Are electric skateboards legal in Indiana?
No statute names the device. The word “skateboard” does not appear anywhere in Title 9 of the Indiana Code, and we searched all of it. Indiana created a class for the electric foot scooter and took it out of the motor-vehicle definition. A board without handlebars does not fit that class, so it falls back on the general definition of a self-propelled motor vehicle. Whether it then has to be registered depends on an exemption written in general words.
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| Not an electric foot scooter | The scooter class requires a device “with handlebars and a floorboard that the rider uses to stand on the device during operation”. A board has the floorboard but not the handlebars. | Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 |
| A self-propelled motor vehicle | “Motor vehicle” means, “except as otherwise provided in this section, a vehicle that is self-propelled.” The exclusions are “a farm tractor, an implement of agriculture designed to be operated primarily in a farm field or on farm premises, an electric bicycle, an electric foot scooter, or an electric personal assistive mobility device.” The board is not one of them. | Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 |
| Registration is the rule | Except as the chapter provides, “a vehicle may not be operated on a highway unless the vehicle: (1) is registered under this article; and (2) displays proof of registration in accordance with this article.” | Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 |
| ⚠ The exemption is written in general words | A vehicle need not be registered if it is “A vehicle that is not designed for or employed in general highway transportation of persons or property and is occasionally operated or moved over the highway”. The list that follows starts with “An electric personal assistive mobility device.” The electric skateboard is not on the list. The statute does not say whether it fits the general words, and we do not guess. | Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 |
| What this does not settle | This is a reading of definitions, not a court decision. We found no Indiana decision classifying an electric skateboard. Municipal ordinances are not covered here. | Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 |
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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Ind. Code §§ 9-13-2-49.4, 9-13-2-105, 9-18.1-2-2, 9-18.1-2-3 — Definitions — electric foot scooter, motor vehicle; registration.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Read from the Indiana General Assembly’s own 2026 edition of Title 9, which already includes 2026 public laws. The whole title was searched for “skate”, with no match.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Indiana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alabama | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alaska | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Arizona | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Arkansas | Unaddressed | 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, |
| Colorado | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Connecticut | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Delaware | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Florida | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Georgia | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Hawaii | Unaddressed | “No person under eighteen years of age shall operate a skateboard upon a street, roadway, | — |
| Idaho | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Illinois | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Iowa | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Kansas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Kentucky | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Louisiana | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Maine | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Maryland | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | Maryland’s stand-up electric class requires a vehicle that “ |
| Massachusetts | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Michigan | Regulated | “A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash he | — |
| Minnesota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Mississippi | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Missouri | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Montana | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nebraska | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nevada | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Hampshire | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Jersey | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | The 2019 class that New Jersey does allow on the road is def |
| New Mexico | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| New York | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| North Carolina | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| North Dakota | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ohio | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | “Vehicle” does not include “any low-speed micromobility devi |
| Oklahoma | 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 | — |
| Pennsylvania | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Rhode Island | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| South Carolina | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| South Dakota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Tennessee | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Texas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Utah | Regulated | “An individual under 21 years old may not operate or ride the following on a highway unles | — |
| Vermont | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Virginia | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Washington | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| West Virginia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Wisconsin | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Wyoming | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alberta | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| British Columbia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Manitoba | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Brunswick | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Northwest Territories | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nova Scotia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nunavut | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ontario | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Prince Edward Island | Prohibited | 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 |
| Saskatchewan | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | A “limited speed motor vehicle” is “any motor vehicle that h |
| Yukon | Unaddressed | 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. Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Indiana?
No law we can find defines an electric skateboard. What applies instead is a general vehicle classification and, in practice, your municipality. The word “skateboard” does not appear anywhere in Title 9 of the Indiana Code, and we searched all of it. Indiana created a class for the electric foot scooter and took it out of the motor-vehicle definition. A board without handlebars does not fit that class, so it falls back on the general definition of a self-propelled motor vehicle. Whether it then has to be registered depends on an exemption written in general words.
Do I need a helmet in Indiana?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Indiana. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Indiana?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Indiana.
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.