New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a law that’s set to reclassify all e-bikes as motorised bicycles. As of the 19th of July 2026, all e-bike riders in the northeastern US state must have a licence, state registration, and liability insurance.

The move comes after numerous e-bike-related fatalities and injuries in the state in 2025 — all of which involved motor vehicles.

“It is clear that we are in an age of increasing e-bike use that requires us to take action and update regulations that help prevent tragedies from occurring,” Murphy said in a statement.

As a result of this blanket law, children under 15 will be completely banned from riding e-bikes of any kind. The law will also affect older and disabled people who are unable to hold a licence.

> Electric bikes and UK law

The US bike classification used in most states works a little differently to the UK and Europe, with three classes to accommodate various designs and powers. Class 1 and 2 bikes are pedal or throttle-assisted with a top speed of 20mph, while class 3 are pedal-assisted only, but with a top speed of 28mph. Class 3 bikes are generally treated more strictly, with a minimum age of 16 and universal helmet requirements.

New Jersey’s new law will simply make it so that Class 1 and 2 e-bikes, previously referred to as ‘bicycles’, will now be classed as ‘motorised bicycles’.

As we’ve mentioned before, this kind of licensing is always a terrible idea that rarely works out. Countries, states, and cities have tried and failed to implement licensing because it inevitably results in more losses than gains, apart from North Korea (possibly).

New Jersey legislators need look no further than their own Motor Vehicle Commission for evidence of this: as reported by The Jersey Vindicator, the state passed a law in 2019 to require a licence, insurance and registration for class 3 e-bikes, but it’s already failed because the state systems are not set up for e-bike serial numbers.

As well as updating its systems, the city of New Jersey will face a potentially humongous amount of paperwork associated with new applications, with non-drivers having to take vision, knowledge and practical road tests to hold a licence. The move is also likely to take up police officers’ time ticketing retired e-bike users on the city’s famous boardwalks.

Advocates, including those behind the Action Network campaign to save low-speed e-bikes, have argued that this legislation “is not about safety, but about removing a viable alternative to cars from the road.” A petition started by the campaigners has already amassed over 5,000 supporters.

In the real world, the laws are unlikely to be enforced to any great degree outside of road traffic accidents, but it’s likely to put off those who need e-bikes the most: disabled or disadvantaged people, who will resume travelling by car and add to New Jersey’s already congested roads.

This is not to say that overpowered e-bikes are not a problem, because they are rapidly becoming a big issue in cities around the world. They’re cheap and fast, and it’s easy to override restrictions or take vehicles designed for off-road use onto the roads, where they can cause as many problems as a conventional motorbike.

However, lumping all e-bikes together is likely to cause many, many more problems than it solves (just as the BBC found out with its infamous Panorama episode last year). There are alternatives: Dutch authorities are planning a crackdown on overpowered ‘fat bikes’, while new Segway dirt bikes include geolocated restrictions to prevent use on roads.