What is the A3 license?
The A3 license is the most comprehensive among motorcycle licenses, as it allows you to ride any motorcycle on the market without any limitations. For this reason, it is often referred to as the unlimited A license.
If you look at the back of your license, you will notice that there is no A3 entry. The A3 licence is in fact represented by the A point, which, at a European level, indicates the qualifications to drive motorcycles. If you've recently got your licence or you're not super handy at motoring take a look at our article where we explain how to read your driver's licence.
Let's take a look at the cost of the A3 licence.
What is the cost of the A3 private hire driver's licence?
Getting an A3 private driving license is definitely the cheapest option, even if there are some extra steps to do. In fact, it is necessary to take care of all the bureaucracy that, normally, is carried out at the driving school.
First you have to go to the Motorizzazione Civile and ask for the payment slips and the TT2112 form, which can also be downloaded online here.
The TT2112 form must be filled in and returned after making the two payments of 16 Euro to the current account 4028 and the payment of 24 Euro to the current account 9001. We also have to pay 1,80 euros for postage.
Once the two payments have been made, it will be returned to the Motorizzazione Civile with the receipts of the payments, the completed TT2112 form, two passport size photos, anamnestic certificate and two copies of an identity document with fiscal code.
The cost of the A3 driving license starts from 57.80 euros to which must be added the cost of the two passport photos and the medical history certificate. In general, the cost of the A3 driver's license does not exceed 200 euros.
What is the cost of the A3 driving licence at a driving school?
If you want to get your A3 driving licence at a driving school, the cost of the A3 licence can easily increase compared to the total cost of a private car. To the cost you have to add the A3 driving course offered by the driving school and the hours of driving practice.
Normally, the cost of an A3 driving licence at a driving school is around 300 euros.
What do you drive with an A3 licence?
The A3 license is the queen of all motorcycle licenses, as it allows you to drive any moped on the Italian market. Let's see in detail what you drive with the A3 license:
- Mopeds with a displacement of more than 400cc or a power of more than 35kW.
- Motorcycles with a power weight ratio higher than 0,2kW/kg
Who has to do an A3 licence?
An interesting aspect of the A3 licence is that not all Italian citizens must have it to be able to ride all motorcycles without limits. In the past, in fact, this limitation did not exist and whoever was qualified to drive a car, with the common B license, could drive motorcycles of any cylinder capacity.
Let's see who can drive motorcycles without limits without having the A3 licence:
- Holders of A or B licences obtained before 1 January 1986 - they do not have to pass either the practical or theory test.
- Holders of A or B licences obtained between 1 January 1988 and 25 April 1988 may drive any motorcycle in Italy but are subject to limitations abroad. To drive motorcycles without limitations abroad they must pass a practical test.
How do I obtain the A3 licence and the theory test?
The pink sheet of the A3 license is obtained after passing a theoretical exam of 40 questions. The test must be completed in 30 minutes and the questions are exactly the same as those for the A and B licences.
For this reason, all drivers who have already obtained an A1, A2 or common B licence are exempt from the theory test.
Once you have obtained the pink sheet you can practice for 6 months and are entitled to two practical tests for the A3 licence. We remind you that during these six months of practice with the pink sheet of the A3 license you cannot carry passengers.
Obtaining the A3 licence: practical test
Once you have obtained the pink sheet of the A3 licence, you can proceed to the booking of the A3 practical test. The exam can be taken from the 30th day from the date of obtaining the pink sheet.
The A3 licence practical test is very similar to other moped licences. Below are all the tests that must be taken to pass the practical test:
- Exercises on the track - slalom between 5 cones at a distance of 4 meters from each other.
- Passage ina corridor - 30 cm wider than the bike and 6 metres long.
- Eight-point test: an 8-shaped trajectory must be traced between 3 cones placed 8 metres apart. The space of the curve is 3.5 metres from the central cone.
- Braking test withstopping between cones - after the straight in second gear.
- Practical driving test on the road - where compliance with the Highway Code is also tested.
Which motorcycle for the A3 driving test?
To complete the practical test for the A3 licence you need a moped with a displacement of 600 cc or more, a weight of 150 kg or more and a power of at least 40 kW. For the practical test the moped can be with automatic or manual transmission.
The choice of motorcycle gearbox does not need to be carefully evaluated. An automatic motorcycle is certainly the easiest option, but it will make the driving ability limited only to motorcycles with automatic transmission. If you choose a motorcycle with a manual transmission you will be able to ride all models of motorcycles on the market, both with manual and automatic transmission.
How can I get an A3 license with a B?
Obtaining an A3 license with a B is very simple. As we have written before it is enough in fact to run only the practical exam without having to pass the theoretical exam.
We remind you that many of us with the B license obtained before 1986 do not even have to obtain the A3 license qualification because they have it "ex officio".
A3 licence age: what are the limits?
As of 18 January 2013, the A3 licence can only be obtained after the age of 24. The only exception is for those who already hold the A2 licence, which can be obtained at 18 years of age, for more than two years, reducing the age of the A3 licence to 20 years.
In the past, those who held the A2 licence underwent an automatic upgrade after 2 years to the A3 licence, but unfortunately this step no longer exists.
