Do adults have to wear motorcycle helmets?

How federal pressure shaped helmet laws

Before 1966, no state required motorcycle helmets. The Highway Safety Act of 1966 let the federal government set standards for state highway safety programs and withhold highway money from states that didn't meet them, and a 1967 standard told states to pass helmet laws. Georgia passed the first one in 1966. Forty states had one by the end of 1969, and by 1975 all but three states required every rider to wear a helmet. Federal officials had started proceedings against the holdouts, California, Illinois and Utah, when Congress stepped in.

The Highway Safety Act of 1976 took away the government's power to penalize states over helmet laws. States moved quickly. By 1979, 27 had repealed their laws or narrowed them to riders under 18, according to an account by a NHTSA official. Maryland, for example, dropped its universal law in 1979 but kept the rule for riders under 18.

Congress tried again in 1991. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act offered grants to states with both universal helmet laws and seat belt laws, and moved part of the highway money of states without both into safety programs. Maryland restored its universal law in 1992, and a 2009 Maryland legislative analysis said it was the only state to act in response. The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 removed the helmet penalty, effective September 30, 1995. Between 1995 and 2009, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Texas repealed their universal laws, according to the same Maryland analysis. Michigan followed in 2012 and Missouri in 2020. Louisiana has since gone back to requiring helmets for every rider.

Sources: Charles F. Livingston (NHTSA), "A Case for Helmet Use," TR News, Transportation Research Board (1991) · Maryland Department of Legislative Services, fiscal and policy note for S.B. 253 (2009), motorcycle helmet laws · National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-59, § 205(e) (GovInfo) · Michigan House Fiscal Agency, legislative analysis of Senate Bill 291 (enacted as Public Act 98 of 2012) · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 302.020.2 · La. R.S. 32:190

What counts as a helmet

Every motorcycle helmet sold in the United States must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218. The standard sets lab tests. A helmet must absorb impacts so that the force reaching a test head stays under set limits, stop a falling striker from reaching the test head inside, and keep its chin strap from breaking or stretching too far under load. It must also leave at least 105 degrees of side vision on each side of center.

NHTSA doesn't approve helmets before they go on sale. Manufacturers certify their own helmets, and the agency checks them through compliance testing. A certified helmet carries a label on the back with the letters DOT, the words "FMVSS No. 218" and "CERTIFIED," and the maker's name and model.

Novelty helmets are the main enforcement problem. They look like motorcycle helmets but aren't certified, and when NHTSA tested them, they failed all or almost all of the standard's performance tests. Some riders stick fake DOT labels on them. In 2011, NHTSA rewrote the label rules to make misleading labels harder to produce, partly so police in states with helmet laws could tell a real helmet from a novelty one. Several state laws point to the federal standard directly, including Florida's, Mississippi's and New York's. Virginia and West Virginia also accept Snell or ANSI standards, and Tennessee lets riders 21 and older wear a helmet that meets an alternative standard.

Sources: 49 CFR § 571.218, Standard No. 218: Motorcycle helmets (eCFR) · NHTSA final rule, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Motorcycle Helmets, 76 Fed. Reg. 28132 (May 13, 2011) · NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts: Motorcycles, 2023 Data (DOT HS 813 732, July 2025)

What the federal crash data show

NHTSA counted 6,335 motorcyclists killed in 2023, 15 percent of all U.S. traffic deaths. Per mile traveled, motorcyclists died at almost 28 times the rate of people in passenger cars.

NHTSA estimates that helmets are 37 percent effective at preventing death for motorcycle operators and 41 percent for passengers. Using those figures, it estimated that helmets saved 1,872 lives in 2017 and that 749 more people could have survived if every rider had worn one.

Helmet laws change how many riders wear them. In NHTSA's 2023 roadside survey, 82.7 percent of riders wore a DOT-compliant helmet in states that require one for everyone, compared with 65.9 percent in other states. Use nationwide was 73.8 percent, the highest the survey has recorded. Among motorcyclists killed in 2023 whose helmet use was known, 51 percent were not wearing one in states without universal laws, compared with 10 percent in states with them.

