Are electric skateboards legal in Germany?
No statute names the device. No German federal text we read names electric skateboards. The Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge-Verordnung (eKFV), the only special regime for light e-vehicles, covers only vehicles with a steering or holding bar (at least 700 mm on vehicles without a seat), so a board without a handlebar falls outside it. What remains is the general rule of the Road Traffic Act that any land vehicle moved by machine power is a motor vehicle, and motor vehicles need registration (FZV) and compulsory liability insurance (PflVG) before use on public roads; no official page we found says how, or whether, a board could meet those requirements.
3 electric skateboards in stock in Germany, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| The eKFV requires a handlebar | § 1(1) eKFV defines Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge as electric motor vehicles with a design speed of more than 6 and not more than 20 km/h that have, among other features, “eine Lenk- oder Haltestange mit einer Länge von mindestens 500 mm für Kraftfahrzeuge mit Sitz und von mindestens 700 mm für Kraftfahrzeuge ohne Sitz” (a steering or holding bar at least 500 mm long for motor vehicles with a seat and at least 700 mm for motor vehicles without a seat — our translation). § 1(3): “Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge im Sinne der Absätze 1 und 2 dürfen nur nach Maßgabe der folgenden Vorschriften auf öffentlichen Straßen verwendet werden.” (Personal light electric vehicles within the meaning of paragraphs 1 and 2 may be used on public roads only in accordance with the following provisions — our translation.) | §§ 1–3, 10 eKFV |
| Federal ministry: the regime is for vehicles with a handlebar | The Federal Ministry of Transport's English FAQ states that the eKFV laid the foundations “to allow the use of Personal Light Electric Vehicles with a handlebar or a stanchion on public roads.” It lists “handlebars or stanchions” first among the features a vehicle must have to use public roads. The FAQ does not mention skateboards. It adds that new rules of conduct from the eKFV recast “will not take effect until 1 March 2027.” | BMV FAQ |
| General definition of a motor vehicle | § 1(2) StVG: “Als Kraftfahrzeuge im Sinne dieses Gesetzes gelten Landfahrzeuge, die durch Maschinenkraft bewegt werden, ohne an Bahngleise gebunden zu sein.” (Land vehicles moved by machine power without being bound to rails are motor vehicles within the meaning of this Act — our translation.) The only exemption in § 1(3) is for pedal-powered vehicles with an electric assist of at most 0.25 kW. | § 1 StVG |
| Registration of motor vehicles above 6 km/h | The Vehicle Registration Ordinance applies to “die Zulassung von Kraftfahrzeugen mit einer bauartbedingten Höchstgeschwindigkeit von mehr als 6 Kilometern pro Stunde” (§ 1 FZV; the registration of motor vehicles with a design speed of more than 6 km/h — our translation). § 3(1) FZV: “Ein Kraftfahrzeug und seine Anhänger dürfen von der das Fahrzeug führenden Person auf öffentlichen Straßen nur in Betrieb gesetzt werden, wenn sie zum Verkehr zugelassen sind.” (A motor vehicle may be operated on public roads only if it is registered for traffic — our translation.) Registration requires an approved type or an individual approval and liability insurance. | §§ 1, 3 FZV |
| Compulsory liability insurance | § 1 PflVG obliges the keeper of a vehicle within the meaning of § 1a to take out “eine Haftpflichtversicherung zur Deckung der durch den Gebrauch des Fahrzeugs im Sinne des § 1a Absatz 3 verursachten Personenschäden, Sachschäden oder sonstigen Vermögensschäden” (liability insurance covering personal injury, property damage or other financial loss caused by the use of the vehicle — our translation). | § 1 PflVG |
| Age, bike lanes, speed and insurance sticker — eKFV vehicles only | These rules apply only to vehicles covered by the eKFV, not to boards without a handlebar. § 3 eKFV: “Zum Führen eines Elektrokleinstfahrzeugs sind Personen berechtigt, die das 14. Lebensjahr vollendet haben.” (Persons who have reached the age of 14 may ride a personal light electric vehicle — our translation.) Under § 10(1), inside built-up areas these vehicles must use cycle tracks, shared foot and cycle paths, cycle lanes and cycle streets, and may use the carriageway only where none exist. Their design speed is capped at 20 km/h (§ 1(1)), and § 2(1) no. 2 requires “eine gültige Versicherungsplakette für Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge” (a valid insurance sticker for personal light electric vehicles — our translation). | §§ 1–3, 10 eKFV |
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 Germany
Priced at shops in Germany, 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 AT2 Plus Electric Skateboard & Longboard
🇩🇪wowgoboard.com |
US$1399.00US$899.00 | ✓Cheaper than 2022 | |
WowGo 3E Electric Skateboard & Longboard
🇩🇪wowgoboard.com |
US$599.00US$459.00 | –Seen lower |
All 3 electric skateboards from shops in Germany · today's real deals · the cheapest one · 36 under $500 · 112 under $1,000 · what one costs · recalls and safety alerts.
