Oregon E-Bikes and Scooters: A Family Guide to the Rules

Before you buy: the three classes

The current class definitions date from a 2024 rewrite of ORS 801.258 (Oregon Laws 2024, chapter 12). On a Class 1, the motor works only while you pedal and gives up at 20 mph. A Class 2 has a throttle that can move the bike with no pedaling, also topping out at 20 mph. A Class 3 is pedal-assist only but keeps helping to 28 mph, and it must carry a speedometer.

For vehicle code purposes, ORS 814.405 says an e-bike counts as a bicycle, not a motor vehicle, unless some other statute says differently. That single rule explains why no title, tag or insurance is needed, and why riders follow bicycle law, including the stop-as-yield option at stop signs found in ORS 814.414.

Before you ride: who is old enough, now and later

Through the end of 2026, the license exemption in ORS 807.020(15) only covers e-bike riders who are 16 or older, for all three classes. Put simply, if your child is 15 or younger, keep them off e-bikes on public roads until the law changes.

That change is HB 4007, which takes effect January 1, 2027. It sets the Class 1 minimum at 14 and keeps Classes 2 and 3 at 16. It also carves out children enrolled in a bicycle safety program under ORS 802.325, who may ride a Class 1 or Class 2 at any age as part of that program.

So a 14 year old who wants a Class 1 for the spring of 2027 is fine to start then. A 15 year old eyeing a throttle Class 2 waits until 16 either way.

Before you ride: helmets

Two statutes handle helmets today. ORS 814.485 tells anyone younger than 16 to wear approved headgear on a bicycle on public roads or premises, with a $25 presumptive fine. ORS 814.486 goes after the adults: a parent who lets a child under 16 ride bareheaded commits an offense, and so does a rider who carries an unhelmeted passenger under 16. Both apply to e-bikes because e-bikes are bicycles in Oregon law.

HB 4007 consolidates this on January 1, 2027. ORS 814.485 is repealed and an expanded ORS 814.486 takes over, aiming tickets at the parent or the person giving a child a ride. The new under 16 rule reaches beyond bikes to scooters, self-balancing devices, powered micromobility devices, skateboards and skates. One thing stays the same: a missing helmet cannot be used to cut the damages in an injury case.

On the road: where e-bikes can and cannot go

As bicycles, e-bikes may use streets, bike lanes and bike paths. Sidewalks are a different story. Under ORS 814.410(1)(e), riding an electric assisted bicycle on any sidewalk is unsafe operation of a bicycle, a Class D violation. Dismount and walk it instead.

Local rules can tighten things further in parks and on trails. Portland is an example: City Code 20.12.170 keeps motorized wheeled devices out of city parks unless they stay on park roads, in parking lots, or have a permit, and City Code 16.70.320 bans riding bicycles on downtown sidewalks inside the area bounded by SW Jefferson, Front Avenue, NW Hoyt and 13th Avenue.

If the bike is faster: mopeds and impostor e-bikes

Some powered two wheelers are neither e-bikes nor motor assisted scooters. If one tops out at 30 mph or below, ORS 801.345 calls it a moped, and a moped is a motor vehicle. That means a driver license, plates and insurance, plus a motorcycle helmet under ORS 814.260. Before buying any throttle bike that goes faster than 20 mph, ask DMV which category it falls into.

HB 4007 also cracks down on bikes that only pretend to fit a class. From January 1, 2027, it becomes a traffic violation (selling an impostor vehicle) and an unlawful trade practice to market something as an e-bike when it fails ORS 801.258, or to sell one that a button or menu setting can switch out of its class. Replacement batteries and chargers for e-bikes and scooters will need certification from an accredited lab.

If your teen wants a scooter instead

Oregon's word for a stand-up electric scooter is motor assisted scooter (ORS 801.348): up to four wheels, a place for your feet or a seat, a motor of no more than 1,000 watts, and a top design speed of 24 mph. For the rest of 2026, ORS 814.512 makes riding one a violation for anyone under 16 or for anyone going over 15 mph, and ORS 814.534 says every rider wears a helmet, adults included.

Riders must use an adjacent bike lane or path (ORS 814.514) and stay off roads posted above 25 mph unless in a bike lane or crossing (ORS 814.518). Sidewalks are off limits except to enter or leave a property (ORS 814.524), the scooter must be walked through crosswalks (ORS 814.528), and passengers are not allowed (ORS 814.530).

In 2027: scooter changes and Portland rentals

Several scooter rules shift when HB 4007 takes effect. The minimum age falls from 16 to 14. Riders may go up to 20 mph instead of 15, and the definition's design maximum also moves to 20 mph. ORS 814.534 is repealed, so state law will stop requiring helmets for scooter riders who are 16 or older. A new class, powered micromobility devices weighing under 100 pounds and capped at 28 mph, will follow bicycle rules, and cities may keep them off paths and sidewalks.

Portland's scooter rentals operate under a permanent PBOT program. When you finish a ride, the scooter has to be locked to a public bike rack, or to a city signpost when every rack is full, and two people may never ride one scooter. PBOT's rules page also restates the state's sidewalk ban and helmet requirement; the helmet part will change for riders 16 and up in 2027.