Texas Rules for E-Bikes and Electric Scooters

Before you buy: the three classes

House Bill 2188 took effect September 1, 2019 and created Chapter 664 of the Transportation Code. Under Section 664.001, an e-bike needs working pedals, a motor under 750 watts, and assistance that stops at 28 mph or below.

Class 1 helps only while you pedal, up to 20 mph. Class 2 can move the bike with no pedaling, up to 20 mph. Class 3 helps only while you pedal and tops out somewhere above 20 but below 28 mph. Sellers have to fit a Class 3 with a speedometer and make sure every e-bike meets the federal bicycle rules in 16 CFR Part 1512.

No license, plates or insurance

Subsection (a) of Section 551.107 carves e-bikes out of three Title 7 subtitles (A, B and D) and Chapter 551A. Translated: no title or registration for the bike, no driver license for the rider, and no financial responsibility requirement. The Texas Driver Handbook includes electric bicycles among vehicles needing neither registration nor inspection.

Under Section 551.002, Chapter 551's bicycle rules apply to e-bikes unless a rule cannot logically apply. Section 551.107(b) requires the motor to cut out when the rider stops pedaling or brakes. Because home and renters insurance frequently leaves out anything with a motor, ask your insurer about theft and liability coverage.

Choosing by age, and helmets

Texas has one age floor. Subsection (c) of Section 551.107 says a Class 3 operator must be at least 15; younger children can still be carried as passengers. The slower two classes have no state age floor, so a middle schooler can legally ride one on public roads.

Texas never passed a statewide bike helmet law, electric or otherwise. Local helmet ordinances are possible, and rental programs write their own terms, so read your city's code. For a teen riding a Class 3 that can assist to 28 mph, a house rule requiring a helmet makes sense whatever the law says.

A practical example: a 13 year old can ride a Class 1 or 2 to school without breaking state law, but a 14 year old asking for a Class 3 has to wait for the 15th birthday to operate it.

• Class 1, pedal assist up to 20 mph: any age under state law; helmet left to you
• Class 2, throttle up to 20 mph: any age under state law; helmet left to you
• Class 3, pedal assist above 20 and under 28 mph: rider 15 or older; speedometer required

Out riding: where e-bikes are allowed

Section 551.106 protects access. Neither TxDOT nor a local authority may ban e-bikes from highways used mainly by motor vehicles, or from anywhere a regular bicycle may go. The single carve-out is a no-motor-vehicles path whose surface is just cleared, graded earth, which is how parks can bar e-bikes from dirt singletrack.

That section also lets TxDOT and cities bar bicycles from sidewalks and impose speed caps on paths used by cyclists. In traffic, Section 551.103 governs: keep near the right edge if you are moving slower than the cars, except when overtaking, making a left, or steering around something dangerous.

Stand-up scooters

State law calls them motor-assisted scooters. Section 551.351 describes it as having a functioning brake, at least two wheels, a floorboard you stand or sit on, a gas or electric motor no bigger than 40 cc, and the ability to move under human power. Pocket bikes and minimotorbikes do not qualify and are banned from roads, bike paths and sidewalks.

Section 551.352 allows scooters only on streets posted 35 mph or less, although crossing a faster road at an intersection is fine. Sidewalks and bike paths are open to them under bicycle rules, unless a city or county decides safety requires a ban on particular roads or sidewalks. Licensing and other motor vehicle rules are not involved, and the state sets no minimum age.

If you live in Houston

Houston changed its ordinances (Chapter 45) on November 19, 2025. Between 8 at night and 4 in the morning, micromobility devices and off-highway vehicles may not be rented or ridden on streets, alleys, sidewalks, trails or in city parks. Exceptions cover direct trips to or from school or work, emergencies, and first responders or city employees on duty. Personally owned scooters are included, not only rentals.

The city's micromobility category sweeps in e-scooters, hoverboards, powered skateboards and powered roller skates. It leaves out e-bikes, mopeds and mobility scooters for people with disabilities. Scooters were already off limits on sidewalks in business districts such as downtown. Fines reach $500, and getting an impounded device back costs $100 each.

When it is no longer an e-bike, and what may change

Under Section 541.201, a moped is a motor vehicle you sit astride, on no more than three wheels, that cannot exceed 30 mph within a mile and has an engine of at most five brake horsepower. Because a moped is a motor vehicle, title, registration, insurance and licensing rules apply, so check with DPS about the motorcycle class and moped limits before your teen gets on one. An e-bike modified past 750 watts or 28 mph can land in these categories.

Nothing in the e-bike statute has changed since 2019. A 2025 attempt, HB 4089, stalled in committee on May 8, 2025, and the matching Senate bill (SB 1865) died as well. The next regular session starts in January 2027, so watch Texas Legislature Online for new bills then.