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

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

Are e-scooters legal in Montana?

Yes. Montana regulates a stand-up electric scooter under the term "motorized scooter," defined at MCA § 61-1-101(46) as "a vehicle without a seat that may be propelled solely or in part by muscular propulsion or by an independent power source such as an engine or motor," where that power source may not be capable of propelling the device faster than 30 mph on a level surface. The definition specifically excludes an electrically assisted bicycle, so Montana treats the two devices as separate categories.

A notable feature of Montana law is that "motorized scooter" is explicitly carved out of the broader "motor vehicle" definition. MCA § 61-1-101(41)(b) states that "motor vehicle" does not include "a bicycle, a motorized scooter, or a moped..., an electric personal assistive mobility device, a motorized nonstandard vehicle, or a motorized wheelchair." That exclusion has a real practical consequence for DUI exposure, covered below.

What counts as an e-scooter in Montana

Under § 61-1-101(46), a motorized scooter is a seatless vehicle propelled by muscular power, an independent power source, or both, capped at a maximum device speed of 30 mph on a level surface. An electrically assisted bicycle is a separate, excluded category under Montana law and is not covered by this page.

Where you can ride

Montana's 2025 law, generally referred to as HB 588 and codified into the bicycle-rules part of the traffic code, sets a clear split between roads and sidewalks. MCA § 61-8-608 states that a motorized scooter "may be operated under human propulsion or an independent power source on a highway, in a designated bicycle lane on a highway, or on the shoulder of a highway." On a sidewalk or bicycle path, the rule is narrower: a motorized scooter "may be operated on and along a sidewalk or a bicycle path only under human propulsion and may not be operated on or along a sidewalk or bicycle path if the moped or motorized scooter is under power from an independent power source." In plain terms, you can ride the motor on the road or in a bike lane, but on a sidewalk or bike path the motor has to be off. Riders on a sidewalk or crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before passing, and may not ride anywhere posted off-limits by an official traffic-control device.

Rider rules

• Age: No statewide minimum age to operate a motorized scooter was found in the sections reviewed for this research. That is an absence of a located requirement, not a statute that affirmatively says there is no minimum age.
• Helmet: Riders and passengers under 18 must wear protective headgear, under MCA § 61-9-417, which covers "an operator and passenger under 18 years of age of a motorcycle, moped, motorized scooter, or quadricycle." There is no statewide helmet mandate for riders 18 or older.
• Equipment: MCA § 61-8-607 requires a white front lamp visible 500 feet, a red rear lamp or reflector visible 500 feet, side reflective material visible 500 feet from the left and right, and a brake able to stop the scooter within 25 feet from a speed of 10 mph on dry, level, clean pavement.
• License, registration, insurance: Because a motorized scooter is excluded from Montana's "motor vehicle" definition, the general vehicle licensing and registration requirements that key off that term do not apply to it under the sections reviewed for this research.

Penalties

A specific statewide fine schedule for a motorized-scooter violation was not located in the sections reviewed for this research. Check the citation you received or the current Montana traffic-offense fine schedule for the exact amount tied to a specific violation.

Enforcement in practice

No statewide enforcement data specific to motorized scooters was located for this research. Enforcement patterns do not change the underlying legal status described above.

A note on DUI and motorized scooters

Montana's core DUI statute defines "motor vehicle" by reference back to MCA § 61-1-101, the same definitions section that excludes "motorized scooter" from "motor vehicle." Read together, the plain text of the DUI statute does not appear to reach a motorized-scooter rider the way it reaches a driver of a car or motorcycle. This is a statutory reading based on the definitions chapter, not a court ruling or an attorney general opinion confirming the point, and it does not mean impaired riding is safe or free of legal consequence: other Montana laws, including general reckless-endangerment, negligence, and local ordinance provisions, can still apply to an impaired motorized-scooter rider. This differs from neighboring Wyoming, where the DUI statute uses the broader word "vehicle" rather than "motor vehicle," a difference covered on RecordingLaw's Wyoming e-scooter page.

Billings e-scooter rules

Billings maintains traffic and vehicle-operation provisions in its municipal code, but the specific scooter-and-sidewalk ordinance text could not be independently retrieved from the city's code host this session. Riders in Billings should check the current municipal code directly, particularly for any local sidewalk restriction that may sit alongside the statewide motor-off rule described above.

See also RecordingLaw's Montana DUI Laws and Montana Car Accident Laws pages, and the E-Scooter Laws by State hub to compare Montana's rules to other states.