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.
| 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.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
The same four questions, across every jurisdiction whose primary sources we have read. Each row links to its own page and its own citations.
| 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, |
| Michigan | Regulated | “A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash he | Not above 25 mph. |
| New York | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Texas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Washington | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Florida | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ontario | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
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.
Other jurisdictions: the full list. Michigan · New York · Texas · Washington
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.
Required at every age: a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting the standard in section 21212. That is Cal. Veh. Code § 21292.
Not above 15 mph on a highway, bikeway, public bicycle path, sidewalk or trail. That is Cal. Veh. Code § 21294.
No. This page reads state or provincial 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.
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.