REAL Law Group

Illinois E-Bike Law: What Changes on January 1, 2027

Illinois now has a statewide framework for e-bikes, e-scooters, and the higher-powered machines sold as e-motos. It sets minimum riding ages of 15 and 16, keeps every one of these devices off sidewalks, requires a driver's license, title, registration, and insurance for anything with a motor rated over 750 watts, and takes local e-bike ordinances off the table.

The short version

  • The law is Public Act 104-0854, enacted as SB 3484. The Governor approved it on August 26, 2026 and it takes effect January 1, 2027.
  • If your bike has pedals and a motor under 750 watts, nothing about licensing changes. There is still no license, plate, registration, or insurance requirement.
  • If it has a motor over 750 watts, Illinois now treats it as a motor driven cycle, and that means a driver's license, a title, registration, and insurance.
  • New minimum ages arrive for ordinary e-bikes: 15 for Class 1 and Class 2, 16 for Class 3, and 16 for every scooter, skateboard, and unicycle.

A correction worth making first

Much of the coverage still circulating describes a different bill. SB 3336, the e-bike bill championed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, passed the Illinois Senate 54 to 0 on April 15, 2026, and passed the House 80 to 30 on May 27 with two floor amendments. The Senate then had to vote to concur in those amendments and never did. On July 2, 2026 the bill was referred back to Assignments under Senate Rule 3-9(b), which is where bills go to sit. SB 3336 is not law.

The provisions did become law, on a different vehicle. House Floor Amendment 1 placed them onto SB 3484, a Secretary of State omnibus bill. It passed both chambers on June 1, 2026, the Governor signed it on August 26, 2026, and it is now Public Act 104-0854. Everything on this page is drawn from that enacted text rather than from coverage of the bill that stalled.

Read Public Act 104-0854SB 3484 legislative history

Step one: figure out which category your device is in

Every rule in the new law depends on the category, and the category depends on the motor. The number that matters most is the wattage on the manufacturer's label.

Low-speed electric bicycle

625 ILCS 5/1-140.10

Operable pedals and an electric motor under 750 watts.

This is what most people mean when they say e-bike. Class 1 assists only while you pedal and stops assisting at 20 mph. Class 2 has a throttle that can propel the bike on its own and stops at 20 mph. Class 3 assists only while you pedal and stops at 28 mph. A low-speed electric bicycle is not a motor vehicle in Illinois, so it needs no title, no plate, no registration, no driver's license, and no insurance.

No license, no plate, no insurance.

Electric micromobility device

625 ILCS 5/1-117.6

A light electric device for personal transportation operating at speeds up to 28 mph, including electric scooters, electric skateboards, and electric unicycles.

This category is new on January 1, 2027, and it replaces the old low-speed electric scooter section that the Act repeals. The law calls these devices motor vehicles for purposes of the Vehicle Code, which is how the rules of the road attach to them, and then exempts them from titling, registration, driver licensing, and mandatory liability insurance. The practical effect is a device treated like a vehicle on the street that you cannot register or insure like one.

No license or insurance required, but a 16 and older age floor.

Motor driven cycle

625 ILCS 5/1-145.001

An electric motor rated over 750 watts and up to 8,000 watts, or a gas bicycle capable of more than 28 mph, or any electric bicycle that does not fit one of the three low-speed classes.

This is the category that catches the machines commonly sold as e-motos or dirt-bike-style electric bikes. Reclassification is the heart of the new law. A motor driven cycle needs a certificate of title, registration, a VIN, a speedometer, a driver's license, and liability insurance, and it is barred from every sidewalk, bicycle lane, bicycle path, shared-use path, and trail designated for bicycles.

Full driver's license, title, registration, and insurance.

Toy vehicle

625 ILCS 5/1-205.5

A battery powered ride-on toy designed not to exceed 10 mph and designed for children under 8 years of age.

The Act names Razor and Power Wheels style products as the examples. Toy vehicles may be used only on sidewalks and bicycle paths, and the child operating one has the rights and duties of a pedestrian, which means drivers must yield to them. Municipalities and park districts may prohibit them on their own property by ordinance.

