Many first-time scooter buyers wonder how old do you have to be to ride an electric scooter. The answer varies depending on the location and context.
How old do you have to be to ride an electric scooter?
You have to be at least 16 years old to ride an electric scooter in most places. Some states and countries can have different laws, and the age requirement for electric scooters can range from 12 to 18.
USA
The laws in the USA will largely depend on the state.
The majority of states don’t have any age restrictions on the rider’s age, although some do, and some states require the scooter to be registered.
Here is a table with information about age and license requirements for every state.
| State | Age requirement | License required |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16+ | yes |
| Alaska | / | no |
| Arizona | / | no |
| Arkansas | 16+ | no |
| California | 16 | no |
| Colorado | / | no |
| Connecticut | 16+ | no |
| Delaware | / | no |
| Florida | 18+ | yes |
| Georgia | 16 | no |
| Hawaii | 15+ | yes |
| Idaho | / | / |
| Illinois | 16 | / (electric scooter needs to be insured |
| Indiana | / | no |
| Iowa | 14 | yes |
| Kansas | / | no |
| Kentucky | / | no |
| Louisiana | / | no |
| Maine | / | no |
| Maryland | / | no |
| Massachusetts | 18+ | no |
| Michigan | 12+ | no |
| Minnesota | 12+ | no |
| Mississippi | 14+ | no |
| Missouri | / | no |
| Montana | / | no |
| Nebraska | / | no |
| Nevada | 16+ | no |
| New Hampshire | / | no |
| New Jersey | 16 | yes |
| New Mexico | / | no |
| New York | 16+ | yes |
| North Carolina | 16+ | yes |
| North Dakota | / | no |
| Ohio | / | no |
| Oklahoma | / | no |
| Oregon | 16+ | no (under 16 can’t legally ride an electric scooter |
| Pennsylvania | 16+ | yes |
| Rhode Island | 16+ | yes |
| South Carolina | / | no |
| South Dakota | 18+ | no |
| Tennessee | 16+ | yes |
| Texas | / | no |
| Utah | 8+ | yes |
| Vermont | / | no |
| Virginia | 14+ | yes |
| Washington | / | no |
| West Virginia | 14+ | no |
| Wisconsin | 16+ | yes |
| Wyoming | no | no |
UK
Age requirement: None
There are no age requirements but riders under the age of 18 must be supervised by an adult and have their parent’s permission.
Electric scooters in the UK can be used in certain areas and conditions.
Canada
Officially, on the country level, electric scooters in Canada require no license at all but require the riders to have at least 16 years. Some of their provinces, however, do have different laws.
Ontario
Age requirement: 16+
The province of Ontario has a legal requirement that electric scooter riders must be at least 16 years of age.
British Columbia
Age requirement: 16+
In the province of British Columbia, the age requirement for electric scooters is 16.
Quebec
Age requirement: 14+
In Quebec, you must be 14 or older to ride an electric scooter.
Alberta
Age requirement: 16+
The province of Alberta requires riders to be at least 16 years old.
Australia
Electric scooters in Australia have different laws in each state, and sometimes even some cities have special laws.
Laws are restrictive for most electric scooter models, but enforcement has been lenient. Some trials are underway to ease restrictions and always comply with the law.
Queensland
Age requirement: 18+
The minimum age to ride an electric scooter is 18, those under the required age can ride with parental supervision or a special permit.
A license is not required to ride an electric scooter in Queensland.
New South Wales
Age requirement: 16 years and 9 months.
In New South Wales, electric scooters are classed as motorcycles and require an R driving license. Riders must be at least 16 years and 9 months old(the first time I’ve seen months in the age requirement).
Victoria
Age requirement: 16+
Victoria categorizes electric scooters as either low-powered (200 Watts or less, up to 10 km/h) or high-powered (over 200 Watts or exceeding 10 km/h).
Low-powered scooters don’t need a license and seem to have no age restriction.
The more powerful scooters are only legal on private properties.
South Australia
The age requirement to ride an electric scooter in South Australia, Australia is 12 years old. You can ride an electric scooter at 12 years old, and no license is needed.
Western Australia
Age requirement: 16+
The only electric scooters with 200 Watts or less power and a maximum speed of 10 km/h are allowed on public roads. Other scooters are restricted to private grounds.
Tasmania
Age requirement: 16+
In Tasmania, you must be 16 years old to ride an electric scooter. No license is needed to ride an electric scooter in Tasmania.
New Zealand
Age requirement: None
It seems that New Zealand doesn’t have an age limit for electric scooter riders. However, the bad news is that they only allow electric scooters with a maximum power output of 300 Watts.
The source website clearly distinguishes between motor power and maximum scooter output, highlighting their differences.
