Are electric skateboards legal in Pennsylvania?
Not allowed on public roads. Pennsylvania never names the electric skateboard, and the result is harsher than a ban. The board is a “vehicle” that is “self-propelled”, which makes it a motor vehicle; a motor vehicle may not be on a highway unless it is registered; and no electric skateboard can meet the equipment and inspection standards registration demands. The sidewalk is closed to it by a separate section. Nothing is left.
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| It is a vehicle | “Vehicle” means “every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices used exclusively upon rails or tracks.” | 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 |
| And therefore a motor vehicle | “Motor vehicle” means “a vehicle which is self-propelled except an electric personal assistive mobility device or a vehicle which is propelled solely by human power.” An electric skateboard is self-propelled and is not human-powered. | 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 |
| Why the one carve-out does not fit | The EPAMD exception is written for “a self-balancing, two-nontandem-wheeled device”. A skateboard is neither self-balancing nor arranged on two nontandem wheels, so the exception passes it by. | 75 Pa.C.S. § 102 |
| Registration it cannot obtain | “No person shall drive or move and no owner or motor carrier shall knowingly permit to be driven or moved upon any highway any vehicle which is not registered in this Commonwealth unless the vehicle is exempt from registration.” Registration carries title, equipment and inspection requirements an electric skateboard has no way to satisfy. | 75 Pa.C.S. § 1301 |
| And the sidewalk is closed too | “No person shall drive any vehicle except a human-powered vehicle upon a sidewalk or sidewalk area except upon a permanent or duly authorized temporary driveway.” The section excepts mobility devices for people with disabilities and, unless a municipality forbids it, the EPAMD — neither reaches a skateboard. | 75 Pa.C.S. § 3703 |
| What could change it | Bills to create a low-speed micromobility category have been introduced in Harrisburg and had not been enacted when we read this. We report the law in force, never a bill. | 75 Pa.C.S. § 1301 |
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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75 Pa.C.S. § 102 — Definitions — vehicle, motor vehicle, EPAMD.
Legal publisher reproducing the codified text, read 2026-09-20.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly’s own statute viewer returned a navigation shell rather than the section text on the day we read this. We quote a legal publisher reproducing the codified text, and say so. - 75 Pa.C.S. § 1301 — Registration required before driving on a highway. Legal publisher reproducing the codified text, read 2026-09-20.
- 75 Pa.C.S. § 3703 — Driving upon sidewalk. Legal publisher reproducing the codified text, read 2026-09-20.
One or more rows above say Legal publisher reproducing the codified text: the official server was unreachable when we read it, and we used a legal publisher's reproduction of the codified text instead. We would rather tell you that than present a copy as the original.
How Pennsylvania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 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 | — |
| Alberta | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Illinois | 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 Pennsylvania?
The state says the device may not be operated on public highways. Pennsylvania never names the electric skateboard, and the result is harsher than a ban. The board is a “vehicle” that is “self-propelled”, which makes it a motor vehicle; a motor vehicle may not be on a highway unless it is registered; and no electric skateboard can meet the equipment and inspection standards registration demands. The sidewalk is closed to it by a separate section. Nothing is left.
Do I need a helmet in Pennsylvania?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Pennsylvania. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Pennsylvania?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Pennsylvania.
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.