Sidewalks and bicycle paths only.

Minimum riding ages

This is the change most families will notice. Illinois previously set a minimum age only for Class 3 e-bikes, so a 12 year old on a Class 2 throttle bike was riding legally. That ends on January 1, 2027.

Class 1 low-speed electric bicycle

15 and older

New. Illinois had no minimum age for Class 1 before this Act.

625 ILCS 5/11-1517(h)

Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle

15 and older

New. Illinois had no minimum age for Class 2 before this Act.

625 ILCS 5/11-1517(h)

Class 3 low-speed electric bicycle

16 and older

Unchanged. A rider under 16 may still ride as a passenger on a Class 3 built to carry one.

625 ILCS 5/11-1517(h)

Electric scooter, skateboard, or unicycle

16 and older

New for the whole micromobility category.

625 ILCS 5/11-1435(d)

Low-speed gas bicycle

16 and older

Unchanged, but the speed cap for these rises from 20 mph to 28 mph.

625 ILCS 5/11-1516(a), (b)

Motor driven cycle, including any e-moto over 750 watts

Valid driver's license required

A 16 or 17 year old may hold an instruction permit and ride in daylight under the direct supervision of a licensed operator 21 or older with a year of experience.

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(d)

The passenger rule almost nobody is reporting

An e-bike, gas bicycle, or motor driven cycle built to carry a passenger may not be operated by anyone under 18 while carrying one, unless that passenger is a sibling, stepsibling, child, or stepchild of the rider. Two teenagers doubling up on one e-bike becomes a violation on January 1, 2027. For scooters and similar devices there is no family exception at all: no passenger unless the device was designed to carry more than one person.

Where each device may be ridden

Low-speed electric bicycle

625 ILCS 5/11-1517(e), (f), (g)

Allowed. Any highway, street, or roadway open to bicycles, including bicycle lanes. Bicycle paths are open unless the State agency with jurisdiction prohibits that class.

Not allowed. Sidewalks. Park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, and transit districts may still restrict paths they control, and the Department of Natural Resources may adopt rules for its own properties.

Electric micromobility device

625 ILCS 5/11-1435(a), (b)

Allowed. Highways, streets, roadways, bicycle lanes, and bicycle paths, without impeding traffic.

Not allowed. Sidewalks, interstates, and any road posted above 35 mph unless it has a designated bicycle lane. A device capable of and traveling over 28 mph is barred from every public highway at any speed limit, and from bicycle lanes and bicycle paths as well.

Motor driven cycle

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(b), (c)

Allowed. Public highways, streets, and roadways.

Not allowed. Sidewalks, bicycle lanes, bicycle paths, shared-use paths, off-road bicycle trails, natural surface trails designated for bicycle use, any other bicycle-specific facility, interstates, and public land where the agency in charge prohibits it.

Toy vehicle

625 ILCS 5/11-1008.5(a), (b)

Allowed. Sidewalks and bicycle paths only.

Not allowed. Everywhere else, and on municipal or district property that prohibits them by ordinance.

If your machine is over 750 watts

The reclassification is the substance of this law. An electric motor rated over 750 watts and up to 8,000 watts makes the machine a motor driven cycle, and the full motor-vehicle apparatus follows. This is the category most dirt-bike-style electric machines fall into, whatever the shop called them at the point of sale.

Certificate of title

Required for an electric motor driven cycle rated over 750 watts and up to 8,000 watts, or a gas bicycle capable of more than 28 mph, purchased new on or after January 1, 2027, as long as the machine has a VIN. A machine bought before that date does not have to be titled, but it must be titled and registered before it may be operated on a public highway.

625 ILCS 5/3-101(b-5)

Registration and plates

A machine not manufactured or equipped for general highway use is not eligible for registration at all. It receives a distinctive title and cannot legally be ridden on the road.

625 ILCS 5/3-101(b-5)

Driver's license

No person may operate a motor driven cycle without a valid driver's license.

