Are electric skateboards legal in California?
Specific law, with conditions. California wrote a definition specifically for these boards in 2015 and a set of conditions to go with it. It is one of the clearest frameworks in the United States, and it is stricter than most riders expect: a helmet at every age, a 15 mph ceiling, and only on roads posted 35 mph or less. City rules we have read on top of it: Los Angeles, San Francisco.
130 electric skateboards in stock in the United States, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as one | A floorboard no more than 60 inches deep and 18 inches wide, designed to carry one person, with an electric propulsion system averaging less than 1,000 watts and a top speed on a paved level surface of no more than 20 mph. | Cal. Veh. Code § 313.5 |
| Speed limit | Not above 15 mph on a highway, bikeway, public bicycle path, sidewalk or trail. | Cal. Veh. Code § 21294 |
| Where you may ride | Only on a highway posted at 35 mph or less — unless you stay entirely within a designated Class II or Class IV bikeway. | Cal. Veh. Code § 21294 |
| Helmet | Required at every age: a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting the standard in section 21212. | Cal. Veh. Code § 21292 |
| Lights after dark | A white lamp visible 300 feet ahead, a red rear reflector visible 500 feet, and a white or yellow reflector on each side visible 200 feet. The lamp and reflectors may be attached to the rider instead of the board. | Cal. Veh. Code § 21293 |
Each row is the statute's own content, reduced to plain wording where it is long and quoted directly where the exact words matter. The section in the last column is a link to the text.
Electric skateboards in stock in the United States
Priced at shops in the United States, in the currency they charge. Real deals and new lows first, then the lowest price; checked twice a day at the shop itself. We do not rate boards and take no payment for a place here.
| Product | Best price | Verdict | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
WowGo 2S MAX Electric Skateboard & Longboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$349.00 | ✓Real deal | |
MEEPO V5 Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$379.00 | ✓Real deal | |
WowGo Mini 2S Electric Skateboard & Shortboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$444.00 | ✓Real deal | |
MEEPO Flow Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$749.00US$649.00 | ✓Real deal | |
Exway Flex Paragon Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$1799.00US$1059.00 | ✓Real deal | |
Onewheel Pint X
🇺🇸ridechargedwheels.com |
US$1100.00 | ✓Real deal |
All 130 electric skateboards from shops in the United States · today's real deals · the cheapest one · 37 under $500 · 113 under $1,000 · what one costs · recalls and safety alerts.
What the law above asks you to wear or fit: 77 helmets and pads in stock — a rule above names the helmet; 31 lights in stock — a rule above covers riding after dark.
Sources
- Cal. Veh. Code § 313.5 — Definition — electrically motorized board. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
- Cal. Veh. Code § 21294 — Speed and where it may be operated. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
- Cal. Veh. Code § 21292 — Helmet requirement. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
- Cal. Veh. Code § 21293 — Lamps and reflectors. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How California compares
The same four questions for California and its neighbours, each linked to its own page and citations. All 99 jurisdictions we have read are side by side on Compare all jurisdictions.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Helmet | Speed limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Regulated | Required at every age: a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting the standard | Not above 15 mph on a highway, bikeway, public bicycle path, |
| Arizona | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nevada | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Oregon | Unaddressed | It is an offence if a person “is under 16 years of age, rides on a skateboard or scooter o | — |
| Los Angeles | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| San Francisco | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
Compare all 99 jurisdictions →
The spread is the point. These are neighbouring jurisdictions regulating the same object, and they do not agree on what it is, how fast it may go, who may ride it, or whether it may be ridden at all. A rider who crosses a state line is, quite often, subject to a different legal category rather than a stricter version of the same one — which is why a single national answer to this question does not exist and why anyone offering you one has stopped reading the law.
It also explains why so many rows say the device is unaddressed. Most vehicle codes were written before this machine existed, and a legislature that has not revisited them has not thereby permitted anything — it has left the question to a general classification and to your city.
What about a Onewheel?
No text we read for California names a board with a single wheel. The reading above is for electric skateboards; whether a Onewheel falls in the same class, another one or none is a question the statutes here do not answer, and neither do we. 11 jurisdictions do name it — Are Onewheels legal?
Onewheel prices, read at the shops: what a Onewheel costs new · used Onewheel prices · Onewheel or electric skateboard · buy or sell a used one.
What this page does not tell you
- It is not legal advice, and it never says you may ride. It says what the statute says, and links it.
- It does not cover municipal law, except where linked above. Cities regulate sidewalks, parks, paths and often these devices by name. Those rules sit on top of everything above.
- It does not cover private property, insurance, or what happens after an accident.
- It may be out of date. Every source carries the day we read it. A statute amended since then will not have updated itself here.
Across the border: Oregon · Nevada · Arizona · Los Angeles · San Francisco. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in California?
A statute names the device and sets out what is required to ride it. California wrote a definition specifically for these boards in 2015 and a set of conditions to go with it. It is one of the clearest frameworks in the United States, and it is stricter than most riders expect: a helmet at every age, a 15 mph ceiling, and only on roads posted 35 mph or less.
Is a Onewheel legal in California?
No statute we read for California names a board with a single wheel, so the law there does not answer directly. For electric skateboards, the status we found is: specific law, with conditions. Only 11 of the 99 jurisdictions we read name a one-wheel board: Utah, Quebec, Queensland, Tasmania, Seattle, South Korea, Belgium, British Columbia, New York, Victoria, the Netherlands.
Do I need a helmet in California?
Required at every age: a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting the standard in section 21212. That is Cal. Veh. Code § 21292.
How fast am I allowed to go in California?
Not above 15 mph on a highway, bikeway, public bicycle path, sidewalk or trail. That is Cal. Veh. Code § 21294.
Does this cover city rules?
No. This page reads state, provincial or national law only. Municipal codes frequently add rules — on sidewalks, parks and paths especially — and where the state has written nothing, the city has written everything. For Los Angeles, San Francisco, we have read the city code too.
How do I check this myself?
Open the links in the sources below. Every row in the table above names the section it comes from, and every source shows the date we read it. That is the whole point of the page: you should not have to take our word for it.