Are electric skateboards legal in Colorado?
Not allowed on public roads. Colorado is the clearest correction this page can make to what the rest of the web says. Shop blogs routinely list it among the states where electric skateboards are welcome in bike lanes. The code says the opposite: the device falls into the “toy vehicle” definition — which names kamikaze boards and go-peds by hand — and toy vehicles may not go upon any roadway except to cross at a crosswalk.
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| What it counts as | “Toy vehicle” means “any vehicle that has wheels and is not designed for use on public highways or for off-road use”, and the definition names “mini bikes, ‘pocket’ bikes, kamikaze boards, go-peds, and stand-up scooters” as examples. An electric skateboard has wheels and is not designed for highway use. | C.R.S. § 42-1-102 |
| Why the scooter rules do not save it | Colorado legalised the electric scooter in 2019, and wrote handlebars into the definition: an electric scooter is a device weighing under one hundred pounds “with handlebars and an electric motor”. A skateboard has none, so none of the scooter permissions reach it. | C.R.S. § 42-1-102 |
| Where you may not go | “It is also unlawful for any person upon roller skates or riding in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device to go upon any roadway except while crossing a highway in a crosswalk.” When crossing, the rider has the rights and duties of a pedestrian. | C.R.S. § 42-4-109(9) |
| The two exceptions | The roadway prohibition does not apply to a public way set aside by proper authority as a play street, nor to a highway designated by a local authority for over-snow use only. | C.R.S. § 42-4-109(9) |
| What this does not settle | The statute speaks to roadways. Sidewalks, bike paths and parks are left to local authorities, and Colorado municipalities differ sharply. This page does not cover municipal codes. | C.R.S. § 42-4-109(9) |
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.
Sources
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C.R.S. § 42-1-102 — Definitions — toy vehicle (103.5), electric scooter (28.8).
Legal publisher reproducing the codified text, read 2026-09-20.
Colorado’s own code portal and the state’s legal-information host refused our connection on the day we read this. We quote a legal publisher reproducing the codified text, and say so. - C.R.S. § 42-4-109(9) — Toy vehicles on highways. Legal publisher reproducing the codified text, read 2026-09-20.
One or more rows above say Legal publisher reproducing the codified text: the official server was unreachable when we read it, and we used a legal publisher's reproduction of the codified text instead. We would rather tell you that than present a copy as the original.
How Colorado compares
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| 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 | — |
| Arizona | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Georgia | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Quebec | Regulated | Required. A rigid shell, padded inside, with a chin strap, correctly fitted and firmly fas | Maximum rated power 500 W, combined across motors, and the d |
| British Columbia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Pennsylvania | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alberta | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Illinois | 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.
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. 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.
Other jurisdictions: the full list. California · Michigan · New York · Texas
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Colorado?
The state says the device may not be operated on public highways. Colorado is the clearest correction this page can make to what the rest of the web says. Shop blogs routinely list it among the states where electric skateboards are welcome in bike lanes. The code says the opposite: the device falls into the “toy vehicle” definition — which names kamikaze boards and go-peds by hand — and toy vehicles may not go upon any roadway except to cross at a crosswalk.
Do I need a helmet in Colorado?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Colorado. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Colorado?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Colorado.
Does this cover city rules?
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.
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.