Are electric skateboards legal in Massachusetts?
No statute names the device. Massachusetts never defines an electric skateboard. Its “motorized scooter” requires handlebars, and its definition of motor vehicle is broad enough to take in anything with a motor. What makes the state unusual is a sentence that hands doubtful cases to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles — and we found no statutory text in which the Registrar has settled this one.
125 electric skateboards in stock in the United States, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| Not a motorized scooter — no handlebars | “Motorized scooter” means “any 2 wheeled tandem or 3 wheeled device, that has handlebars, designed to be stood or sat upon by the operator, powered by an electric or gas powered motor that is capable of propelling the device with or without human propulsion.” A four-wheeled board without handlebars fails the definition twice. | M.G.L. c. 90, § 1 |
| The broad definition | “Motor vehicles” means “all vehicles constructed and designed for propulsion by power other than muscular power”, followed by a list of exceptions — rail cars, trolleys, road-maintenance machines, invalids’ wheelchairs, vehicles guided by a person on foot. The only micromobility exclusion is this one: the definition “shall not include electric bicycles or motorized bicycles.” | M.G.L. c. 90, § 1 |
| ⚠ Doubtful cases go to the Registrar | “In doubtful cases, the registrar may determine whether or not any particular vehicle is a motor vehicle as herein defined. If he determines that it should be so classified, he may require that it be registered under this chapter”. The statute leaves the question open on purpose; this page does not cover Registry decisions or regulations. | M.G.L. c. 90, § 1 |
| What a motor vehicle needs | “No person shall operate, push, draw or tow any motor vehicle or trailer … upon or to remain upon any way except as authorized by section three, unless such vehicle is registered in accordance with this chapter”. We do not conclude from this that a board is banned: no text we read classifies it, and the statute itself reserves that call to the Registrar. | M.G.L. c. 90, § 9 |
| Where the skateboard is named | Only as a protected road user: a “vulnerable user” includes “a person operating a bicycle, handcycle, tricycle, skateboard, roller skates, in-line skates, non-motorized scooter, wheelchair, electric personal assistive mobility device, horse, horse-drawn carriage, motorized bicycle, motorized scooter, or other micromobility device”. That definition governs how others must treat you, not whether you may ride; and “micromobility device” is not itself defined in the section. | M.G.L. c. 90, § 1 |
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 the United States
Priced at shops in the United States, 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 2S MAX Electric Skateboard & Longboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$349.00 | ✓Real deal | |
WowGo Mini 2S Electric Skateboard & Shortboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$444.00 | ✓Real deal | |
Exway Flex Paragon Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$1799.00US$1059.00 | ✓Real deal | |
Onewheel Pint X
🇺🇸ridechargedwheels.com |
US$1100.00 | ✓Real deal | |
BOUNDMOTOR Flash Ultra Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸cyrusher.com |
US$1999.00US$1299.00 | ✓Real deal | |
Onewheel GT
🇺🇸boostedusa.com |
US$2000.00 | ✓Real deal |
All 125 electric skateboards from shops in the United States · today's real deals · the cheapest one · 36 under $500 · 110 under $1,000 · what one costs · recalls and safety alerts.
Sources
-
M.G.L. c. 90, § 1 — Motor vehicles — definitions.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Read on the Massachusetts Legislature’s own site. -
M.G.L. c. 90, § 9 — Operation of unregistered motor vehicles.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site. The ellipsis stands for “, and the owner or custodian of such a vehicle shall not permit the same to be operated, pushed, drawn or towed”.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Massachusetts compares
The same four questions for Massachusetts and its neighbours, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Connecticut | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Hampshire | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New York | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Rhode Island | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Vermont | 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 Massachusetts 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: Rhode Island · Connecticut · New York · Vermont · New Hampshire. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Massachusetts?
No law we can find defines an electric skateboard. What applies instead is a general vehicle classification and, in practice, your municipality. Massachusetts never defines an electric skateboard. Its “motorized scooter” requires handlebars, and its definition of motor vehicle is broad enough to take in anything with a motor. What makes the state unusual is a sentence that hands doubtful cases to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles — and we found no statutory text in which the Registrar has settled this one.
Is a Onewheel legal in Massachusetts?
No statute we read for Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Massachusetts. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Massachusetts?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Massachusetts.
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.