Ireland
Age requirement: N/A( until 2024)
Electric scooter usage in Ireland is being regulated and legalized at this very moment. Until then, the status of electric scooters remains unclear.
Germany
Age requirement: 14+
German laws don’t require riders to have any licenses for riding an electric scooter, but the age requirement is 14 years.
France
Age requirement: 8+
We have a winner! Among countries regulating electric scooters with age requirements, France has the lowest, setting it at 8 years old, with a mandatory helmet for riders aged 8 to 15.
Italy
Age requirement: 16+
In the land of the Vespa, you are required to be at least 16 years of age to ride an electric scooter.
Spain
Age requirement: 15,16 and 18
In Spain, electric scooters are considered the same as motor vehicles, and the same age requirement applies. In effect, that is 15 for smaller powered scooters, 16 for medium ones, and 18 for the most powerful.
Austria
Age requirement: 12+
The minimum legal age for riding an electric scooter in Austria is 12, and children under 12 must be accompanied by a person aged 16 or older.
Switzerland
Age requirement: None
The age limit depends on the scooter’s power. Scooters under 500 Watts and not exceeding 20 km/h require no license or age limit.
For scooters more powerful than that, the minimum age for electric scooters is 14 years, with riders between 14 and 16 years needing a special license.
Netherlands
Age requirement: None
In the Netherlands, there is no specific rules or age limit for electric scooters.
Belgium
Age requirement: 18+
The legal age at which you can ride an electric scooter in Belgium is 18.
Denmark
Age requirement: 15+
Riding an electric scooter in Denmark has several requirements, one being that the age of the rider is 15 years or more.
Norway
Age requirement: 12+
In Norway, the age requirement for electric scooters is 12. Also, the scooter must be insured, and the rider must not be intoxicated.
Sweden
Age requirement: None
Electric scooters in Sweden are the same as bikes, meaning there is no age requirement for them. It is very likely that this might soon change though.
Finland
Age requirement: None
Electric scooters under 1000 Watts of power output don’t need to be licensed in Finland and don’t have age requirements. If the scooter is more powerful than that, it will require scooter insurance.
Estonia
Age requirement: 10+
With the new law that has recently been implemented, riders between 10 and 15 years old need a permit to ride any electric rideable. People older than 15 don’t need anything.
Lithuania
Age requirement: None
While the city of Palanga has altogether banned electric scooters, they remain unregulated in Lithuania. People in the rest of the country use them frequently, and there’s no age requirement.
Latvia
Riding an electric scooter in Latvia requires a cyclist license and a minimum age of 14 years.
Poland
Age requirement: None
Most of the regulation of electric scooters in Poland so far is about their allowed places of use and limits their speed to 25 kmh. There is nothing being said about age limitations.
Czechia
Age requirement: 10+
The age requirement is set at a pretty low number, requiring electric scooter riders to be at least 10 years of age.
Slovakia
Age requirement: None
Electric scooters are considered non-motorized vehicles and allow them to go only as fast as walking speeds.
There is no age requirement at the moment it seems.
Russia
Age requirement: None / 18+
In Russia, scooters under 25 km/h or 250 Watts don’t need a license and have no age restrictions.
Anything more powerful requires a motorcycle license, meaning you must be 18 or older.
Ukraine
Age requirement: 18+
In Ukraine, electric scooters are available only to those 18 years of age or older.
Turkey
Age requirement: None / 17+
Turkey classifies electric scooters into two categories, under 250 Watts and above 250 Watts.
The first category doesn’t need a license and is open to all riders.
The second one requires a motorcycle license, which effectively puts the age limit at 17 years for most scooters.
Macedonia
Age requirement: 14+
The growing popularity of electric scooters in Macedonia has created the need for their regulation. As of December 2019, riders are required to be at least 14 years of age.
Greece
Age requirement: None
Greece is working on regulating the use of electric scooters, but it seems that they are still largely unregulated, and are appropriate for all ages.
Bulgaria
Age requirement: 14+ / 16+
Bulgaria allows anyone over 16 years of age to ride them. They also allow children between 14 and 16 years of age to ride them but only in bike lanes.
Serbia
Age requirement: None
In Serbia, the use of electric scooters is still unregulated, and anyone can ride them.
However, there’s a petition in Novi Sad to limit underage riding.
Albania
Age requirement: None (probably)
While official information was sparse, it seems that electric scooter usage in Albania is still unregulated. This is information from Reddit though, so take it with a grain of salt.
Croatia
Scooters with a power output of less than 250 Watts, or with a max speed of up to 25 kmh, don’t require a license in Croatia and can be ridden by anyone. Electric scooters stronger than that fall under moped laws, requiring a license and setting the age limit at 15.
Slovenia
Age requirement: None
Slovenia is working on electric scooter regulations.
