Are electric skateboards legal in Virginia?
Specific law, with conditions. Virginia wrote a definition that catches the electric skateboard on purpose — “regardless of the number of its wheels”, “with or without handlebars” — and then did something only Michigan also does: it left the sidewalk open. You may ride on a sidewalk, a shared-use path or a crosswalk unless your town has posted a sign saying otherwise, and while you are there the law treats you as a pedestrian.
125 electric skateboards in stock in the United States, priced at each shop ↓
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as one | “Every vehicle, regardless of the number of its wheels in contact with the ground, that (i) is designed to allow an operator to sit or stand, (ii) has no manufacturer-issued vehicle identification number, (iii) is powered in whole or in part by an electric motor, (iv) weighs less than 100 pounds, and (v) has a speed of no more than 20 miles per hour on a paved level surface when powered solely by the electric motor.” It “includes vehicles with or without handlebars”. | Va. Code § 46.2-100 |
| ⚠ The two numbers that decide | Under 100 pounds and no more than 20 mph. Most complete boards clear the weight limit comfortably; the speed is where boards fall out. A board that does more than 20 mph on the flat is outside this definition, and nothing in this section then tells you what it is instead. Check the rated speed on the specification sheet, not the one on the box. | Va. Code § 46.2-100 |
| It is a vehicle on the road | For the purposes of Chapter 8 — the traffic-regulation chapter — “bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, motorized skateboards or scooters, and mopeds shall be vehicles”. The moped definition expressly does not include a motorized skateboard or scooter, so the two do not overlap. | Va. Code § 46.2-100 |
| Sidewalks and paths are open by default | The statute assumes you may be there and regulates how: a rider on a sidewalk, shared-use path, or crosswalk “shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian”, and “shall have all the rights and duties of a pedestrian under the same circumstances”. | Va. Code § 46.2-904 |
| ⚠ Unless your town closed it | A county, city or town “may by ordinance prohibit … the riding of … motorized skateboards or scooters … on designated sidewalks or crosswalks, including those of any church, school, recreational facility, or any business property open to the public”. Where it does, “signs indicating such prohibition shall be posted”. So the permission is real, and it is local — look for the sign. | Va. Code § 46.2-904 |
| Where a traffic control device says no | You may not ride on a sidewalk or across a crosswalk “where such use … is prohibited by official traffic control devices”, and you may not park a motorized skateboard or scooter “in a manner that impedes the normal movement of pedestrian or other traffic”. | Va. Code § 46.2-904 |
| What it costs to get it wrong | “A violation of any ordinance adopted pursuant to this section or any provision of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than $50.” | Va. Code § 46.2-904 |
| What this page does not tell you | We found no helmet requirement and no minimum age attached to a motorized skateboard in these sections, and we do not infer one from silence. Nor do we cover what happens on the roadway itself beyond the vehicle classification above, or what a board faster than 20 mph becomes. | Va. Code § 46.2-904 |
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.
What the law above asks you to wear or fit: 78 helmets and pads in stock — a rule above names the helmet.
Sources
- Va. Code § 46.2-100 — Definitions — motorized skateboard or scooter, vehicle, moped. Official source, read 2026-09-21.
-
Va. Code § 46.2-904 — Use on sidewalks, crosswalks and shared-use paths; local ordinances.
Official source, read 2026-09-21.
Read on the Virginia General Assembly’s own Legislative Information System. Last amended 2020, c. 1269.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How Virginia compares
The same four questions for Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Kentucky | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Maryland | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | Maryland’s stand-up electric class requires a vehicle that “ |
| North Carolina | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Tennessee | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| West Virginia | 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 Virginia 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: Maryland · West Virginia · Kentucky · Tennessee · North Carolina. Every other jurisdiction: the full list.
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in Virginia?
A statute names the device and sets out what is required to ride it. Virginia wrote a definition that catches the electric skateboard on purpose — “regardless of the number of its wheels”, “with or without handlebars” — and then did something only Michigan also does: it left the sidewalk open. You may ride on a sidewalk, a shared-use path or a crosswalk unless your town has posted a sign saying otherwise, and while you are there the law treats you as a pedestrian.
Is a Onewheel legal in Virginia?
No statute we read for Virginia 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 Virginia?
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Virginia. Your municipality may have one.
How fast am I allowed to go in Virginia?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Virginia.
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.