Algeria E-Scooter Laws: New Decree Covers Mopeds, Not Kick-Scooters (2026)

This article is general information about e-scooter laws in Algeria and is not legal advice. Algeria's rules are actively changing, so for a specific situation consult an Algerian traffic lawyer or your wilaya's transport authority. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

Are e-scooters legal in Algeria?

Algeria does not currently have a law written for stand-up electric kick-scooters. That is a different, more precise finding than "no law at all," because the country's traffic code framework has been changing quickly and readers need to know exactly what changed and what did not.

The base traffic statute is Loi n. 01-14 du 19 aout 2001, amended by Loi n. 17-05 of 16 February 2017. It defines a "cyclomoteur" by displacement (no more than 50cm3) and speed (no more than 45 km/h), a combustion-era metric that was never written with an electric motor in mind.

In June 2025, Decret executif n. 25-169 amended the older Decret executif n. 04-381 of 2004 and introduced a genuinely new, power-based licensing system, but for a different category of vehicle: "velos motorises" and "motos electriques," meaning electric bikes and e-motorcycles, described in coverage as seated, two-or-more-wheeled motorized forms. Standing kick-scooters are not named among the decree's defined vehicle categories.

The practical result is a split status. Electric mopeds and motorcycles now sit inside a real licensing regime. Trottinettes electriques, the scooters people actually ride around Algiers, Constantine, and Oran, still sit outside any dedicated rule.

What Decret 25-169 actually covers

These thresholds and licence categories come from coverage citing the decree's Article 4, but the decree's own vehicle categories, per a detailed breakdown of its scope, cover seated e-bike and e-motorcycle forms, passenger-vehicle classes, and disability vehicles. Standing kick-scooters appear on the same source only in a separate article that cites French law as a reference point, with no claim that Algeria has adopted equivalent rules for them.

Where that leaves a kick-scooter rider

With no dedicated rule. Reporting from Constantine in early 2025 described "l'absence d'un cadre reglementaire explicite" (the absence of an explicit regulatory framework) for trottinettes electriques, and noted that the law did not yet require mandatory insurance for them. Riders, described in that reporting as mostly young people, were largely riding without helmets.

That gap is not a green light. It means a rider carries device-specific risk, no mandated safety equipment and no clear liability framework, with essentially no legal protection or defined right to use the road the way a licensed vehicle category has.

Enforcement in practice

The clearest documented enforcement signal is not a citation or a fine but a complaint. The consumer-advocacy body APOCE publicly asked the Alger wilaya to seize e-scooters riding on the Zeralda to Alger autoroute and to suspend their use there, describing the situation as unregulated and dangerous. No source found confirms that request led to an actual seizure campaign.

That single documented episode fits a broader pattern of minimal, complaint-driven attention rather than a functioning enforcement scheme, because there currently is no defined rule for this vehicle type to enforce. Wherever enforcement activity does exist, it does not change the underlying legal status, and its absence here should never be read as official permission.

Legal history and what may change

A draft new Code de la Route, unveiled 2 December 2025, would explicitly bring "engins de deplacement personnel motorises, notamment les trottinettes electriques" (motorized personal transport devices, notably electric kick-scooters) into the traffic code for the first time. It would give the wali power to ban or restrict such devices on specific roads or reserved lanes, and would trigger specific rules once a device exceeds 25 km/h.

As of the article reporting that draft, dated 3 December 2025, it remained a pending bill. Whether it has advanced or passed since then was not confirmed in this research, so check the current status before relying on this section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are electric kick-scooters legal in Algeria?

There is no dedicated law that names them, unlike electric mopeds and motorcycles which got a real licensing regime in June 2025. That gap means no clear rule permits or forbids riding one, a genuinely unresolved position, not a green light.

Does Algeria's 2025 decree (25-169) cover e-scooters?

No. Decret executif n. 25-169 created power-based licence requirements for electric mopeds and motorcycles (velos motorises, motos electriques), which are seated, two-wheeled forms. Standing kick-scooters are not among its defined categories.

Do I need insurance to ride an e-scooter in Algeria?

Reporting from early 2025 found no mandatory insurance requirement for kick-scooters under current law. That could change once the pending Code de la Route reform passes.

Is there a proposed law that would regulate e-scooters directly?

Yes. A draft Code de la Route unveiled in December 2025 would name trottinettes electriques explicitly and give provincial governors power to restrict them, with rules triggered above 25 km/h. As of the source reporting it, the bill had not been enacted.

Can police seize an e-scooter in Algeria?

A consumer group publicly asked authorities to seize scooters riding on one Algiers-area autoroute, but no confirmed seizure campaign was found in this research, and no general seizure rule for kick-scooters specifically was found either.

What about electric motorcycles or e-bikes, are those treated differently?

Yes, clearly. Those fall inside Decret 25-169's licensing bands: no licence but wali authorization under 4kW, an A1 licence from 4kW to under 15kW, and a full A licence at 15kW and above.