Oman E-Scooter Laws: Statute and Police Guidance Disagree (2026)

This article is general information about e-scooter rules in Oman and is not legal advice. Because Oman's own written law and its police force's public statements genuinely disagree here, and no source found reconciles them, riders should treat this as an open question and confirm current guidance with Royal Oman Police directly rather than relying on either reading alone. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

Are e-scooters legal in Oman?

This is one of the few places in the world where the honest answer is that the government's own written law and the government's own public guidance say opposite things, and no document available resolves which one governs. Both sides are laid out here rather than picked for the reader.

The statute says e-scooters belong on the road, not the pavement. Oman's Traffic Law, Article 2, definition 6, defines a "motorcycle" as any vehicle with two or more tires equipped with a motor, not designed in the form of an automobile, prepared for transporting people or materials. No minimum engine size or power is stated, so an e-scooter fits that definition on its face. Article 97 then requires that "the driver of the motorcycle shall keep to the right side of the road and not drive it on the pavement," with mounting and dismounting confined to the road's right edge. Read together, the statute treats an e-scooter as a motorcycle that must use the road and is explicitly barred from pavements and sidewalks.

Royal Oman Police's own public statements say the opposite. Three independent English-language Gulf news outlets, the Oman Observer (27 December 2022), Muscat Daily (16 May 2023), and a third regional outlet (19 May 2023), all attribute to ROP a position that e-scooters are not allowed on roads at all, but can be used on pavements and sidewalks without inconveniencing or endangering pedestrians. The Oman Observer piece specifically covers a meeting led by Brigadier General Engineer Mohammed bin Awad al Rawas, ROP's Director General of Traffic, described as studying regional and European scooter regulations to develop proposals, as of December 2022 an exploratory step, not yet a published rule.

No ROP-hosted document stating the pavement-allowed position was found. ROP's own official laws index lists only the general Traffic Law among its downloadable legislation, no scooter-specific circular. A 2024 ROP resolution (No. 61/2024) amended parts of the executive regulations covering vehicle-license validity and technical inspection thresholds, and was confirmed not to touch motorcycles, mopeds, or scooters at all, ruling out that resolution as a fix to the contradiction. As of the most recent information available, roughly eighteen months passed between ROP publicly saying it was studying the issue and the most recent confirmed amendment that did not address it.

What this means in practice

Because the two readings point in opposite directions on the single most basic question, where you can ride, there is no confident single answer to give. A rider following the written statute would stay on the road and off pavements. A rider following ROP's own repeatedly reported public position would do close to the reverse. Neither reading has been withdrawn or superseded by the other in anything found for this article.

Rider rules

The age and helmet claims that circulate alongside the pavement-allowed guidance, an 18-plus minimum age and a helmet or reflective-gear expectation, are not traced to any citable legal instrument in the three press pieces that report them. Treat those specific figures as unverified pending a primary source, even though the broader pavement-versus-road contradiction itself is well corroborated.

Enforcement in practice

No source reviewed for this article documents how ROP actually enforces either reading day to day, that is, whether citations are issued for pavement riding, for road riding, or for neither. Given that the agency's own public statements and its own statute disagree, enforcement practice here is genuinely unclear rather than simply undocumented, and readers should not assume either the statute or the press-reported guidance reflects what happens on the street.

For how Oman's position compares with other countries, see the world e-scooter laws guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are e-scooters legal in Oman?

Oman's written Traffic Law classifies an e-scooter as a motorcycle, requiring road use and banning pavement riding. Royal Oman Police's own public statements say the opposite, that scooters are banned from roads but allowed on pavements. No document reconciles the two, so this remains a genuinely open question rather than a settled rule.

Can I ride an e-scooter on the pavement in Oman?

It depends which source you follow. The written Traffic Law (Article 97) bans motorcycles, a category an e-scooter fits under Article 2(6), from pavements. Royal Oman Police's own public statements, reported by three independent outlets, say pavement riding is allowed and road riding is not. The two are not reconciled.

Is there a minimum age to ride an e-scooter in Oman?

An 18-plus figure has been reported in the press alongside ROP's pavement-allowed guidance, but it is not traced to any citable legal instrument in the sources reviewed for this article. Treat it as unverified.

Has Oman fixed the contradiction between its scooter law and police guidance?

Not as of the most recent confirmed information. A 2024 Royal Oman Police resolution amended other parts of the traffic regulations, vehicle-license validity and technical inspection, and was confirmed not to touch motorcycles, mopeds, or scooters at all.

Is a helmet required to ride an e-scooter in Oman?

A helmet or reflective-gear expectation has been reported in the press, but it is not traced to a specific legal instrument in the sources reviewed for this article, so treat it as unverified rather than confirmed.