Currently, they are unregulated. The proposed laws aim to restrict speed to 25 km/h and limit scooter use to sidewalks and bike lanes, without specifying age limits.
Romania
Age requirement: 14+
In Romania, you must be at least 14 years old to ride an electric scooter. Those under 16 years old must wear a helmet, as required by law.
Hungary
Age requirement: 16+
You will need a car or a motorcycle license to ride an electric scooter in Hungary. That means the age requirement is 16.
Israel
Age requirement: None (probably)
Electric scooters are massive in Israel but data about their regulation was not easily available. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are some limitations and fines in place, but there is still no age limit.
Saudi Arabia
Age requirement: 16+
In Saudi Arabia, electric scooters are considered motorcycles, requiring riders to be at least 16 years old.
UAE
Age requirement: N/A / None
This differs according to the specific emirate.
In Dubai, electric scooters are currently banned entirely and are waiting to be approved and regulated.
In Abu-Dhabi, electric scooter use is unregulated and there are no existing restrictions on the age of the rider.
India
Age requirement: None / 16+
Researching electric scooters in India is a bit more challenging, sources suggest that lower-powered scooters, under 250 Watts of output, require no license in India.
For more powerful scooters, a motorcycle license is required, and you must be at least 16.
Thailand
Age requirement: None (unofficial)
The only source for this is a forum about getting a visa for Thailand, with one answer suggesting that electric scooters don’t need any license in Thailand, and thus have no age requirements.
Vietnam
Age requirement: None
Electric scooters are not yet regulated in Vietnam. There is no age restriction on them currently.
Malaysia
Age requirement: None
Riding an electric scooter in Malaysia requires a permit, but there is no data about the age requirement. It is possible that there are no age restrictions on them.
Singapore
Age requirement: 16+ / None
You need a license to ride an electric scooter in Singapore, and you can only obtain such a license if you are 16 or older.
However, teenagers younger than 16 can still ride electric scooters, they just need to find someone over 16 to register the scooter in their name.
Indonesia
Electric scooter riders must be at least 12, and riders between the ages of 12 and 15 must be accompanied by an adult.
Philippines
Age requirement: None
Data is sparse about the home of one major electric scooter brand. It seems that electric scooter use is unregulated in the Philippines at the moment.
China
Age requirement: 16+
Data about the laws regarding electric kick scooters was not available for the biggest country in the world.
It seems that the age limit for riding electric scooters in China is 16.
Taiwan
Age requirement: None
It seems that electric scooter usage in Taiwan is still unregulated. That means there is no age restriction on age.
Hong Kong
Age requirement: N/A
Electric scooters in Hong Kong are only allowed on private properties and roads.
South Korea
Age requirement: 16+
In South Korea, electric scooters require the same license as motorcycles and have the same age requirement, which is 16.
Japan
Age requirement: 16+
Electric scooters are legally classed as motorcycles in Japan, and they require the same license. That puts the age limit at 16.
Mexico
Age requirement: None
There is a recent push to regulate electric scooters in Mexico, but nothing is mentioned about the rider’s age.
That means the status of electric scooters remains unregulated and all ages are allowed to ride electric scooters.
Brazil
Age requirement: None
Electric scooter usage is still unregulated in Brazil. While Brazil is a huge country with varying local laws across the country.
Argentina
Age requirement: 16+ (in Buenos Aires, but likely in the rest of Argentina too)
The city of Buenos Aires has regulated the use of electric scooters requiring drivers to be at least 16 years old, limit speeds to 25 km/h, and prohibit sidewalk use.
Chile
In Chile, electric scooters require the same license as motorcycles. That means that the legal age requirement for them is 16 years.
Peru
Age requirement: None
Peru has banned electric scooter usage in pedestrian areas and has imposed a 20 kmh limit on speed. Age is still not an issue though.
Ecuador
Age requirement: None
Electric scooters are not yet regulated in Ecuador. That means there are no legal requirements for riding them at all.
Egypt
Age requirement: 18+
In Egypt, electric scooters are regulated like motorcycles, mandating an 18-year age requirement with a driver’s license.
Morocco
Age requirement: 16+
The only legal requirement you need to meet to ride an electric scooter in Morocco is to be at least 16 years of age.
South Africa
Age requirement: 18+
This age requirement is conservative and restrictive. The information source is a South African scooter-sharing app development company, as official government information is unavailable.
However, one Cape Town rental company allows riders as young as 16.
Conclusion
The legal status of electric scooters is evolving globally due to recent incidents.
Some regions have imposed severe restrictions in response to negative reactions. As scooters gain popularity, expect regulations to adapt, becoming both less stringent and more comprehensive.
Regardless, always respect local laws and conduct additional research beyond this guide.
