Are electric skateboards legal in Michigan?
Specific law, with conditions. Michigan has the most complete electric-skateboard law we have read. It defines the board by name and by numbers — no more than 2,500 watts, no faster than 25 mph, a deck no larger than 60 by 18 inches — takes it out of the definition of motor vehicle, gives the rider the rights and duties of a driver on the roadway, and then writes the conditions: a speed cap, which roads, how to behave on a sidewalk, a helmet under 19, and lights at night.
128 electric skateboards in stock in the United States, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| The definition — and the numbers | “Electric skateboard” means “a wheeled device that has a floorboard designed to be stood upon when riding that is <b>no more than 60 inches long and 18 inches wide</b>, is designed to transport only 1 person at a time, has an electrical propulsion system with power of <b>no more than 2,500 watts</b>, and has a maximum speed on a paved level surface of <b>not more than 25 miles per hour</b>.” A board outside any one of those limits is not an electric skateboard under this definition, and the statute does not say what it is instead. | MCL 257.13f |
| Handlebars are allowed | The same section adds: “An electric skateboard may have handlebars and, in addition to having an electrical propulsion system with power of no more than 2,500 watts, may be designed to also be powered by human propulsion.” Whether yours has handlebars matters below, for the roads you may use. | MCL 257.13f |
| Expressly not a motor vehicle | The definition of motor vehicle ends with a list of exclusions, the last of which reads: “Motor vehicle does not include an electric skateboard.” | MCL 257.33 |
| On the roadway, the rights and duties of a driver | “Each person riding a bicycle, electric bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric skateboard, or moped … upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle under this chapter, except for special regulations in this article and except for the provisions of this chapter that by their nature do not apply.” | MCL 257.657 |
| ⚠ 25 mph, and which roads | “An electric skateboard must not be operated at a speed of more than 25 miles per hour. An electric skateboard that does not have handlebars must not be operated on a highway or street with a speed limit of more than 25 miles per hour except to cross that highway or street, and an electric skateboard equipped with handlebars must not be operated on a highway or street with a speed limit of more than 45 miles per hour except to cross that highway or street.” For an ordinary board with no handlebars, the line is a posted limit of 25 mph. | MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) |
| How to ride on the roadway | A rider “shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable”; riders “shall not ride more than 2 abreast except on a path or part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive use of those vehicles”; and a rider “shall not pass between lines of traffic”. Where a bicycle path runs beside the road, a rider “may, by local ordinance, be required to use that path.” | MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) |
| On the sidewalk, pedestrians first | “A person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device or electric skateboard on a sidewalk constructed for the use of pedestrians shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing the pedestrian.” The statute regulates sidewalk riding rather than banning it — but see the local powers below. | MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) |
| Helmet under 19, one rider only | “A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash helmet on his or her head.” And the board “shall not be used to carry more than 1 person at a time.” | MCL 257.658(3), (4) |
| Lights at night, and a controlled stop | Between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise, a board on a roadway “shall be equipped with a lamp on the front that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear”. At all times, an electric skateboard “shall enable the operator to bring it to a controlled stop.” | MCL 257.662(1), (3) |
| Your town can say more — or say no | Counties, cities, villages and townships “may, by ordinance based on the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens, regulate the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric skateboards, or commercial quadricycles on sidewalks, highways or streets, or crosswalks”, and may prohibit them “in a downtown or central business district”, on waterfronts and trails, and on streets with streetcar tracks, with signs posted. By statute, “Operation of an electric personal assistive mobility device or electric skateboard is prohibited in a special charter city and a state park under the jurisdiction of the Mackinac Island State Park commission.” | MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) |
| What this does not tell you | In the sections we read, we found no minimum age and no licence or registration requirement for an electric skateboard, and we do not infer either from silence. Municipal ordinances, state-park orders by the Department of Natural Resources and historic-district rules are not covered by this page. | MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) |
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 | |
MEEPO V5 Electric Skateboard
🇺🇸renewableoutdoors.com |
US$379.00 | ✓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 |
All 128 electric skateboards from shops in the United States · today's real deals · the cheapest one · 36 under $500 · 111 under $1,000 · what one costs · recalls and safety alerts.
What the law above asks you to wear or fit: 77 helmets and pads in stock — a rule above names the helmet; 31 lights in stock — a rule above covers riding after dark.
Sources
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MCL 257.13f — Michigan Vehicle Code — “Electric skateboard” defined.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Read on the Michigan Legislature’s own site (MCL complete through PA 103 of 2026). Added by 2018 PA 204, amended by 2018 PA 394. The site’s TLS certificate failed validation for our client, so the page was fetched without certificate checking; the text and history match the public acts it cites. -
MCL 257.33 — Michigan Vehicle Code — “Motor vehicle” defined.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site, same fetch conditions. -
MCL 257.657 — Rights and duties of persons riding … electric skateboard.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site. The ellipsis in our quotation stands for “or operating a low-speed vehicle or commercial quadricycle”. -
MCL 257.660(1), (3)–(6), (11)–(15) — Electric personal assistive mobility device, low-speed vehicle, commercial quadricycle, electric skateboard, or moped; operation; limitations.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site. This section holds the operating rules; it does not define the device — the definition is in 257.13f. -
MCL 257.658(3), (4) — Number of persons; wearing of crash helmet.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site. -
MCL 257.662(1), (3) — Bicycle, EPAMD, electric skateboard, or commercial quadricycle; equipment.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Same site. Subsection (6) makes violations of (1) a civil infraction.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Michigan compares
The same four questions for Michigan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Regulated | “A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash he | — |
| Illinois | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Indiana | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ohio | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | “Vehicle” does not include “any low-speed micromobility devi |
| Wisconsin | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ontario | 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 Michigan 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: Ohio · Indiana · Wisconsin · Illinois · Ontario. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Michigan?
A statute names the device and sets out what is required to ride it. Michigan has the most complete electric-skateboard law we have read. It defines the board by name and by numbers — no more than 2,500 watts, no faster than 25 mph, a deck no larger than 60 by 18 inches — takes it out of the definition of motor vehicle, gives the rider the rights and duties of a driver on the roadway, and then writes the conditions: a speed cap, which roads, how to behave on a sidewalk, a helmet under 19, and lights at night.
Is a Onewheel legal in Michigan?
No statute we read for Michigan names a board with a single wheel, so the law there does not answer directly. For electric skateboards, the status we found is: specific law, with conditions. 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 Michigan?
“A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash helmet on his or her head.” And the board “shall not be used to carry more than 1 person at a time.” That is MCL 257.658(3), (4).
How fast am I allowed to go in Michigan?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Michigan.
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.