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(d)

Liability insurance

Every owner of a motor driven cycle is subject to the mandatory insurance requirements of the Vehicle Code.

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(l)

Equipment

A speedometer reading in miles per hour, a VIN, compliance with federal vehicle safety standards, and no tampering with the speed capability.

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(g)

Confiscation and impoundment

A machine found in violation may be confiscated and impounded at the discretion of the law enforcement agency, which may charge a reasonable administrative fee to release it. The fee is waived on verifiable proof the vehicle was stolen or hijacked at the time.

625 ILCS 5/11-1403.4(j)

What the law does not do

Several widely repeated claims about this law are not in the enacted text.

E-bike riders will need a driver's license and insurance.

Not for a real e-bike. A low-speed electric bicycle is not a motor vehicle in Illinois, and the Act expressly exempts electric micromobility devices from titling, registration, licensing, and mandatory insurance. Those requirements attach only when a machine is powerful enough to be a motor driven cycle, which generally means a motor rated over 750 watts.

Illinois is requiring helmets.

The word helmet does not appear anywhere in Public Act 104-0854. The Act imposes no helmet requirement on any category of device.

Everyone has to be 16.

The floors differ by device. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are 15 and older. Class 3 e-bikes, gas bicycles, and every electric micromobility device are 16 and older. Motor driven cycles require a license rather than a birthday.

This is the Giannoulias bill that passed the Senate unanimously.

That bill was SB 3336, and it is not law. It cleared the Senate 54-0 in April 2026 and the House 80-30 in May, then the Senate never voted to concur in the House amendments and the bill was parked in July. The provisions that became law rode on SB 3484 instead, which the Governor signed on August 26, 2026 as Public Act 104-0854.

What to do before January 1

Parents

Find the label on the bike and read the wattage. Under 750 watts with a class number on it is an e-bike, and your rider needs to be 15 for Class 1 or Class 2 and 16 for Class 3. Over 750 watts is a motor driven cycle, which means your child cannot legally ride it at all without a driver's license, a title, plates, and insurance.

Riders

Check whether your machine is capable of more than 28 mph. If it is, and it is a micromobility device, it is barred from public roads, bicycle lanes, and bicycle paths entirely once the Act takes effect, which leaves private property with permission.

Anyone who bought before January 1, 2027

You are not forced to title a machine you already own, but you cannot ride it on a public highway until it is titled and registered. Keep your proof of purchase date.

Retailers and shops

Review how every machine on the floor is labeled and advertised. Marketing a motor driven cycle as though it is exempt from these rules is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, carrying a civil penalty up to $10,000 for each unit.

Municipalities

Local e-bike ordinances are preempted. The Act removes the authority of local governments to license or register low-speed electric bicycles and gas bicycles, and bars home rule units from regulating e-bikes, gas bicycles, micromobility devices, and motor driven cycles except where the Act specifically allows it.

If someone has already been hurt, the legal questions are different from the compliance questions on this page. Insurance coverage for these devices does not follow the Vehicle Code categories, and the deadlines to bring a claim in Illinois are shorter than most people expect. See our page on e-bike and scooter injury claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

