ePedaler
Menu

Tennessee e-bike and e-trike laws

✓ Last verifiedVerified Sep 2026Every rule links to the statute or state agency page
In short

Usually yes. Tennessee counts a pedal e-bike with two or three wheels as an e-bike if it has a motor under 750 watts and at least one wheel 20 inches or larger. It needs no license, plate or insurance. Ride on streets, bike lanes and most bike paths, but not on sidewalks unless the town allows it and the motor is off. Your city can restrict e-bikes on its streets and paths.

Does an e-trike count as an e-bike here? Yes.
License
No driver license, registration, title or insurance is required for an e-bike; e-bikes are exempt from motor-vehicle laws.
Registration
E-bikes are expressly exempt from titling, registration and the financial-responsibility (insurance) law.
Helmet
Everyone on a Class 3 e-bike, rider and passengers of any age, must wear a bicycle helmet meeting CPSC or ASTM standards. (Class 3)
Minimum age
You must be at least 16 to operate a Class 3 e-bike on a street or highway (raised from 14 on July 1, 2026); younger riders may be passengers on one designed for passengers. (Class 3)
Where you can ride
Class 1 and 2 e-bikes may go anywhere bicycles may on streets and highways, including bike lanes, shoulders and bike paths/trails, but since 2026 a local government may regulate or ban them on any part of a street, including state highways, and a state agency may do so on roads it controls. (Class 1)
Sidewalks
No e-bike may be ridden on a sidewalk unless the local government or state agency allows bicycles there AND the motor is turned off.
Three wheels

Does an e-trike count as an e-bike?

Yes
“Electric bicycle" means a device upon which any person may ride that is equipped with two (2) or three (3) wheels, any of which is twenty inches (20") or more in diameter”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-301(4) (2016 Pub. Acts ch. 823, § 2) ↗
Classes

The e-bike classes

Class 1
Under 750WAssist to 20 mphNo throttle
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-301(1) ↗
Class 2
Under 750WAssist to 20 mphThrottle allowed to 20 mph
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-301(2) ↗
Class 3
Under 750WAssist to 28 mphNo throttle
Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-301(3) ↗
Outside the classes
Treated as a motorized bicycle (up to 30 mph) or motorcycle.
driver licenseregistration (likely; see unconfirmed)insurance/financial responsibility (likely)
A device that does not meet the e-bike definition gets no e-bike exemption. A 2- or 3-wheeler capable of no more than 30 mph with an automatic transmission and no more than 2 bhp is a 'motorized bicycle', whose operator must hold a valid driver license; faster vehicles are motorcycles. Statute text for motorized bicycles was read from a secondary mirror (Justia), not the official Lexis code.
Trikes in our guide

How the trikes we list are treated in Tennessee

69 of the 191 trikes we list fit Tennessee's e-bike rules on their published figures. 89 need checking before you buy, and 33 don't publish enough to tell. We check motor power, top speed, wheel size and the stated class. Not legal advice.

Show the 69 that fit the rules
The rules

Every rule, with its source

License
  • No driver license, registration, title or insurance is required for an e-bike; e-bikes are exempt from motor-vehicle laws. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-302 ↗
Registration
Helmet
Minimum age
Where you can ride
Sidewalks
Bike paths and trails
State parks
  • State agencies (such as TDEC/State Parks) may restrict Class 1/2 e-bikes and must affirmatively allow Class 3 on their paths and trails; check the individual park. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-306(a) ↗
Labels
  • New e-bikes sold in Tennessee must carry a permanent label showing class, top assisted speed and motor wattage; changing the speed without updating the label is a misdemeanor. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-8-303, 55-8-304 ↗
Also good to know
Changes and local rules

What's new, and what cities add

Statutes and sources
2016 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 823 (SB 1705), e-bike law (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-8-301 to -307) ↗2026 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 651 (SB 1782) ↗2026 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 907 (SB 2471) ↗Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-101 (definitions), 2025 code via Justia (locator only) ↗
What we couldn't confirm from official sources (4)
  • Riders under 16 on any bicycle (and so any e-bike) must wear a helmet under the Tennessee Child Protection Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-52-105); the statute text could not be loaded to confirm.
  • Registration and insurance requirements for 'motorized bicycles' (the category for out-of-class e-bikes) were not confirmed from primary text; the definition text says only that the operator needs a valid license.
  • Exact approval date of Pub. Ch. 651 is illegible in the scanned PDF (passed March 16, 2026; approved in April 2026).
  • TDEC/Tennessee State Parks e-bike trail policy was not reviewed.

This page explains the law in plain language. It is not legal advice. Cities, counties and park agencies can add their own rules; check posted signs and confirm with your state before you ride.

Other states
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming