E-Scooter without road approval - this penalty can follow

If you want to participate in German road traffic with your e-scooter, then you must make sure to fulfill all points for road approval of the vehicle. If your e-scooter does not meet these and you are still on the road with it, you can expect severe penalties.

What exactly happens if you use an unregistered e-scooter?

With a new law in 2019, it was decided that e-scooters will be seen as normal traffic vehicles, like bicycles and other vehicles. This means that all e-scooter riders must now abide by fixed rules.

1. E-scooters must be approved. This means that only approved models are allowed to ride on the road. If you are caught with a non-approved model, this will result in a penalty.
2. Whether an e-scooter is approved, you can tell by the fact that it has a general operating license when you buy it. If this is not the case, you also have the option of applying for an operating permit yourself.
3. Of course, you can also drive on your private property with an unapproved e-scooter, as the Highway Code does not apply here.
4. But if you want to participate in road traffic with the scooter, apply for an individual operating permit, which applies only to your vehicle. For this, you must still meet all points from the regulation for small electric vehicles. If this is not the case, you can improve or have to do without the road approval.
5. Applying for an operating permit can be very expensive under certain circumstances.