Last updated 2 October 2026 — by Adrian Tan, SDM. Marketing guidance, not legal advice. Provisions are taken from the Active Mobility Act 2017 and its regulations as they stood on Singapore Statutes Online on 2 October 2026, and from Land Transport Authority and Ministry of Transport publications.
Most product categories in Singapore are governed by general advertising law: do not mislead, do not make claims you cannot prove. Personal mobility devices are different. The Active Mobility Act 2017 contains its own definition of an advertisement, its own offence of advertising a device that does not meet the rules, and its own offence of simply having one visible in a shop. The penalties for a company reach $40,000 for a repeat offence, and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) counted about 90 retailer offences in 2025 alone.
The rules also changed on 1 June 2026. From that date retailers may only advertise, display or sell registered mobility scooters, and must check that the buyer is entitled to own one before the sale goes through. If you sell e-scooters, power-assisted bicycles, mobility scooters or parts that change how they perform, your shop window, your flyers, your product pages and your marketplace listings all sit inside this regime.
Who the rules apply to: the “course of business” test
The advertising and display offences in Part 4 of the Act apply to people who sell by retail in the course of business. That sounds as though it excludes the individual reselling an old scooter on Carousell. It often does not.
Section 36(2) creates a presumption: anyone who sells, offers for sale or displays for sale more than four PMDs, power-assisted bicycles (PABs), bicycles or mobility vehicles within 12 months is presumed to be selling in the course of business. Section 36(3) adds that selling four or fewer can still be “in the course of business” on the facts. A seller who regularly flips second-hand e-scooters through a marketplace account, or a bicycle shop that sells one or two e-bikes a year alongside its pedal bikes, should assume the dealing rules apply.
Agencies that create the ads are not “retail sellers”, but section 32 also catches a seller who authorises or causes an advertisement to be published, so an agency’s work counts as the seller’s own.
What counts as an “advertisement”
Section 29 defines an advertisement broadly. It includes any writing; any still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other visual image; any audible message; or any combination of them. A shelf talker, a poster, a looping video on a screen, a price tag with a product photo and a sales assistant’s recorded announcement all qualify.
What turns an ordinary advertisement into a prohibited one is its subject. A “non-compliant PMD advertisement” is one that “gives publicity to, or otherwise promotes or is intended to promote the purchase or use of” a non-compliant PMD or a range of them. The words “or use of” matter: an image that shows a non-compliant scooter being ridden, even in a lifestyle shot that does not name a price, can be promoting its use.
The Act uses the same formula for three more categories, the last two added by the Active Mobility (Amendment) Act 2026 and in force from 1 June 2026:
| Advertisement type | What it promotes | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| Non-compliant PMD advertisement | A PMD that fails the regulations, such as a motorised scooter without UL 2272 certification, or one that is too heavy, too wide or too fast | An imported e-scooter listed with “45 km/h top speed” |
| Uncertified vehicle advertisement | A device that requires certification under the Act but does not have it | An e-bike sold without the type approval and seal LTA requires |
| Non-compliant mobility vehicle advertisement | A mobility scooter or similar vehicle that fails the mobility vehicle criteria | A mobility scooter capable of more than 6 km/h, once the grace period ends |
| Unregistered registrable mobility vehicle advertisement | A mobility vehicle that must be registered but is not | A mobility scooter model not yet registered with LTA |
The five offences that matter to a seller
Part 4 of the Act sets out a ladder of offences. Each has a higher penalty for a “repeat offender”, meaning a person convicted of the same kind of offence in the previous five years, and companies face double the individual fine.
1. Displaying a prohibited device (section 30)
A retail seller must not display a non-compliant PMD, a non-compliant mobility vehicle, an unregistered registrable mobility vehicle or an uncertified vehicle. Section 30(2) is specific: the device must not be visible from inside or outside the premises. A non-compliant scooter parked in the back office but visible through the shop window is a breach. The only exception, in section 30(3), is showing one to a customer who asks to see it.
Penalty: up to $10,000 and/or 12 months’ jail for an individual ($20,000 and/or 24 months for a repeat offender); up to $20,000 for a company ($40,000 for a repeat offender).
