Riding an E-Bike, Moped or Scooter in Missouri

Before you buy: the three classes

Under RSMo 301.010, an electric bicycle has pedals that fully work, a seat or saddle, and an electric motor below 750 watts, and it must fit a class. Class 1 helps only while you pedal and cuts out at 20 mph. Class 2 can move the bike without pedaling, up to 20 mph. Class 3 helps only while you pedal and cuts out at 28 mph.

Because of that definition, an e-bike is not a motor vehicle, not a motorcycle and not a motorized bicycle under Missouri law. Senate Bill 176 made all of this effective on August 28, 2021, and the official history of sections 307.194 and 307.188 records no amendments since then.

Worked example: a bike with a 500 watt motor and a thumb throttle that tops out at 20 mph is a Class 2, and a 13 year old may ride it. The same bike tuned to assist to 28 mph is a Class 3, and that 13 year old may not.

Before you ride: no license, registration or insurance

RSMo 307.194 hands e-bike riders the same rights and responsibilities a bicyclist has, and counts the e-bike as a vehicle only as far as a bicycle would be. Motor vehicle law does not apply to the bike or its rider, so title, registration, licensing and financial responsibility rules all fall away.

The Driver Guide makes the same point to new drivers: no operator license and no motorcycle license is needed to ride an e-bike that fits the statutory definition. Your teen can ride a legal Class 1 or Class 2 without so much as a permit.

Before you ride: ages and helmets

Class 3 carries the state's only age rule. A rider has to be 16 to control one, but younger children may ride along on a Class 3 that was built with room for a passenger. A Class 3 must also have a speedometer reading in mph. Neither Class 1 nor Class 2 has a state age minimum.

Nothing in state law makes bicycle or e-bike riders wear a helmet. RSMo 302.020's helmet rule is written for motorcycles and motortricycles, categories that e-bikes are not part of. Local youth helmet ordinances exist in some places, so check yours, and as instructors we would put one on every young rider anyway.

On the road: shoulders, paths and trails

On streets and highways, RSMo 307.188 puts cyclists and e-bike riders under the same rights and duties as drivers. If you are slower than traffic, section 307.190 wants you near the right edge when that is safe, except when turning left, avoiding a hazard, in a lane too narrow to share, or on a one-way street. Section 307.191 lets you use the shoulder, but you must travel the same way as traffic.

Anywhere bicycles may use a bike path or a shared path, e-bikes may too. The body that runs a path, whether a city, another local authority or a state agency, can keep Class 1 and Class 2 bikes off it only after public notice, a hearing and a finding of a safety or legal reason. Class 3 bikes can be kept off without those steps. The managing agency also decides about natural-surface trails labeled nonmotorized, and cities decide about sidewalks.

After you buy: labels, tampering and tickets

The maker or distributor has to attach a permanent label giving the bike's class, its highest assisted speed and its motor's wattage, printed no smaller than 9-point Arial. The bike also has to satisfy the federal bicycle rules at 16 CFR 1512, and the motor has to shut off when you brake or stop pedaling.

Changing how fast the motor will push the bike, or when it engages, is forbidden unless a new label shows the new class. Breaking the bicycle rules at 17 or older is an infraction under RSMo 307.193, with a fine between $5 and $25. If the rider is younger than 17, police may instead hold the bike or moped for as long as five days.

If it is really a moped

A motorized bicycle, in RSMo 307.180, has two or three wheels, an automatic transmission, an engine no bigger than 50 cc that makes less than three brake horsepower, and a top speed of 30 mph or slower. E-bikes are carved out of that definition. RSMo 307.195 says riding one takes a valid motor vehicle operator's license, and interstates are always off limits.

According to the Driver Guide, mopeds skip the motorcycle endorsement, registration and inspection, though they must satisfy the VESC-17 equipment standard for mopeds. Riding one unlicensed is a class C misdemeanor. And because state law counts a motorized bicycle as a motor vehicle for homeowner's and renter's policies, check with your insurer about coverage.

If you want a stand-up scooter

Scooters are not bicycles under RSMo 307.180, and none of the statutes we reviewed sets up a category for stand-up e-scooters. That leaves cities in charge: local rules govern rental and privately owned scooters, including where you can ride them and leave them.

In Kansas City or St. Louis, read the city code and the rental company's terms for age limits and sidewalk bans before riding. A sit-down scooter powered by a gas engine of 50 cc or smaller counts as a motorized bicycle in state law, so the rider needs a driver's license.