In January 2026 the Department for Transport (DfT) opened a consultation on changing the law that governs mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs on roads and pavements. It is the first formal step in a review the government announced on 21 July 2025, and it raises questions that will matter to anyone who owns or plans to buy a scooter. This article explains what the consultation asked, and what the rules are today. Nothing described as a proposal here is law: the consultation has closed, and when we checked, the DfT’s page said it was analysing responses. The consultation covers Great Britain only; Northern Ireland has separate legislation (the Motor Vehicles (Invalid Carriages) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999), which is not covered here.
Why the law is being reviewed
The DfT’s consultation document says the main legislation is the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, together with the Use of Invalid Carriages on Highways Regulations 1988, and that the legislation dates back decades while technology has moved on. The government says it wants to hear views on updating the words used in law, where devices can be used, and the rules on size, speed and age. The consultation ran from 6 January to 22 April 2026, and the DfT said a summary of responses, including next steps, would follow within three months of closing.
The rules as they stand today
The consultation document summarises the current framework in England, Scotland and Wales:
- Class 2: a motor-powered device designed for pavements and pedestrian areas, with a powered speed of no more than 4 mph. It can go on the road only where there is no pavement or where it is necessary to cross.
- Class 3: a motor-powered device for pavements and roads, with a device limiting speed to 4 mph on pavements and a maximum of 8 mph on the road. It can be used on most roads but not motorways, bus lanes or cycle lanes, and if used on dual carriageways with a speed limit above 50 mph it must have a flashing amber beacon.
- Weight: a Class 2 device has a maximum weight of 113.4kg and a Class 3 device 150kg, or up to 200kg where necessary user equipment is attached (a limit introduced in 2015).
- Age: there is no minimum age for a Class 2 user, but there is a minimum age of 14 for Class 3.
- Passengers: users are not currently permitted to carry passengers.
- “Not in class”: a device that is outside the classes, over 150kg (or 200kg with medical equipment) or wider than 0.85 metres, is regulated as a motor vehicle and may legally be used only on the road.
What the consultation asked
The DfT set out four proposed objectives: allowing people who need a mobility device to use it, allowing greater choice, protecting perceptions of safety, and protecting actual safety. The questions then covered:
- Terminology: whether “invalid carriage” should be replaced in law by “mobility device”, and whether the description of who can use one should change from a person suffering from “some physical defect or disability” to “a disabled person, or person with reduced mobility”.
- Where devices can be used: including whether various classes should be entitled to use on-road cycle lanes and off-road cycle tracks.
- Weight: whether the 200kg limit reflects users’ needs, noting that heavier devices may raise braking concerns and could be unable to use public transport lifts and ramps.
- Speed: whether devices should be allowed to go faster than 8 mph on roads or in cycle lanes, and what safeguards might be needed.
- Minimum age: whether users on the road should be at least 14 and what the minimum should be.
- Passengers: whether an additional passenger should be permitted, with possible conditions such as having a seat, being secured, being necessary for the user’s mobility, being a child, or being over a certain age.
- Other devices: whether wheelchairs with power add-ons or handcycle attachments should have the same rights and restrictions as Class 3, and whether cycles, e-cycles and e-scooters should be recognised as mobility devices for disabled people. The document notes that e-scooters are currently illegal on roads and pavements outside government rental trial areas.
It also raised enforcement concerns, such as the difficulty of distinguishing disabled from non-disabled users of other devices, and the risk that disabled people using a device lawfully could be challenged to prove their impairment.
What this means if you own a scooter
For now, nothing changes. The rules above remain the law until Parliament or ministers amend them, and the DfT has not said what, if anything, it will do. If you are buying, think about the existing classes and the rules that apply to your scooter and where you will use it, rather than waiting for a change that may not arrive, or may look different from what was consulted on. The DfT invited responses from individuals and organisations, and its page for the consultation is where any published summary will appear.
The bottom line
The 2026 consultation is a review of questions, not a set of new rules. It asks whether the language, weight, speed, age and passenger rules for mobility devices in Great Britain should change, and whether other devices should join the category. Until the government publishes its response and new legislation follows, the current Class 2 and Class 3 rules continue to apply.
Sources
- Department for Transport, “Reviewing the law for powered mobility devices” (consultation document) (gov.uk)
- GOV.UK, “Reviewing the law for powered mobility devices” (consultation page)