An e-scooter within the legal limits counts as a bicycle: the Código da Estrada (the Highway Code) treats it as a velocípede (the legal category that includes bicycles). So it follows almost all the rules for people on bicycles. Almost.
The differences are in the details, and those details are what come up in exame de código (theory test) questions and in fines. Here we bring together the rules that are most often confused between a bicycle, an e-bike, an e-scooter and a non-motorised scooter, with our own examples.
The four side by side
| Bicycle | E-bike | E-scooter | Non-motorised scooter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In law it is | velocípede | treated as a velocípede | treated as a velocípede | pedestrian |
| Motor limits | no motor | up to 1.0 kW; the assistance cuts out at 25 km/h or when you stop pedalling | up to 0.25 kW and 25 km/h | no motor |
| Driving licence | no | no | no | no |
| Compulsory insurance | no | no | no | no |
| Helmet today | no | no | no | no |
| Helmet in the PSD party’s bill | no | yes, rider and passenger | yes, rider | no |
| Helmet in the PS party’s bill | no | only if it exceeds the limits | yes | no |
| Cycle lane | preferably; compulsory where there is a compulsory cycle track sign | same as a bicycle | whenever one exists | whenever one exists |
The exemption from insurance was clarified by ANSR (the national road safety authority, Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária) in June 2025: compulsory motor insurance does not apply to bicycles and scooters treated as velocípedes.
In the cycle lane row, the difference comes from the wording of the law. Bicycles use cycle lanes “preferably”. Anyone on “roller skates, scooters or similar means of travel” must use them “whenever they exist”, with no distinction between scooters with and without a motor.
1. A non-motorised scooter is a pedestrian, but it goes in the cycle lane
Inês goes to school on a push scooter, with no battery. In law she is a pedestrian: anyone using scooters, roller skates or similar means without a motor is treated as a pedestrian. She can ride on the pavement, like any pedestrian.
But there is a detail that catches many people. Anyone on roller skates, a scooter or similar means has to use the cycle lane whenever there is one. If the street by the school has a cycle lane, that is where Inês should go. The IMT (the national transport authority, Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes) question bank has a question on exactly this, and the right answer is “true”.
Her brother, Tomás, rides his father’s e-scooter. He is no longer a pedestrian: he is driving a vehicle treated as a bicycle, and the rules are those in the rest of this article.
2. An e-bike is not a small motorbike, and a powerful e-scooter doesn’t count as an e-scooter
The equivalence only applies within the limits. An e-bike counts as a bicycle if the motor is up to 1.0 kW and the assistance tapers off as your speed rises until it cuts out at 25 km/h, or sooner, if you stop pedalling. An e-scooter counts if it is up to 0.25 kW and reaches at most 25 km/h on level ground.
A scooter that advertises 45 km/h falls outside that equivalence. The rules for those scooters depend on a decreto regulamentar (a regulation issued by the Government). According to ANSR, until it is issued they can’t be used on public roads. Anyone caught with one pays 60 to 300 euros, and the scooter is seized on the spot.
A bicycle with a throttle that moves without pedalling, or with assistance above 25 km/h, also stops counting as a velocípede. The law applies the same fine and the same seizure to it. Before you buy, check the power and top speed on the technical datasheet.
3. The pavement belongs to pedestrians
As a rule, neither bicycles nor e-scooters may ride on the pavement. Vehicles can only use the pavement when it is needed to enter or leave a building, or under the exceptions of a local regulation. Road verges are different: velocípedes, such as the bicycle and the e-scooter, can use them, as long as they don’t endanger or bother pedestrians.
The exception written into the law is for velocípedes ridden by children up to 10, such as a bicycle, which can use the pavement without bothering pedestrians. A child of that age on a bicycle on the pavement, in fact, counts as a pedestrian.
The fine for riding on the pavement is 60 to 300 euros. But the Highway Code halves fines when the offender is riding a velocípede. On a bicycle or an e-scooter, you get 30 to 150 euros.
4. Passengers: the bicycle has ways out, the scooter almost none
A velocípede, whether a bicycle or an e-scooter, carries only the person riding it, with three exceptions: having more pairs of pedals, having its own passenger seats, or carrying a child under 7 in an adapted device. A bicycle with a child seat for a 5-year-old is within the law.
A scooter, made for one person standing, has no pedals or passenger seats. So, as a rule, it carries only the rider. ANSR sums the rule up in its leaflet: on a bicycle or a scooter you ride alone, unless the vehicle is set up to carry a passenger.
5. Helmet: the same today, maybe not tomorrow
Today a helmet is not compulsory on any of the four. The Highway Code only requires it on mopeds, motorbikes, tricycles and quadricycles. Motorised scooters once had that requirement, but it was repealed by a 2020 decree-law, from January 2021.
That may change, and this is where the e-bike and the scooter may part ways. On 30 September 2026, Parliament approved in principle (the first vote) two bills with a compulsory helmet.
The PSD party’s bill covers the rider of an e-scooter and people on an e-bike, rider and passenger, and adds reflective clothing or accessories at night. The PS party’s bill covers only the e-scooter and e-bikes that exceed the limits. In both, the bicycle without a motor is left out and the fine for no helmet is 30 to 150 euros.
The final text is still being discussed in committee. The full status, with the dates and what still has to happen before it comes into force, is in this explainer on the new e-scooter law (in Portuguese).
6. What is the same for bicycles and e-scooters
Bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters share these rules:
- Alcohol: the limit is 0.5 g/l. From 1.2 g/l it is a crime, whether you ride a vehicle with or without a motor.
- Mobile phone and headphones: banned while moving, except devices with a single earpiece or on speaker, as long as you don’t keep handling them.
- Lights: at night or in poor visibility, only with the lights required by law. If the lights are broken, you carry on on foot, pushing the vehicle.
- Position on the road: on the right-hand side of the road, with enough distance from the pavement or the verge. On the motorway, never.
- If you drive a car: you have to leave at least 1.5 metres of side clearance to any of them.
A practical rule so you don’t get it wrong: if it has a motor within the limits, think bicycle. If it has no motor and no pedals, think of a pedestrian who goes to the cycle lane when there is one.