Riding an E-Bike or Electric Scooter in Delaware

Before you buy: the three classes

Under 21 Del. C. 101, an electric bicycle has two or three wheels, a seat, working pedals and a motor no stronger than 750 watts. Class 1 assists only while you pedal and stops assisting by 20 mph. Class 2 can run on the motor alone and also stops by 20 mph. Class 3 assists only with pedaling, stops helping somewhere from 20 up to 28 mph, depending on the model, and must show your speed on a speedometer.

Section 4198P gives an e-bike and its rider every right and duty of a bicycle and cyclist, and exempts them from the Code's rules on licenses, registration, titles, plates and insurance. The motor has to stop when you stop pedaling or hit the brakes, and the bike must meet the federal bicycle safety standards in 16 C.F.R. Part 1512.

Before you buy: when it is really a moped

Delaware now counts as a moped any electric two-wheeler under 2,000 watts that either tops 20 mph on throttle alone or keeps assisting above 28 mph. On the gas side, the cutoff is engines below 55cc. Mopeds are not e-bikes. Tinkering with an e-bike to make it faster is illegal unless you also put on a new class label that matches what it now does.

Section 4198M asks moped riders for a driver's license, though a motorcycle endorsement is not needed. You title and register the moped (a three year registration costs $5) and mount a plate; insurance is not required by law. Anyone under 18 aboard wears a helmet. Keep a moped off sidewalks, bike lanes, interstates, limited access highways and any path where motor vehicles are not allowed.

Example: a 15 year old wants a fast electric bike that hits 30 mph on the throttle. In Delaware that is a moped, and a 15 year old cannot hold the driver's license a moped requires. A Class 1 or Class 2 is the legal choice at that age.

Before the first ride: ages and helmets

The Class 3 floor is 16 for the person steering; younger kids may only be carried on one built with room for a passenger. The state sets no age floor for Class 1 or 2. Even so, ask yourself honestly whether your child can handle traffic, because on an e-bike they are bound by every rule an ordinary cyclist is.

Delaware has two helmet laws that cover e-bikes from different angles. The first, Section 4198K, puts every bicyclist or bicycle passenger younger than 18 in an approved helmet, and since e-bike riders carry bicycle duties, families should treat it as covering every e-bike. On top of that, every Class 3 operator and passenger must wear a helmet whatever their age. Parents face fines under 4198K: $25 the first time, then $50. Show the court a receipt for a helmet and it may dismiss the charge.

On the road and path: where e-bikes can go

The statute spells out where e-bikes are allowed: streets, roads and highways and their shoulders, plus bike lanes, bikeways, and paths for bikes or mixed use. Any state agency or local authority may close a particular path to e-bikes, but only after giving notice and holding a public hearing, and can close natural-surface trails marked nonmotorized. Look for signs at trailheads and in state parks.

Sidewalks are the major exception. Using the electric motor on a sidewalk is not allowed, even where ordinary bikes may ride. If you pedal or push the bike along a sidewalk, yield to people walking and give an audible signal before you pass, as any cyclist must.

If you ride a scooter instead

In 2025 the legislature (85 Del. Laws c. 161) added the low-speed motorized scooter: one physically unable to exceed 15 mph. Section 4198Q sets the rules. The rider has to be at least 14. Anyone under 18 aboard wears an approved helmet. Roads, shoulders, bike lanes and mixed-use paths are fine; sidewalks never are. There is nothing to license, register or insure, and scooters made from January 1, 2026 must carry a label showing class, motor power and top speed.

Faster stand-up scooters and motorized skateboards come under 21 Del. C. 4198N, which bans them from streets, highways, sidewalks and public rights-of-way, with two exceptions: walking them with the motor off, and riding at a permitted special event. First offense fines are $25 to $115. Children under 12 may ride them only with direct adult supervision or on family land.

Rental scooters and town rules

Shared scooters are a local decision in Delaware. Under Section 4198Q(h), a company may only rent out low-speed scooters where a town's ordinance or similar local rule says so in plain terms. So before renting one in Wilmington, Newark or at the beach, find out whether that town has signed off on a scooter program. The rental company will likely add its own age and helmet conditions in its app.