E-bikes in California

California sorts e-bikes into three classes. These are the main rules, copied from the code and the bills that changed it.

• Three classes

  An electric bicycle has fully operable pedals and an electric motor of no more than 750 watts. Class 1: the motor helps only while the rider pedals, and stops helping at 20 mph. Class 2: the motor can power the bicycle on its own, and stops helping at 20 mph. Class 3: the motor helps only while the rider pedals, stops helping at 28 mph, and the bicycle has a speedometer.

  Vehicle Code 312.5

• Age for class 3

  A person under 16 may not operate a class 3 electric bicycle. The code sets no minimum age for class 1 or class 2.

  Vehicle Code 21213(a)

• Helmets

  Anyone riding a class 3 electric bicycle, as rider or passenger, must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet that meets ASTM or CPSC standards. Separately, a person under 18 may not ride a bicycle, scooter or skateboard without a helmet (21212).

  Vehicle Code 21213(b) and 21212

• Paths and trails

  Local authorities may restrict electric bicycles by ordinance on equestrian and recreational trails, and the Department of Parks and Recreation may prohibit them on paths it manages. Check the local rule for the path you ride.

  Vehicle Code 21207.5

• Throttles and start assistance

  The Legislative Counsel's Digest says class 1 and class 3 motors are not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, and may have start assistance or a walk mode that propels it on motor power alone up to 3.7 mph.

  SB 1271 (Chapter 791, Statutes of 2024), approved September 27, 2024

• Battery testing for sale

  From January 1, 2026, selling, leasing or offering an electric bicycle or powered mobility device requires that its storage battery has been tested by an accredited testing laboratory for compliance with a specified standard. Rental provisions start January 1, 2028.

  SB 1271 (Chapter 791, Statutes of 2024)

• Speed-modification devices

  The Legislative Counsel's Digest says the bill clarifies the tampering prohibitions and restricts selling devices that would modify an electric bicycle to exceed the definition of its class.

  AB 1774 (Chapter 55, Statutes of 2024), approved July 2, 2024

This list is not complete. Cities, counties and parks make rules of their own where the code lets them, and some paths and trails bar e-bikes. Check the local rule before riding a path.

Crashes in the state's records ( CCRS) in which one of the vehicles was recorded as an electric bicycle. People killed and injured are everyone in those crashes, not only the riders.

• 2021

  1 killed · 83 injured

  74

• 2022

  5 killed · 257 injured

  243

• 2023

  5 killed · 569 injured

  541

• 2024

  13 killed · 975 injured

  978

• 2026through 2026-10-01

  9 killed · 1,555 injured

  1,520

For scale, 10,579 crashes in 2024 involved an ordinary bicycle. E-bike crashes rose from 74 in 2021 to 978 in 2024. The records cannot separate more e-bikes on the road, more crashes and more careful recording of e-bikes by police, and there are no counts of miles ridden, so these numbers say nothing about how risky an e-bike is.

2025 is left out because its party records are not yet complete in the state portal.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates 53,200 emergency-room visits for e-bike injuries across the US from 2017 to 2022, 24,400 of them in 2022 alone (46% of the six years).

It knew of 104 e-bike deaths in those years, and says the count will rise as death certificates come in. What it found:

• 58 deaths involved a collision with a motor vehicle.
• 16 were riders who lost control, such as hitting a fixed object or a curb.
• 17 were falls with no details on the cause.
• 8 involved pedestrians: 2 riders and 6 pedestrians died.
• 2 were people in residential fires caused by e-bike batteries.

CPSC, Micromobility Products-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Hazard Patterns: 2017–2022 (September 2023). National figures, not California's, and about 2017 to 2022 only.

Of 59 completed CPSC investigations of e-bike incidents, 28 involved a fire hazard, and most of those fires started while the e-bike was charging. The sample is the investigations CPSC completed, not all e-bike fires.

California's answer so far is SB 1271, which from January 1, 2026 requires that e-bike batteries sold or leased in the state have been tested by an accredited laboratory (see the rules above).

What are the three classes of e-bike in California?

Class 1: the motor helps only while you pedal, up to 20 mph. Class 2: the motor can power the bike on its own, up to 20 mph. Class 3: the motor helps only while you pedal, up to 28 mph, and the bike has a speedometer (California Vehicle Code 312.5).

Do you need a helmet on an e-bike in California?

Anyone riding a class 3 e-bike, as rider or passenger, must wear a helmet, and a person under 18 must wear one on any bicycle (Vehicle Code 21213 and 21212). The code sets no helmet rule for adults on class 1 and class 2.

How many crashes involve e-bikes in California?

The California Crash Reporting System lists 74 crashes involving an e-bike in 2021 and 978 in 2024. Part of the rise may be how police record e-bikes; the records cannot separate that from more e-bike crashes.

How many people are hurt on e-bikes in the US?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates 53,200 emergency-room visits for e-bike injuries from 2017 to 2022, 24,400 of them in 2022, and knew of 104 deaths in that period. Its death count is incomplete.