2. Advertising a prohibited device (section 32)
A retail seller must not publish, or authorise or cause to be published, any of the four types of advertisement above “at the premises or place” where it sells. Section 32(3) explains what publishing means here: putting the advertisement in a document such as a leaflet, ticket or brochure made available at the premises or place, or in a film or video shown or played there. Penalties are the same as for display.
3. Failing to display warning notices (section 31)
Retailers must put up LTA’s prescribed warning notices. The Active Mobility (Dealing) Regulations require one notice for PMDs and one for mobility vehicles (regulation 3), each at least 29.7 cm by 42 cm and printed in colour at 300 dpi or better (regulation 4), placed at or near the point of sale or payment (regulation 5).
Penalty under section 31: up to $5,000 and/or 6 months for an individual ($10,000 and/or 12 months for a repeat offender); up to $10,000 for a company ($20,000 for a repeat offender). A breach of the placement rule in regulation 5 carries up to $1,000 and/or 3 months, rising to $2,000 and/or 6 months for a second offence.
4. Selling for use on roads or public paths (sections 33 and 34)
Section 33 makes it an offence to sell a device when the seller knows, or is reckless as to whether, the buyer will ride it on a public road (up to $10,000 and/or 12 months for an individual). Section 33(3) states that displaying the warning notices is no defence, so the poster on the wall does not cover a salesperson who tells a customer “everyone rides these on the road”.
Section 34 is the heaviest of the selling offences. Selling a non-compliant PMD, PAB, bicycle or uncertified vehicle for use on public paths carries up to $20,000 and/or 24 months for an individual ($40,000 and/or 48 months for a repeat offender), and up to $40,000 for a company ($80,000 for a repeat offender). There are two defences: the sale was for export (section 34(4)), or the buyer gave evidence that the device would not be used on public paths (section 34(5)).
5. Altering a device (section 35)
Modifying a device so it no longer complies, for example by fitting a bigger battery or a more powerful motor, carries the same penalties as section 34. Section 36A presumes that the owner of a certified vehicle carried out an alteration found on it. This is the offence behind several recent prosecutions, and it is the one most directly tied to marketing: “range upgrade”, “speed unlock” and “battery boost” services are offers to commit it.
The device rules your copy must not contradict
Because the offences turn on whether a device is “non-compliant”, a product page that advertises a specification outside the legal limits is close to an admission. These are the criteria in the Active Mobility Regulations 2018 that a listing most often trips over.
| Device | Key legal criteria | Copy that signals a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Motorised PMD (e-scooter) | Top speed of 25 km/h “under all circumstances” (from 1 March 2024); unladen weight of 20 kg or less; width of 700 mm or less; certified to UL 2272 by a recognised certification body (reg 4(1)) | “Top speed 35 km/h”, “dual motor”, “unlockable sport mode”, weights above 20 kg, “UL 2272 pending” |
| Power-assisted bicycle (e-bike) | Must meet EN 15194 (the revised standard since 1 July 2021); motor assistance cuts out at 25 km/h and stops when pedalling stops; no throttle or start-up assistance feature (reg 3B); type approval, an orange LTA seal and registration | “Throttle”, “twist grip”, “no pedalling needed”, “fat-tyre moped”, “seal not required” |
| Mobility vehicle (mobility scooter) | Unladen weight of 150 kg or less; up to 1,500 mm high, 1,200 mm long and 700 mm wide; top speed of 6 km/h, with a grace period from 1 June 2026 to 31 December 2028 (reg 3C); must be registered | “10 km/h”, “no registration needed”, “for anyone who wants an easier commute” |
The usage limits matter too, because copy about where a device can be ridden is copy about its use. The regulations set 10 km/h on footpaths (reg 5), 25 km/h on shared paths (reg 6) and 6 km/h for mobility vehicles on public paths (reg 6A). LTA’s OneMotoring site publishes a list of approved PAB models, dated “as at 01 July 2026” at the time of writing, which is the easiest way to check an e-bike before you write a word about it.
The open question: do these rules reach online listings?
This is where the law is less tidy than most summaries suggest, and an honest guide has to say so. LTA’s retailer pages simply say retailers must not “advertise” non-compliant devices. But the section 32 offence is framed around advertisements published “at the premises or place” where the seller sells, and the publishing examples in section 32(3) are physical: leaflets, tickets, brochures, and films or videos shown there. The Act never uses the word “online”, and “place” is not defined for this purpose. We found no court decision and no LTA statement that settles whether a product page or a marketplace listing is an advertisement “at the place” where the seller sells.
