September is here: New rules for e-scooter riders are already in force—here’s what’s changing

Hardly any legislative change affects as many people at once as this one. From 1 September 2026, a revision of the Road Traffic Act will apply in Slovakia, which for the first time clearly defines what an electric scooter actually is—and what it hasn’t been for a long time. Even though it’s been discussed for months, a large share of owners still don’t know whether they’re allowed to even leave the house on their machine. A Slovak YouTuber, e-fanatic, summarized it neatly in a video titled „Scooter riders, we need to talk”. We also went through his summary together with the official wording of the amendment.

What is the “small electric vehicle” since September”

The amendment introduces a completely new vehicle category: small electric vehicle. This includes a vehicle without a seat, designed for one person, whose electric motor does not allow a speed higher than 25 km/h. Besides scooters, it also covers hoverboards, electric longboards, unicycles and self-balancing vehicles like Segway.

And right at the start, one myth circulating online: there is no power or weight limit for small electric vehicles. Nobody cares about watts, nobody cares about kilograms. The law looks at the vehicle’s design and the 25 km/h limit. The 25 kg weight figure that so many people mention comes from an entirely different regulation—specifically from the rules for compulsory motor liability insurance. The third condition is a manufacturer’s rating plate, which we’ll get to shortly.

The sidewalk is gone from September

This is the change that, in practice, affects roughly the most people. Under the law, the previous exception has been removed, which allowed riding on the sidewalk at walking speed. From now on, the driver of a small electric vehicle must ride preferably on the right side of the dedicated cycle lane, on the cycle path, or at the right edge of the roadway. Riding on the sidewalk is only allowed where a traffic sign explicitly permits it; otherwise, the scooter may only be there as a standstill—leaving a continuous free passage width of at least 1.5 metres.

Otherwise, the rules applicable to cyclists apply to scooter riders in an appropriate way. That makes cycling infrastructure key for legal scooters. And that’s exactly where, according to the video author, the biggest problem lies—which we’ll get back to at the end.

Manufacturer’s nameplate: production date matters, not the purchase date

Technical regulations state that a scooter with an auxiliary motor manufactured after 1 January 2025 must meet the relevant technical requirements and must be labeled with the manufacturer’s rating plate. Note the key word: manufactured, not bought. If you have an older scooter without a plate, it’s worth having all the documentation you have ready: proof of purchase, order, serial number, or papers from the manufacturer.

If, on the other hand, you have a newer scooter that should have a rating plate but doesn’t, deal with it with the seller or the manufacturer as soon as possible. What you must not do under any circumstances is to make your own rating plate at home using a printer. That’s no longer just an administrative offense—it’s falsification. In our market, models that have a rating plate include, for example, KuKirin G2 Pro (DGT) or models with ABE marking (German homologation).

Unlocked e-scooter: a hassle you won’t want

There are huge numbers of machines on the market that have 25 km/h on their rating plate—but once you turn them on, they go 50, 60 and even 70 km/h. The definition is clear, though: a small electric vehicle must not allow a speed higher than 25 km/h. The promise that you’ll ride slowly doesn’t matter to the police. It’s the design, not your intention.

Watch out for a popular trick with a “backdated block” in front of the enforcement officers. If there’s a suspicion, the e-scooter can be sent for expert assessment, and its owner can be without it for several months. In the proper procedure, a fine of from €150 to €800 is possible (up to €650 in summary proceedings), plus a ban on activity for up to three years. If you can software-limit your device permanently so it actually meets the law, check with the manufacturer or seller what options you have. If it can’t be done, it’s worth looking for a model that’s legal right from the factory: certified 25 km/h e-scooters are no longer a rare find today.

A scooter seat turns it into a moped

This is a point many people underestimate. The law is clear: a small electric vehicle must not be fitted with a seat. When you mount a saddle onto a regular e-scooter, you can’t simply assume that, from a legal point of view, it’s still an e-scooter. The same applies to many machines that online shops market as “electric scooters”, even though their design is more like a small electric moped.

And if the vehicle falls under L1e, you enter a completely different world: you need a COC certificate, an originality check, registration in the vehicle register, an official registration number, mandatory contractual insurance, and a Group AM driving licence. The originality check alone costs about €200 to €300 according to experts, and the whole process is lengthy. Plus, with such a vehicle you may not ride on the cycle path, even if you don’t go faster than 25 km/h. That leaves you with the roads.

That’s why when buying, it’s not enough to ask how fast it goes and what range it has. Ask the seller what vehicle category you’re buying, whether it has type approval, whether you’ll get a COC or a similar document with it, and whether it can be registered in Slovakia. A COC isn’t a paper someone can just “add on” later. It confirms that the specific vehicle matches the approved type.

Kids, helmets and alcohol

A small electric vehicle may only be ridden by people older than 15. Shared e-scooter operators typically set the limit to 18 in their terms, but we all know how it works in practice: an adult account, an unlocked scooter, and someone else rides. Another rule on paper won’t solve that. What helps is monitoring, education, and responsibility from both parents and the operators themselves.

A helmet is mandatory for people under 15, both in town and outside it. As for alcohol, the law recognises tolerance up to 0.5‰ under precisely defined conditions when riding in town and on the cycle path. But this isn’t an invitation to have three beers and ride home on a scooter. It’s a legal threshold for an exception, not a recommendation. The easiest rule remains the same as in a car: if you’re going to drive, you don’t drink.

The biggest problem isn’t the scooter — it’s the missing infrastructure

The author of the video doesn’t really reject regulation itself. Machines capable of riding 80 or 100 km/h simply have no place in normal traffic without any rules. But what he sees as a failure is that the state had years to respond to the development of micromobility in a systematic way—and instead of vehicle categories, equipment, education, and especially infrastructure, we ended up with just one limit of 25 km/h.

Because in many Slovak towns and municipalities, cycle infrastructure simply doesn’t exist or isn’t enough. The result is a person on a scooter limited to 25 km/h, ending up on the shoulder between cars. And let’s not forget why micromobility even came about: one scooter can mean one less car in the city. If we want people to leave their car at home, we need to give them a safe space to get to work, school, or the shops.

Don’t expect that on 1 September a thousand police officers will hit the streets. Instead, you’ll likely see a gradual rollout: the first checks, the first disputed cases, the first administrative proceedings, and the first accidents where the vehicle’s technical condition will be examined in detail. That’s why the first few months aren’t worth trying your luck. As we wrote earlier in our overview of the new rules, scooters in Slovakia don’t “end”—they just make it much more important to know what, according to the law, you’re actually riding.

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