Are electric skateboards legal in Illinois?
Not allowed on public roads. Illinois legalised the low-speed electric scooter in 2024 and wrote handlebars into the definition, which leaves the skateboard where it was: a self-propelled vehicle, therefore a motor vehicle, therefore unlawful on a highway without a registration it cannot obtain. The scooter permission is also not statewide — a municipality has to grant it, one at a time.
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| It is a vehicle | “Every device, in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway … except devices moved by human power, devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, and snowmobiles.” An electric skateboard is not moved by human power. | 625 ILCS 5/1-217 |
| And therefore a motor vehicle | “Every vehicle which is self-propelled … except for vehicles moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchairs, low-speed electric bicycles, and low-speed gas bicycles.” The skateboard is in none of those four exceptions. | 625 ILCS 5/1-146 |
| Why the 2024 scooter law does not reach it | A “low-speed electric scooter” is “a device weighing less than 100 pounds, with 2 or 3 wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding … whose maximum speed … is no more than 10 miles per hour.” A skateboard has four wheels and no handlebars, and most go well past 10 mph. | 625 ILCS 5/1-140.11 |
| Registration it cannot obtain | “It shall be unlawful for any person … to drive or move … upon any highway any vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder which is not registered.” | 625 ILCS 5/3-401 |
| Even the scooter permission is local, not statewide | Municipalities, park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts “may authorize and regulate the operation of low-speed electric scooters”, and their use “is allowed only if authorized” by that body. Illinois did not open its streets; it gave towns the power to. Nothing in the section names the skateboard. | 625 ILCS 5/11-1518 |
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
- 625 ILCS 5/1-217 — Definition — vehicle. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
- 625 ILCS 5/1-146 — Definition — motor vehicle. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
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625 ILCS 5/1-140.11 — Definition — low-speed electric scooter.
Official source, read 2026-09-20.
Added by P.A. 103-899, effective 9 August 2024. - 625 ILCS 5/3-401 — Registration required before driving on a highway. Official source, read 2026-09-20.
- 625 ILCS 5/11-1518 — Low-speed electric scooters — local authorisation. 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 Illinois 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 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 | — |
| Colorado | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Pennsylvania | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alberta | 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 Illinois?
The state says the device may not be operated on public highways. Illinois legalised the low-speed electric scooter in 2024 and wrote handlebars into the definition, which leaves the skateboard where it was: a self-propelled vehicle, therefore a motor vehicle, therefore unlawful on a highway without a registration it cannot obtain. The scooter permission is also not statewide — a municipality has to grant it, one at a time.
Do I need a helmet in Illinois?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Illinois. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Illinois?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Illinois.
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.