Minnesota E-Scooter Laws: Sidewalk, Helmet & Age Rules (2026)

This article is general information about Minnesota e-scooter laws and is not legal advice. If you were cited under a Minneapolis ordinance or another local rule, check the current city code directly or consult a Minnesota attorney. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

Are e-scooters legal in Minnesota?

Yes. Minnesota regulates what most riders call an electric scooter under the statutory term "motorized foot scooter," defined and governed by Minn. Stat. § 169.225. The statute has been on the books since 2005 and gives the operator of a motorized foot scooter the same general rights and duties as the operator of a bicycle, except for provisions that are specific to scooters or that cannot reasonably apply to the device.

What counts as an e-scooter in Minnesota

The device threshold sits in the traffic code's definitions section, Minn. Stat. § 169.011, subd. 46, rather than in § 169.225 itself. A "motorized foot scooter" is a device with handlebars designed to be stood or sat upon by the operator, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor capable of propelling the device with or without human propulsion, having no more than two wheels of 12 inches or smaller in diameter, and having an engine or motor capable of a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour on a flat surface with not more than one percent grade when the motor is engaged. There is no weight criterion anywhere in the definition.

The definition also excludes four device classes by name: an electric personal assistive mobility device, a motorized bicycle, an electric-assisted bicycle, and a motorcycle are not motorized foot scooters. So if your device tops 15 miles per hour under motor power, rides on wheels larger than 12 inches, or fits one of those four excluded classes, § 169.225 is not the section that governs it and you need the rules for whichever vehicle class it does fall into.

Where you can ride

Minnesota takes a clearly restrictive position on sidewalks: § 169.225 states that "no person may operate a motorized foot scooter upon a sidewalk, except when necessary to enter or leave adjacent property." That is a narrow exception, not a general permission, so riders should plan to use the roadway or a bicycle path rather than the sidewalk in most situations.

A motorized foot scooter may be ridden on a bicycle path, bicycle lane, bicycle trail, or bikeway "that is not reserved for the exclusive use of nonmotorized traffic, unless the local authority or governing body having jurisdiction over that path, lane, trail, or bikeway prohibits operation by law." That means a path, lane, trail, or bikeway already reserved exclusively for nonmotorized traffic is closed to a motorized scooter under the statute itself, and even where a path isn't reserved that way, a local authority can still close it by ordinance, so it is worth checking whether a path is nonmotorized-only and checking signage or the local governing body's rules before riding a specific path.

Rider rules

• Age: Minnesota sets a statewide minimum age of 12. Section 169.225 states plainly that "no person under the age of 12 years may operate a motorized foot scooter."
• Helmet: Required for riders under 18. The statute requires that "no person under the age of 18 years may operate a motorized foot scooter without wearing properly fitted and fastened protective headgear" meeting standards set by the Commissioner of Public Safety. There is no statewide helmet mandate for riders 18 and older.
• Passengers: Not allowed. The statute bars operating a motorized foot scooter "that is carrying any person other than the operator," so no double-riding.
• Lighting: A headlight and taillight meeting Commissioner of Public Safety standards are required when lights are otherwise required for operation, generally meaning low-light or nighttime riding.
• License, registration, insurance: None of these were found as a requirement for operating a motorized foot scooter under § 169.225.

Penalties

Section 169.225 sets no penalty of its own, so the figure comes from the chapter's general penalty section, Minn. Stat. § 169.89. Under subdivision 1, doing any act forbidden by chapter 169, or failing to do any act it requires, is a petty misdemeanor unless the chapter declares otherwise for that particular offense. Because § 169.225 declares nothing otherwise, an ordinary scooter violation is a petty misdemeanor.

Subdivision 1 raises the offense to a misdemeanor in two situations: where the violation is committed in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property, and where a traffic violation other than a parking violation follows two or more petty misdemeanor convictions within the preceding 12 months.

Subdivision 2 fixes what a petty misdemeanor costs. A person charged with one is not entitled to a jury trial and is tried by a judge, and on conviction is not subject to imprisonment but is punished by a fine of not more than $300. A Minneapolis ordinance violation is a separate matter carrying whatever penalty the city code sets, so read the citation to see which law you were cited under.

Enforcement in practice

No statewide enforcement data specific to motorized foot scooters was located for this research beyond Minneapolis's own published rider guidance, described below. Enforcement patterns, wherever they exist, do not change the underlying legal status of where and how a scooter may be ridden, and this page does not present unverified figures as confirmed fact.

Minneapolis e-scooter rules

Minneapolis is Minnesota's largest city and publishes its own official scooter riding rules, verified directly from the city's website. The city states that sidewalk riding is prohibited, riders must wear a helmet, and scooters belong in bike lanes, paths, trails, or with traffic while yielding to pedestrians, with no double-riding. The page also tells riders and parked scooters to avoid the sidewalk's 4-foot "clear zone" and explicitly references Minn. Stat. § 169.225 as the governing state law.

Note that the city's blanket "wear a helmet" instruction reads as broader than state law's actual legal requirement, which only mandates a helmet for riders under 18. It is not confirmed whether Minneapolis has adopted its own separate ordinance making a helmet mandatory for all ages, or whether the city page is simply giving universal safety advice on top of the narrower state legal requirement; riders in Minneapolis should treat the helmet instruction as the city's stated expectation either way.

If a scooter-related incident happens on a Minnesota roadway, general Minnesota DWI and negligence rules can still apply; see RecordingLaw's Minnesota DUI Laws and Minnesota Car Accident Laws pages, and RecordingLaw's E-Scooter Laws by State hub to compare Minnesota's rules to other states.