Regulations Include Requirement for Certificate of Medical Need,
Mandatory Registration of Mobility Scooters and Keeping Non-UL2272 E-Scooters an Offence
From 1 June 2026, new regulations governing Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs) and Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) will come into effect. Mobility scooter users must have a valid Certificate of Medical Need, with exemptions for seniors aged 70 and above, along with other qualifying groups such as beneficiaries of subsidised mobility scooters, and those under Ministry of Health (MOH) disability schemes. New mobility scooters must be registered, and it will be an offence to keep non-UL2272 certified e-scooters. These measures aim to prevent misuse of mobility scooters by able-bodied individuals, improve path safety and reduce the risk of fires from non-compliant devices.
Upcoming New PMA Regulations
2. The new PMA regulations will take effect from 1 June 2026. These include:
a. Users of mobility scooters and its equivalents[1] must have a valid Certificate of Medical Need, unless exempted;
b. Maximum speed for all motorised PMAs[2] traveling on public paths to be reduced from 10km/h to 6km/h[3];
c. PMAs larger than 120cm(L) x 70cm(W) x 150cm(H); or with laden weight exceeding 300kg will not be allowed on public transport and public paths; and
d. Retailers can only advertise, display and sell registered mobility scooters and its equivalents.
3. The difference between a Mobility Scooter and its lookalike, which is classified as a Personal Mobility Device (PMD), can be found in Annex A.
Requirement for Certificate of Medical Need
Groups that are exempted from the Certificate of Medical Need requirement
4. To minimise inconvenience to genuine users of mobility scooters, the following user groups are exempted from the certification requirement:
a. Seniors aged 70 years old and above; or
b. Beneficiaries of subsidised mobility scooters from the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) before 27 February 2026; or
c. All existing and prospective beneficiaries of subsidised mobility scooters from the Assistive Technology Fund (ATF); or
d. Past and future applicants of the MOH disability schemes[4], who have been assessed with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) needs in either ‘Mobility’ or ‘Transferring’ via the Functional Assessment Report (FAR) or Severe Disability Assessment (SDA).
Assessment for Users of Mobility Scooter
5. All other users of mobility scooters and its equivalents must undergo the Assessment for Mobility Scooter (AMS) to obtain a Certificate of Medical Need to ride on public paths.
6. From 27 February 2026, users can approach their regular doctor, regular Occupational Therapist (OT) or a General Practitioner (GP) to complete the AMS. A list of GPs that provide the service and their indicative charges is available on LTA’s website. The charges for the service will vary depending on the complexity of the consultation. Users are advised to call ahead to ensure that the service is available. A follow-up OT assessment may be required to assess users’ competency to operate a mobility scooter safely.
7. From 27 February 2026, users can check their exemption eligibility through LTA’s OneMotoring website by keying in their NRIC and Date of Birth. Of all the user groups who are exempted, only users aged 70 years and above will not have their exemption status reflected in LTA’s OneMotoring website. All other unexempted users will be able to check their certification status through the same website after completing their AMS. A table on users who would need a Certificate of Medical Need can be found in Annex B.
8. From 1 June 2026, Enforcement Officers will request for the user’s particulars to check if the user is certified or exempted. Alternatively, the user may also furnish a hardcopy certification form. As our intent is to curb misuse, Enforcement Officers will focus on visibly able-bodied individuals misusing mobility scooters.
Mandatory Registration of Mobility Scooters
9. To strengthen enforcement of rules governing mobility scooters, as well as to ensure users obtain compliant devices, LTA will mandate the registration of all mobility scooters and its equivalents used on public paths. This is similar to how registration is required for power-assisted bicycles and e-scooters today. The registration requirement will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase applies to mobility scooters sold from 1 Jun 2026, and the second phase applies to all mobility scooters used on public paths from 1 Jan 2029.
10. First phase: From 1 June 2026, retailers can only advertise, display and sell registered mobility scooters. As part of the registration process, LTA’s appointed vendor will check that the mobility scooter model is whitelisted and complies with the device requirements, before registering the devices under the retailer. LTA will share more details with the industry subsequently.
a. As mobility scooters fall under the classification of medical devices under the Health Sciences Authority (HSA)’s regulations, any business operator importing, manufacturing and/or wholesaling mobility scooters will need to have an HSA medical device dealer licence to do so. The importer or manufacturer must also ensure to have the mobility scooter model listed on the HSA Class A Medical Device Database. LTA will only allow models that are listed on this database to be whitelisted and registered for sale. More details may be found in our industry circular.
b. Before the sale of the mobility scooter, retailers must check via OneMotoring to ensure that the prospective owner has a Certificate of Medical Need or is exempted from the requirement. The sale is completed only after the successful transfer of ownership of the registered mobility scooter from the retailer to the prospective owner.
11. Second phase: For existing mobility scooters, from mid-2027, LTA will deploy roving stations at community touchpoints to facilitate registration. LTA’s appointed vendor will conduct compliance checks on the device and user before registration. From 1 January 2029, it will be an offence to use a non-registered mobility scooter on public paths, and only retailers can register new mobility scooters. Timeline for the mandatory registration of mobility scooters can be found in Annex C.
12. LTA will continue to take action against errant retailers who display, advertise or sell non-compliant PMAs.
New Offence for Keeping Non-UL2272 E-scooters
13. Registered e-scooters are required to be certified to the UL2272 fire safety standard, and undergo periodic inspection every two years. While the number of PMD-related fires have declined from its peak of 102 in 2019 after the implementation of several active mobility-related regulations, PMD-related fires continue to occur. These incidents mainly involve e-scooters, majority of which were non-UL2272 certified or were illegally modified to become non-UL2272 certified.
14. Today, it is an offence to ride a non-UL2272 certified e-scooter on public paths or roads, but not to keep such devices. To facilitate enforcement and enhance fire safety levers, it will be an offence to keep non-UL2272 certified e-scooters from 1 Jun 2026. First-time offenders face fines of up to $2,000 or imprisonment for up to three months or both, if the offender is an individual, or a fine of up to $4,000 for any other case.
15. LTA will use the feedback received via official channels and social media, surveillance, as well as day-to-day operations to detect non-UL2272 e-scooters. E-scooters verified by LTA as non-UL2272 certified will be seized.
16. Owners of non-compliant PMD and PAB may safely dispose of their devices at any designated e-waste recycler. A list of e-waste recyclers can be found on LTA’s website. Alternatively, owners may dispose their devices through the quarterly e-waste collection drives organised by ALBA E-waste Smart Recycling Pte Ltd, in conjunction with Town Councils islandwide. Owners may visit ALBA’s website for more details.
Annex A: Difference between PMA and a PMA-lookalike (PMD)
Annex B: Table on Users Who Would Need a Certificate of Medical Need
Annex C: Timeline for the Mandatory Registration of Mobility Scooters
