28-3319. This can lead to an extension of your IID requirement or the revocation of your SIIRDL.
The process to reinstate your Arizona driver’s license, or to get a Class M motorcycle endorsement on your license after a DUI, follows the process below.
You cannot obtain a motorcycle license endorsement in Arizona while your license is suspended because of a DUI. So, the first steps you must take are to meet the following requirements:
If your license has been revoked, then you will also need to receive permission from the MVD to reapply for a driver’s license. The MVD may require you to retake the written and driving tests as part of your reapplication.
If you held a Class M motorcycle endorsement on your license before your suspension, then when you reinstate your license, check that the motorcycle endorsement is still attached. The Class M endorsement returns with the rest of your driving privileges, and you do not have to reapply for it separately.
If your license was revoked, the situation is different. A revocation cancels your license entirely, including any Class M endorsement, and Arizona treats your post-revocation reapplication as a new license application. To put a motorcycle license back on your record, you must meet Arizona’s standard motorcycle license requirements again.
Those motorcycle license requirements include:
If you do not yet hold an Arizona driver’s license at all, you may apply for an Arizona motorcycle permit at age 15 years and 6 months, and a full Class M motorcycle license at age 16.
Riders restoring their driving privileges after a DUI revocation must also clear every other reinstatement requirement — completed suspension or revocation period, SR-22, ignition interlock compliance, and any required alcohol or drug screening — before the MVD will add a Class M motorcycle license back to your record.
If you have been charged with DUI in Arizona and you have a motorcycle endorsement on your license, then if you are convicted, you could lose the use of your motorcycle while your license is suspended.
If your license gets revoked because of a DUI, then you will lose your license as well as any motorcycle endorsement.
Either way, getting your riding privileges back after a DUI is possible. Still, you must take all the proper steps to avoid delays in lifting a suspension or applying for a new license after a revocation. This is how having an experienced DUI attorney from Rosenstein Law Group can help.
If you have been charged with DUI, we can represent you in your legal defense, including plea negotiations with prosecutors or a trial.
To speak with one of our skilled criminal defense and DUI attorneys in a free consultation, call Rosenstein Law Group at (480) 248-7666 or use our online contact form.