What the law above asks you to wear or fit: 31 lights in stock — a rule above covers riding after dark.
Sources
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§§ 1–3, 10 eKFV — Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge-Verordnung (as last amended by the Ordinance of 30 January 2026, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 32).
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
German text; translations are ours. -
§ 1 StVG — Straßenverkehrsgesetz.
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
German text; translations are ours. -
§§ 1, 3 FZV — Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung.
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
§ 1 read at https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/__1.html. German text; translations are ours. -
§ 1 PflVG — Pflichtversicherungsgesetz.
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
German text; translations are ours. -
BMV FAQ — Personal Light Electric Vehicles – Questions and Answers (Federal Ministry of Transport).
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
Official English page.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Germany compares
The same four questions for Germany and its neighbours and the rest of the country, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | These rules apply only to vehicles covered by the eKFV, not |
| Austria | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Belgium | Unaddressed | Art. 8.2, 7°: “16 ans pour les conducteurs d'engins de déplacement motorisés, sauf:” (16 y | Brussels code, art. 8: speed is limited “à 20 km à l'heure p |
| Denmark | Regulated | § 12 a, inserted by BEK 56/2021 from 1 January 2022: “Under kørsel på selvbalancerende kør | — |
| France | Regulated | A helmet is required nationally only where the authority has opened a road limited to 80 k | Service-public.fr: “La vitesse maximum autorisée est de 25 k |
| Netherlands | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Poland | Regulated | New art. 33 ust. 1b (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1676): a rider of a bicycle, electric scooter or UTO | Art. 20 ust. 6 pkt 4: the permitted speed of “hulajnogi elek |
| Switzerland | Prohibited | 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 Germany 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. 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: Netherlands · Belgium · France · Switzerland · Austria · Denmark · Poland. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Germany?
No law we can find defines an electric skateboard. What applies instead is a general vehicle classification and, in practice, your municipality. No German federal text we read names electric skateboards. The Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge-Verordnung (eKFV), the only special regime for light e-vehicles, covers only vehicles with a steering or holding bar (at least 700 mm on vehicles without a seat), so a board without a handlebar falls outside it. What remains is the general rule of the Road Traffic Act that any land vehicle moved by machine power is a motor vehicle, and motor vehicles need registration (FZV) and compulsory liability insurance (PflVG) before use on public roads; no official page we found says how, or whether, a board could meet those requirements.
Is a Onewheel legal in Germany?
No statute we read for Germany names a board with a single wheel, so the law there does not answer directly. For electric skateboards, the status we found is: no statute names the device. 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 Germany?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Germany. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Germany?
These rules apply only to vehicles covered by the eKFV, not to boards without a handlebar. § 3 eKFV: “Zum Führen eines Elektrokleinstfahrzeugs sind Personen berechtigt, die das 14. Lebensjahr vollendet haben.” (Persons who have reached the age of 14 may ride a personal light electric vehicle — our translation.) Under § 10(1), inside built-up areas these vehicles must use cycle tracks, shared foot and cycle paths, cycle lanes and cycle streets, and may use the carriageway only where none exist. Their design speed is capped at 20 km/h (§ 1(1)), and § 2(1) no. 2 requires “eine gültige Versicherungsplakette für Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge” (a valid insurance sticker for personal light electric vehicles — our translation). That is §§ 1–3, 10 eKFV.
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.
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.