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

This article is general information about South Carolina e-scooter laws and is not legal advice. If you were cited or injured while riding, consult a South Carolina attorney or check your city's current ordinance directly. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

Are e-scooters legal in South Carolina?

South Carolina's only device-specific micromobility statute is S.C. Code section 56-5-3310, covering "Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices," or EPAMDs. The statute defines an EPAMD as "a self-balancing two nontandem wheeled device designed to transport one person, with an electric propulsion system with average power of seven hundred fifty watts (one horsepower), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by this propulsion system while ridden by an operator weighing one hundred seventy pounds, is less than twenty miles an hour."

Because a standard kick-style e-scooter, the Bird or Lime type device, is not self-balancing, it does not meet this definition. That means South Carolina, like North Carolina, has no statewide statute written for a standard standup e-scooter. The statute goes further and states that an EPAMD itself "is not considered a 'vehicle' or 'motor vehicle' within the meaning of the laws of this State and no provisions of law relating to vehicles or motor vehicles apply to an EPAMD unless specified in this article," which shows how narrow and self-contained this one category is, let alone how little it has to say about a device it does not even define.

What counts as an e-scooter in South Carolina

There is no statutory definition of a standup kick scooter in South Carolina. The closest reference point, the EPAMD definition above, requires self-balancing, an electric propulsion system averaging 750 watts, and a sub-20-mph top speed measured with a 170-pound rider, all specific to a Segway-type device rather than a kick scooter.

Where you can ride

For a device that does qualify as an EPAMD, section 56-5-3310(C) allows riding on sidewalks, roadways, and bicycle routes, paths, and trails. Section 56-5-3310(K) sets a sidewalk-preference rule: if a usable sidewalk is available, riding an EPAMD on the adjacent roadway instead is unlawful. Freeway use is prohibited and treated as a misdemeanor under section 56-5-3310(L). Local authorities may add their own traffic-control-signal compliance rules and crosswalk restrictions under section 56-5-3310(G). None of these EPAMD-specific rules has a confirmed legal basis for a standard kick scooter, since the statute does not define that device.

Rider rules

• Age: No age requirement is stated in section 56-5-3310 itself.
• Helmet: No helmet requirement is stated in section 56-5-3310 itself.
• Speed: For an EPAMD, capped at 15 mph under section 56-5-3310(E). No statutory speed cap exists specifically for a kick-style scooter.
• License, registration, insurance: No statewide requirement was identified in the statute's text for EPAMDs or scooters.
• Yielding: An EPAMD rider must yield to pedestrians and human-powered devices and give an audible signal before overtaking, under section 56-5-3310(D).

Penalties

The one specific penalty in the statute applies to EPAMDs on a freeway: a misdemeanor, fined up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail, under section 56-5-3310(L). Because the statute does not define or regulate standup kick scooters at all, there is no statewide fine schedule for them; any penalty for scooter use would come from a local ordinance instead.

Enforcement in practice

No statewide e-scooter enforcement data was verified for this page. Because South Carolina law does not regulate standup scooters directly, enforcement in practice depends on whether and how your city has filled that gap with its own ordinance. Enforcement patterns do not change what state law or a local ordinance actually requires.

Columbia and Charleston e-scooter rules

Columbia is reported, per secondary sources not independently confirmed against the city's own ordinance text for this page, to require a helmet for all riders and to ban scooters from any road posted 25 mph or higher and from all public sidewalks. Charleston banned scooter-share companies outright in 2018 and has since reportedly developed a private-use framework, capping speed at 15 mph on roads posted 25 mph or under and treating sidewalk riding as illegal if the device is capable of exceeding 15 mph. Because neither city's figures were independently verified against primary ordinance text in this research, confirm current rules directly with the City of Columbia or the City of Charleston before relying on a specific speed or sidewalk figure.

If a crash involving an e-scooter happens on a South Carolina roadway, ordinary negligence rules and, where alcohol or drugs are involved, DUI law can still apply. See RecordingLaw's South Carolina DUI Laws and South Carolina Car Accident Laws pages for more, and RecordingLaw's E-Scooter Laws by State hub to compare South Carolina with other states.