No statute names the device. Washington defines the “motorized foot scooter” — and that definition requires handlebars, which an electric skateboard does not have. The state leaves these devices to local ordinance, and Washington cities have written a notably wide range of rules.
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| What a motorized foot scooter is | A device with no more than two wheels of ten inches or less, with handlebars, designed to be stood or sat upon, powered by a motor with or without human propulsion. | Wash. Rev. Code § 46.04.336 |
| Why a skateboard is not one | The handlebars are part of the definition. A board without them falls outside it, and the state has not written a replacement. | Wash. Rev. Code § 46.04.336 |
| What applies instead | Municipal codes. Several Washington cities regulate “wheeled recreational devices” or “motorized personal transportation devices” by name, and the rules are not the same from one to the next. | Wash. Rev. Code § 46.04.336 |
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.
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Unaddressed | 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 | — |
| Florida | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ontario | 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.
Other jurisdictions: the full list. California · Michigan · New York · Texas
No law we can find defines an electric skateboard. What applies instead is a general vehicle classification and, in practice, your municipality. Washington defines the “motorized foot scooter” — and that definition requires handlebars, which an electric skateboard does not have. The state leaves these devices to local ordinance, and Washington cities have written a notably wide range of rules.
No rule naming this device addresses helmets in the sources we have read for Washington. Your municipality may have one.
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for Washington.
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.
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.