Repeals have been studied closely. A 2009 Maryland legislative analysis, drawing on federal and other studies, reported that helmet use fell from 97 percent or more to between 50 and 66 percent after Arkansas, Texas and Florida repealed their universal laws. Motorcyclist deaths rose 21 percent in Arkansas and Florida and 31 percent in Texas in the first year after repeal. Motorcycle registrations also rose in all three states that year, so not all of the increase can be pinned on the repeal.

Sources: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts: Motorcycles, 2023 Data (DOT HS 813 732, July 2025) · NHTSA, Motorcycle Helmet Use in 2023: Overall Results (DOT HS 813 634, Sept. 2024) · NHTSA, Lives and Costs Saved by Motorcycle Helmets, 2017 (DOT HS 812 867, Dec. 2019) · Maryland Department of Legislative Services, fiscal and policy note for S.B. 253 (2009), motorcycle helmet laws

Universal laws and age limits

In states that cover every rider, the exceptions are narrow: fully enclosed cabs and autocycles, and in a few states, approved parades. Louisiana and New York let local police issue parade permits, and Tennessee also exempts riders 21 and older in certain slow funeral or memorial processions. Washington requires the chin strap to be fastened whenever the motorcycle is moving. In California, the driver can be cited when a passenger rides without a helmet, and the passenger can be cited when the driver does.

Elsewhere, age is the most common line, and most of those states cover only riders under 18. Arkansas, Connecticut, South Carolina and Utah draw the line at 21, Delaware covers riders up to age 19, and Missouri covers riders under 26. These limits move. Connecticut raised its helmet age from under 18 to under 21 on October 1, 2025, and Utah kept its under-21 rule when it rewrote the section in 2026. Delaware riders who got a motorcycle endorsement on or after July 30, 2023, must wear a helmet for their first two years, and so must their passengers.

Sources: Connecticut Public Act 25-65, Sec. 19

Experience, training and insurance

Some states tie the helmet rule to experience. Ohio covers riders with a novice license, Kentucky and Maine cover riders in their first year, and Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin cover anyone riding on an instruction permit. Rhode Island requires a helmet for every passenger, and Alaska covers all passengers too.

Others let adults skip the helmet only if they meet conditions. Florida riders over 21 must carry at least $10,000 in medical coverage for motorcycle crash injuries. Texas riders 21 and older need a safety course or health insurance. Pennsylvania riders 21 and older need two years of licensed riding or an approved course. Michigan riders 21 and older need two years with a motorcycle endorsement or a safety course, plus at least $20,000 in medical coverage.

Some states also limit how police enforce these rules. Texas bars officers from citing a rider 21 or older who shows proof of a course or insurance. Missouri bars police from stopping a rider just to check helmet use, and its cities and counties can't add helmet rules of their own.

Michigan's 2012 change shows how these rules get argued. A nonpartisan House analysis summarized supporters' case as personal choice, better rider training and more tourism from riders who avoided the state because of its helmet law. Opponents warned of more deaths and serious injuries, higher insurance costs and more Medicaid spending. Similar bills had passed the legislature in 2005-06 and 2007-08, and the governor vetoed both.

Sources: Michigan House Fiscal Agency, legislative analysis of Senate Bill 291 (enacted as Public Act 98 of 2012)

States with no helmet law

Only Illinois and Iowa have no helmet requirement for any rider. Illinois requires operators and passengers to wear glasses, goggles or a face shield instead, and Iowa's transportation department says state law doesn't require helmets on motorcycles or autocycles. New Hampshire is often grouped with them, including in NHTSA's 2023 motorcycle fact sheet, but its law requires helmets for riders and passengers under 18.

Iowa's transportation department also notes that riders traveling to other states may need a helmet there, because each state's law applies on its own roads. Many states without a universal helmet law still regulate eye protection. Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas and Minnesota all require it for operators of any age, though Arizona and Kansas waive it for motorcycles with a qualifying windshield.

Sources: 625 ILCS 5/11-1404 · Iowa DOT: Motorcycle, moped or autocycle license · NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts: Motorcycles, 2023 Data (DOT HS 813 732, July 2025) · N.H. RSA 265:122 · A.R.S. § 28-964 · Ark. Code Ann. § 27-20-104(b) · K.S.A. 8-1598 · Minn. Stat. § 169.974