Are electric skateboards legal in Minnesota?
No statute names the device. Minnesota names the skateboard exactly once in its traffic chapter, in a rule about hanging on to cars, and never names a motorized one. What decides the question instead is that Minnesota has more than one definition of “motor vehicle”. The traffic and driver-licensing chapters catch anything self-propelled. The registration chapter only catches vehicles designed to run primarily on highways. The board sits between those definitions, and no statute places it.
128 electric skateboards in stock in the United States, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| Not a motorized foot scooter | Minnesota’s scooter class is “a device with handlebars designed to be stood or sat upon by the operator”. A board has no handlebars, so the scooter rules (bicycle rights, no sidewalks, a helmet under 18, a minimum age of 12) were not written for it. | Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 42, 46 |
| A motor vehicle for the traffic code | “Motor vehicle” means “every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires.” It “does not include an electric-assisted bicycle, an electric personal assistive mobility device, or a vehicle moved solely by human power.” The board is not excluded. | Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 42, 46 |
| And for the driver’s licence chapter | There, “Motor vehicle” means “every vehicle that is self-propelled, other than an electric personal assistive mobility device”, and “a person shall not drive a motor vehicle upon a street or highway in this state unless the person has a valid license under this chapter for the type or class of vehicle being driven.” | Minn. Stat. §§ 171.01, subd. 39; 171.02, subd. 1 |
| ⚠ But registration uses a narrower definition | For registration, “Motor vehicle” means “any self-propelled vehicle designed and originally manufactured to operate primarily on highways”. The duty to register applies to that narrower class: “No trailer or motor vehicle, except as is exempted by section 168.012, may be used or operated upon the public streets or highways of the state in any calendar year until it is registered as provided in this section”. Whether an electric skateboard is designed to operate “primarily on highways” is a question the statute does not answer, and neither do we. | Minn. Stat. § 168.002, subd. 18 |
| The one place the skateboard appears | “Persons riding upon any bicycle, coaster, roller skates, toboggan, sled, skateboard, or toy vehicle shall not attach the same or themselves to any street car or vehicle upon a roadway.” There is no motor in the sentence, and no other rule for the skateboard in the chapter. | Minn. Stat. § 169.222, subd. 3 |
| What this does not settle | This is a reading of definitions, not a court decision. We found no Minnesota decision classifying an electric skateboard. Cities regulate sidewalks and paths, and this page does not cover municipal ordinances. | Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 42, 46 |
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 · 112 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.
Sources
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Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 42, 46 — Definitions — motor vehicle, motorized foot scooter.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
Read from the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. We searched the whole of chapter 169 for “skateboard” and found one occurrence. - Minn. Stat. § 169.222, subd. 3 — Operation of bicycle — clinging to vehicle. Official source, read 2026-09-24.
- Minn. Stat. § 168.002, subd. 18 — Registration definitions — motor vehicle. Official source, read 2026-09-24.
- Minn. Stat. § 168.09, subd. 1 — Registration required. Official source, read 2026-09-24.
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Minn. Stat. §§ 171.01, subd. 39; 171.02, subd. 1 — Driver’s licence — motor vehicle; licence required.
Official source, read 2026-09-24.
The definition is in § 171.01 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/171.01).
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Minnesota compares
The same four questions for Minnesota 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Iowa | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| North Dakota | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| South Dakota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Wisconsin | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Manitoba | Prohibited | 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 Minnesota 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: Wisconsin · Iowa · South Dakota · North Dakota · Ontario · Manitoba. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Minnesota?
No law we can find defines an electric skateboard. What applies instead is a general vehicle classification and, in practice, your municipality. Minnesota names the skateboard exactly once in its traffic chapter, in a rule about hanging on to cars, and never names a motorized one. What decides the question instead is that Minnesota has more than one definition of “motor vehicle”. The traffic and driver-licensing chapters catch anything self-propelled. The registration chapter only catches vehicles designed to run primarily on highways. The board sits between those definitions, and no statute places it.
Is a Onewheel legal in Minnesota?
No statute we read for Minnesota 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 Minnesota?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Minnesota. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Minnesota?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Minnesota.
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.