Iran Instructs Police to Issue Motorcycle Licenses to Women Amid Longstanding Legal Dispute
Under the resolution, the police are required to provide the groundwork for issuing such licenses to women, with practical training for female applicants and the administration of licensing exams.
The Iranian government has instructed the country’s law enforcement authorities to begin issuing motorcycle driving licenses to women, marking a significant administrative shift after years of legal ambiguity and institutional resistance. The decision was made through a Cabinet resolution adopted on 8 Bahman 1404 and formally communicated on 14 Bahman 1404 by First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref to the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Under the resolution, the police are required to provide the groundwork for issuing motorcycle licenses to women, including practical training for female applicants and the administration of licensing examinations under the direct supervision of traffic police. However, the measure does not amend existing traffic laws and is therefore considered an executive decision rather than a legislative reform, leaving its legal durability uncertain.
Despite the absence of formal licensing, women’s use of motorcycles in Iran has increased in recent years, particularly following the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Images and videos of women riding motorcycles have circulated widely, highlighting a growing gap between social realities and formal regulations. The government’s latest decision appears to acknowledge this reality by seeking to bring an already widespread practice under formal oversight.
The decision follows years of dispute over whether Iranian law explicitly prohibits women from obtaining motorcycle licenses. Some legal experts argue that no clear legal ban exists, and that the exclusion of women has resulted from restrictive administrative interpretations by the police. Central to the controversy is the wording of traffic regulations in which responsibility for issuing motorcycle licenses is assigned to the police using language that explicitly refers to “men,” without mentioning women, a formulation that law enforcement authorities have cited to justify their refusal to issue licenses to women.
Iran’s traffic police have consistently maintained that they are bound by formally enacted laws and that issuing motorcycle licenses to women would require explicit legal authorization. As recently as last year, senior police officials stated that implementation would only be possible after official legal reforms were formally communicated. During the same period, the government announced that it had submitted or prepared a bill for parliament to revise the relevant laws, but the fate of that bill remains unclear.
Opposition within parliament has been vocal. Mohammad Seraj, a member of the Social Affairs Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that lawmakers would oppose any legislation allowing women to obtain motorcycle licenses. He argued that women would not be able to maintain what he described as “proper coverage” while riding motorcycles and claimed the issue would provoke opposition from religious families, reflecting broader ideological resistance within conservative political circles.
The issue has also been contested in the courts. In 2018, a woman from Isfahan filed a complaint with the Administrative Justice Court challenging the refusal to issue her a motorcycle license. Although a lower court initially ruled in her favor, the decision was overturned on appeal, reinforcing the lack of a stable legal precedent. Legal experts have since warned that administrative measures on this issue remain vulnerable to judicial review and reversal.
Whether the resolution will result in sustained and nationwide issuance of motorcycle licenses to women remains uncertain. Its implementation depends on law enforcement compliance, as well as the absence of political or judicial pushback. As such, the decision represents a notable but fragile administrative shift within Iran’s broader legal and political framework.