Cuba E-Scooter Laws: A Reported A1 Licence Requirement (2026)

This article is general information about e-scooter law in Cuba and is not legal advice, and rests partly on secondary reporting rather than the statute's own text, as explained below. Confirm current requirements with Cuba's traffic authorities before riding. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

Are e-scooters legal in Cuba?

The picture in Cuba is reported differently than in most of the rest of this Caribbean group. Rather than a general "motor vehicle" definition that happens to sweep in an e-scooter by omission, Cuba's national road safety code, Ley No. 109, Código de Seguridad Vial (approved 1 August 2010, published in the Gaceta Oficial No. 40 Ordinaria of 17 September 2010, in force from 16 March 2011), is reported by two independent Cuban outlets to include a named licence category, A1, that specifically applies to powered two-wheelers, including what Cuban reporting calls a "motorina eléctrica." Under that reporting, an electric two-wheeler with a motor over roughly 1,000 W would need an A1 licence, a plate, and a helmet to be ridden lawfully.

This article opened the Gaceta Oficial's own index page for Ley 109, which confirms the law's name, approval date and publication details, but that page is a summary, not the statutory text itself, and does not carry the vehicle-classification articles. The direct PDF of the law's illustrated text, hosted by Cuba's national road safety body, returned a server error on two separate attempts, so the specific figures above rest on secondary reporting, not a primary-source read of the operative article. Two independent outlets agreeing on the same law, the same licence category, and similar figures is a meaningful degree of corroboration, but it falls short of opening the statute directly, and this article is explicit about that gap rather than presenting the figures as confirmed.

What counts as an e-scooter here

Cuban reporting on Ley 109 describes the relevant category by power and speed rather than by device shape: a two-wheeled cycle with an electric motor over roughly 1,000 W, or a combustion engine under 50cc, capped at roughly 50 km/h, falls into the licensed "motorina eléctrica" class. Pedal-assist bicycles that cut off above roughly 20 km/h, children's scooters, wheelchairs, and skateboards are reported as exempt. Where a stand-up kick-style e-scooter with a smaller motor falls relative to that 1,000 W line is not addressed directly in the reporting located for this article.

Rider rules

As reported, a category A1 driving licence, a registration plate, and a helmet are all required for a "motorina eléctrica" under Ley 109. None of this was confirmed against the statute's own article text.

Penalties

No specific penalty figures for riding a "motorina eléctrica" without the required licence, plate, or helmet were located in the secondary reporting used for this article.

Enforcement in practice

No source documenting how this rule is actually enforced day to day in Cuba, whether strictly or loosely, was found for this article. Whatever the practical reality, it would not change the legal position reported above, and is not permission to ride without the required licence.

Rental e-scooters

No dockless or app-based e-scooter rental scheme was found operating in Cuba, and nothing in the material reviewed addressed tourist scooter rental specifically.

See E-Scooter Laws Around the World for how Cuba compares with the rest of the Caribbean.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Cuba require a licence to ride an electric scooter?

Cuban reporting on Ley 109, the Código de Seguridad Vial, describes a category A1 licence requirement for powered two-wheelers over a certain motor size, but this article could not open the statute's own text to confirm the exact scope, so treat this as a reported requirement rather than a directly verified one.

What is Ley 109 in Cuba?

Ley No. 109, the Código de Seguridad Vial, is Cuba's national road safety code. It was approved 1 August 2010, published 17 September 2010, and took effect 16 March 2011.

Are children's scooters or pedal-assist bikes covered by Cuba's licence rule?

Cuban reporting describes exemptions for children's scooters, wheelchairs, skateboards, and pedal-assist bicycles that cut off above roughly 20 km/h, distinguishing them from powered "motorina eléctrica" devices.

Why couldn't this article confirm Cuba's e-scooter rules directly from the law?

The primary PDF of Ley 109 returned a server error on two separate attempts. The figures in this article come from two independent Cuban news outlets that report consistently with each other, which is corroboration but not a substitute for reading the statute itself.

Is there e-scooter rental in Cuba?

No dockless or app-based rental scheme was found in the research for this article.