January 1, 2027. Public Act 104-0854 was approved by the Governor on August 26, 2026, and its own effective-date section sets January 1, 2027. Nothing in it applies before that date, so the rules in force through the end of 2026 are the older ones.
No, not for an actual e-bike. A low-speed electric bicycle has operable pedals and a motor under 750 watts, and Illinois does not treat it as a motor vehicle, so no driver's license, title, registration, or insurance is required. You do need a valid driver's license for a motor driven cycle, which after January 1, 2027 includes any electric two-wheeler with a motor rated over 750 watts and up to 8,000 watts.
Starting January 1, 2027, 15 for a Class 1 or Class 2 low-speed electric bicycle and 16 for a Class 3. The 15 year floor is new, because Illinois previously set a minimum age only for Class 3. Electric scooters, electric skateboards, and electric unicycles all require the operator to be 16 or older. If the machine has a motor over 750 watts it is a motor driven cycle, and no minor may operate it without at least an instruction permit and supervision.
Generally not after January 1, 2027 if the rider is under 18. An e-bike manufactured to accommodate passengers may not be operated by a person under the age of 18 while carrying a passenger unless that passenger is a sibling, stepsibling, child, or stepchild of the operator. The same restriction applies to gas bicycles and to motor driven cycles. For electric scooters and similar devices the rule is simpler: no passenger at all unless the device was originally designed to carry more than one person.
No. Public Act 104-0854 bars low-speed electric bicycles, gas bicycles, electric micromobility devices, and motor driven cycles from sidewalks. The only category the Act permits on a sidewalk is a toy vehicle, meaning a battery ride-on designed for children under 8 that cannot exceed 10 mph, and the child riding one is treated as a pedestrian.
E-moto is a marketing term, not a legal category. Most machines sold that way have a motor well over 750 watts and no functional pedals, which makes them motor driven cycles under 625 ILCS 5/1-145.001. They remain legal to own and to ride on ordinary streets, but only with a certificate of title, registration, a VIN, a speedometer, a driver's license, and liability insurance. They are barred from every sidewalk, bicycle lane, bicycle path, shared-use path, and trail designated for bicycle use. A machine that was never manufactured or equipped for general highway use cannot be registered at all, which means there is no lawful way to ride it on a public road.
Only if you want to ride it on a public road. The titling requirement in 625 ILCS 5/3-101(b-5) reaches machines purchased new on or after January 1, 2027. The Act then says that a machine bought before that date need not mandatorily be titled, but that if the owner seeks to operate it on public highways it must be titled and registered. Keep documentation of your purchase date.
Yes, in some circumstances. Public Act 104-0854 gives law enforcement discretion to confiscate and impound both an electric micromobility device and a motor driven cycle found in violation of the operating rules, and to charge a reasonable administrative fee to release it. The Act requires that fee to be waived on verifiable proof that the machine was stolen or hijacked at the time it was impounded. If a device has been impounded, the paperwork and the deadlines in the notice matter, and it is worth getting advice quickly.
Mostly no, and this is one of the least reported parts of the Act. Public Act 104-0854 preempts home rule authority over low-speed electric bicycles, gas bicycles, electric micromobility devices, and motor driven cycles, and it strikes the language in 625 ILCS 5/11-208 that let local authorities require registration and licensing of e-bikes and gas bicycles. Narrow exceptions survive. Park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, and transit districts may still regulate use on bicycle paths under their jurisdiction, the Department of Natural Resources may adopt rules for its own properties, and the Department of Transportation may restrict micromobility devices on facilities it controls.
No. The word helmet does not appear in Public Act 104-0854, and the Act adds no helmet requirement for any category of device. Local rules that applied to bicycles before the Act may still exist in places, and helmet use remains a sensible precaution regardless of what the statute requires.
Possibly, and the new law creates a specific hook. Section 11-1403.4(i) prohibits a retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or manufacturer from marketing, advertising, labeling, or offering a motor driven cycle for sale in a manner that would reasonably cause a consumer to believe the machine is not subject to the licensing, titling, registration, and insurance rules. A violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, it is enforceable by the Attorney General and by State's Attorneys, and it carries a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation with each mislabeled machine counting separately. Whether an individual buyer has a claim depends on what was said, what was written, and what the sale cost you, which is what a consultation looks at.
No, and this trips up a lot of the coverage still circulating. The bill that passed the Senate 54-0 in April 2026 was SB 3336. It went on to pass the House 80-30 in May with two floor amendments, then the Senate never voted to concur in those amendments, and on July 2, 2026 the bill was referred back to Assignments under Senate Rule 3-9(b). It did not become law. The provisions that did become law were added to SB 3484 by House Floor Amendment 1, and SB 3484 was signed on August 26, 2026 as Public Act 104-0854.

Questions about how this applies to you?

Whether it is a citation, an impounded machine, an injury, or a bike that was sold to you as something it is not, tell us what happened and we will tell you where you stand. Consultations are free, in English, Spanish, or Polish.

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