Electric Scooter Laws in Tennessee: Age, Helmets, and DUI

Electric scooter laws in Tennessee treat these devices more like bicycles than cars: you don’t need a driver’s license, registration, or insurance, but you do have to be old enough to drive, keep your speed under 15 mph, stay off sidewalks with the motor engaged, and follow the same traffic rules as any other vehicle on the road. Riding while intoxicated can bring a full DUI charge, and cities layer their own restrictions on top of the state baseline.

What Counts as an Electric Foot Scooter

Tennessee Code Section 55-8-301 defines an electric foot scooter as a device that weighs less than 100 pounds, has two or three wheels with handlebars and a floorboard designed for standing, and is powered by an electric motor, human power, or both. Its top speed on a flat, paved surface cannot exceed 20 mph.¹

That definition draws a hard line. A device heavier than 100 pounds or capable of more than 20 mph can fall under motor-vehicle rules that require a title, registration, and a license. The statute also explicitly excludes electric foot scooters from the category of “motor-driven cycle.”¹ If your device sits outside the definition, the rules in this article do not apply to it.

No License, Registration, or Insurance

Under Section 55-8-302, electric foot scooters are exempt from Tennessee’s Financial Responsibility Law, the Uniform Classified and Commercial Driver License Act, and the titling and registration requirements in Chapters 3 and 4 of Title 55.¹ In plain terms: no license, no plates, no mandatory liability insurance.

The insurance point matters. If you injure someone or damage property, you’re personally responsible for those costs. Homeowners or renters policies sometimes cover scooter liability and sometimes exclude powered scooters as motorized vehicles. Check your policy before you ride regularly.

Age and Speed Limits

Section 55-8-306(d) sets two firm limits. No one may operate an electric foot scooter faster than 15 mph, and no one younger than the minimum age to drive a motor vehicle under Chapter 50 of the Tennessee Code may ride one at all.¹

The 15 mph riding cap is lower than the 20 mph the scooter can be built to reach. A scooter capable of 20 mph is legal to own; going that fast on a road, path, or trail is not. Most rental scooters are speed-limited in software, but private owners should know that exceeding 15 mph is a violation.

The age floor is set by Tennessee’s licensing rules. Because learner’s permits are issued at 15 (with a supervising adult) and intermediate restricted licenses at 16, the practical minimum age to independently operate an electric foot scooter is 16. Shared scooter companies often require riders to be 18, which is stricter than the law but enforceable through the rental contract.

Where You Can Ride

Scooters may be operated anywhere bicycles are allowed: streets, bike lanes, shoulders, and paths or trails designated for bicycle use.¹ On roadways, riders travel in the same direction as traffic and stay as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge. Drivers passing a scooter must leave at least three feet of clearance.

Sidewalks are the trap. You cannot ride an electric foot scooter on a sidewalk unless the local government or state agency with jurisdiction has authorized bicycle use there and you disable the electric motor. Riding on a sidewalk with the motor engaged is a Class C misdemeanor, even where bikes are otherwise allowed.¹

You can park a scooter on a sidewalk as long as it doesn’t block pedestrians. Local governments and state agencies can also further restrict scooter use on specific paths or trails when they decide public safety requires it, and they can restrict scooters on roadways to the same extent they restrict bicycles.

Traffic Rules and Equipment

Every person riding an electric foot scooter on a roadway has the same rights and duties as the driver of a vehicle. Stop signs, traffic signals, lane markings, and turn signals all apply, and riders are subject to the traffic-offense provisions of Chapters 8 and 10 of Title 55.² A violation is a Class C misdemeanor.

You must keep at least one hand on the handlebars at all times. No more than two riders may travel side by side. Carrying a passenger is prohibited unless the scooter is specifically designed and equipped for more than one person, which rules out virtually every standard rental model.

Section 55-8-177 sets the equipment standards that apply to bicycles and electric foot scooters alike:³

A front-facing white light visible from at least 500 feet, required when riding at night.
A red rear reflector or red rear lamp visible from at least 500 feet.
A braking system that can stop the scooter within 25 feet from 10 mph on dry, level, clean pavement.

Most commercial rental scooters ship with these features. Private owners should verify their machines meet all three, particularly the braking-distance requirement, since budget models sometimes use friction brakes that degrade with use.

Helmets

Tennessee requires anyone under 16 to wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet when operating or riding as a passenger on a bicycle on any highway, street, or sidewalk.⁴ Because scooter riders are subject to the same rules as cyclists, this extends to electric foot scooters. Riders 16 and older are not required by state law to wear a helmet, though the practical minimum riding age of 16 means state helmet requirements rarely apply to independent scooter operators.

DUI Applies to Scooters

Tennessee’s DUI statute reaches electric foot scooters. Because Section 55-8-172 gives scooter riders all the rights and duties of a vehicle driver, including those under Chapter 10, riding a scooter while intoxicated exposes you to the same criminal charges as driving a car drunk.¹ A first offense can bring up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, fines between $350 and $1,500, an alcohol safety course, and a one-year driver’s license suspension. Renting a scooter outside a bar does not change that.

If You’re in an Accident

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. You can recover damages only if your share of fault is less than 50%, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of blame. A rider found 40% at fault on a $50,000 claim collects $30,000; at 50% or more, nothing.

Liability can fall on more than one party:

The rider, for violating traffic laws, riding impaired, or riding recklessly.
A motorist, for failing to yield, running a signal, or not leaving the three-foot passing buffer.
The scooter company or manufacturer, if a design defect or poor maintenance caused a brake or steering failure.
A government entity, if a poorly maintained road or known hazard caused the crash. Tennessee’s Governmental Tort Liability Act caps recovery at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per incident for bodily injury.⁵

Violating a local scooter ordinance can itself serve as evidence of negligence. If a city prohibits riding on a specific sidewalk and you hit a pedestrian there, the ordinance violation alone may establish that you rode negligently.

Local Rules Can Be Stricter

State law gives cities and counties broad authority to regulate scooters within their borders. Local governments can prohibit or regulate scooter use on any path or trail under their jurisdiction, restrict scooters on roadways to the same extent they restrict bicycles, and set sidewalk rules that go beyond the state baseline.¹

Nashville is the clearest example. The city’s Transportation Licensing Commission runs a shared bike and scooter program that controls fleet sizes, designates parking corrals where trips must end, and uses geofencing to enforce slow zones, no-ride zones, and no-parking zones. During major events, additional geofenced zones can shut scooters down in certain areas entirely.⁶

Other Tennessee cities with shared programs have adopted similar frameworks, including fleet caps, designated parking, and speed-limited zones near pedestrian-heavy areas. Before you ride in any Tennessee municipality, check that city’s specific ordinances. The local rules are often tighter than state law, and the fines vary from place to place.

1
Tennessee General Assembly. Tennessee HB1220 – Electric Foot Scooters
2
Tennessee Department of Transportation. Tennessee Bicycle Laws
3
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 55-8-177 – Lamps and Other Equipment on Bicycles
4
Justia. Tennessee Code 55-52-105 – Child Bicycle Safety Rules
5
University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service. Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act
6
Nashville Metropolitan Government. Shared Bike and Scooter Program