E-Bikes and Electric Scooters in Colorado: A Family Guide

Before you buy: Colorado's three classes

In statute, an e-bike is an electrical assisted bicycle, meaning two or three wheels, functioning pedals, and no more than 750 watts of motor. Class 1 is pedal only help that quits at 20 mph. Class 2 adds a throttle, so the motor can work without pedaling, but it too quits at 20. Class 3 is pedal only again, with help continuing up to 28 mph.

The 2017 law behind all this, HB17-1151 (effective August 9 that year), set up the classes, put labeling duties on manufacturers, banned relabel free modifications, and specified brakes and a speedometer for some classes. Section 42-4-1412 then treats an e-bike rider as a driver under Article 4, with the bicycle specific rules added.

Before you buy: age and helmet rules

Subsection (15) of 42-4-1412 bars riders under 16 from operating a Class 3 anywhere public, roads and paths alike; the only exception is sitting as a passenger on a Class 3 made for two. For the two lower classes, the state names no minimum age.

Anyone under 18 aboard a Class 3, at the bars or on the back, needs a buckled bike helmet certified to the ASTM or CPSC standard. State law is silent on helmets for the lower classes; CDOT nonetheless urges every rider to wear one.

Picture a 14 year old commuting to middle school: a Class 1 or Class 2 is legal, and state law does not force a helmet, though most families will. A Class 3 has to wait until 16, and until 18 it comes with a mandatory helmet.

On the ride: stop signs, roads and paths

Under the Safety Stop statute, 42-4-1412.5, a rider of 15 or older may, subject to conditions, roll a stop sign as if it were a yield and handle a red light as if it were a stop sign. Younger riders get that option only when a parent or guardian is riding with them.

Paths open to bicycles are open to Class 1 and Class 2 too, until a local authority closes them. Class 3 is more restricted: only paths running inside a street or highway right of way, or paths where local rules expressly admit it.

In traffic, use the rightmost lane while keeping a safe gap from the curb, go side by side only if no one is slowed down, and never let go of the bars with both hands. Where sidewalk or crosswalk riding is allowed, people on foot have priority, you announce yourself before passing, and posted bans or local ordinances override everything.

If you are looking at a scooter

Before HB19-1221, stand-up scooters were legally toys. Now an electric scooter is a sub 100 pound device with handlebars, an electric motor and a motor top speed of 20 mph, and the person riding it is treated exactly like an e-bike rider. Towns may set scooter rules, but none tougher than their e-bike rules.

Low power scooters are a different animal: you sit on them, they have no manual clutch, and they run on a gas engine of 50cc or less or an electric motor of 4,476 watts or less. Statute 42-2-103 makes the rider carry a driver's license or minor driver's license. Interstates, limited access highways and sidewalks are off limits, and anyone under 18 on board wears a helmet.

If you live in or visit Denver

The capital's rules for bikes, scooters and EPAMDs sit in Article IX of Chapter 54 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. Bike paths and most streets are fair game; sidewalks are not, apart from the single block at the start or finish of your trip.

Denver's shared fleet changed hands in 2026: Veo became the only operator, renting from early May, and Lime and Bird vehicles went out of service after May 16, 2026. When you park, stand the device up and keep five feet or more of sidewalk open; city ordinance also lets you use a car parking space in most cases.

Licenses, registration and recent changes

E-bikes and electric scooters are carved out of the motor vehicle definition at 42-1-102(58) and out of registration by 42-3-103. Put simply, a lawful e-bike requires no license, no plate and no auto policy. Lose the pedals or exceed 750 watts and the machine may become a low power scooter or motorcycle, with all the licensing and registration that implies.

A 2025 law, HB25-1197 (signed May 28, effective August 6), closes the tuning loophole: a bike altered so it fits no class, or sold ready for easy reconfiguration, is not an e-bike, and marketing it as one is a deceptive trade practice. The same law requires certified lithium ion batteries and, starting January 1, 2027, labels listing either the top class or every class a multi mode bike can switch into. Ages, helmets and path access were untouched; look on leg.colorado.gov for later changes.