Three things make that question less comforting than it sounds:
- The selling offences have no premises limit. Section 34 (selling a non-compliant device for use on public paths) and section 33 (selling for road use) bite on the sale itself, wherever it is concluded. A listing that leads to a sale is evidence in that case.
- LTA already acts on online listings. In a written reply to Parliament on 9 January 2023, the Minister for Transport said LTA “has been working with online platforms, including Carousell, Shopee, and Lazada, to rectify or take down listings of non-compliant devices”. The same reply said the number of non-compliant PMDs detected fell from about 70 a month in 2020 to about 20 a month in 2022.
- Consumer protection law applies regardless. A listing that claims a device is approved or certified when it is not falls under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act’s unfair practice of representing that goods have a sponsorship or approval they do not have. That route has nothing to do with premises.
Our practical advice: write every online listing as if section 32 applies to it.
What changed on 1 June 2026
The Active Mobility (Amendment) Act 2026 came into force in stages between February and June 2026, with most dealing and advertising changes taking effect on 1 June. LTA’s February 2026 announcement and its retailer guidance set out the pieces that change day-to-day selling:
- Registered mobility scooters only. Retailers may only advertise, display or sell mobility scooters that are registered.
- An eligibility check at the till. Before selling a mobility scooter, retailers must check through OneMotoring that the buyer holds a Certificate of Medical Need or is exempt. People aged 70 and above are among the exempt groups. The Certificate of Medical Need Regulations 2026 set out the scheme.
- Whitelisting for models. LTA opened whitelist applications for retailers from 20 April 2026, inspection bookings from 27 April and registration from 4 May. Models must appear on the Health Sciences Authority’s Class A medical device database.
- A deadline for existing owners. All existing mobility scooters must be registered by 1 January 2029.
- E-scooter possession. Keeping a motorised scooter that is not certified to UL 2272 became an offence, with a penalty of up to $2,000 and/or 3 months. Only new e-scooters sold or hired out by retailers can be registered, after an inspection, and the retailer must fix the identification mark within three days.
For marketers, the mobility scooter change is the big one. Copy that markets one as a lifestyle product to younger buyers invites a sale the retailer may not complete, and an ad for an unregistered model is itself an offence. Name the eligibility rule plainly in the ad.
The claims that get sellers into trouble
Most of the risk in this category sits in a handful of phrases. Each of these appears regularly in listings, and each has a specific problem.
“LTA-approved”
For an e-bike the word “approved” can be accurate: a PAB needs type approval and an orange LTA seal, and LTA publishes the approved model list. For an e-scooter it is risky. The certification an e-scooter needs is UL 2272, issued by a certification body, not by LTA. Calling an e-scooter “LTA-approved” therefore claims an approval the device does not have, which is the unfair practice described above. Say what is true: “UL 2272 certified” and, where relevant, “registered with LTA”.
“Road legal” and “can ride on the road”
PMDs are not allowed on roads, and section 33 makes selling with knowledge or recklessness about road use an offence in its own right. Copy that promises road use is evidence of exactly that knowledge.
Speed and range claims
A PMD’s 25 km/h limit applies “under all circumstances” since March 2024, so a hidden sport mode or an unlock code is a non-compliance, not a feature. Range claims are the second trap. Sellers who boost range by fitting extra or larger batteries are altering the device. In March 2026 LTA charged the director and a store manager of retailer YY E-Bike under section 35 for fitting extra batteries to a PMD. In January 2025 a manager at Drive Bikes Singapore was charged under section 34 over a PAB whose battery voided its EN 15194 compliance, a case LTA linked to two fires in April 2024.
How LTA enforces this
The enforcement record is steady rather than dramatic, and it is aimed squarely at retailers. A short timeline from LTA and MOT publications:
- January 2023: MOT tells Parliament LTA is working with Carousell, Shopee and Lazada to take down non-compliant listings; detected non-compliant PMDs down from about 70 a month in 2020 to about 20 in 2022; fires involving non-compliant PMDs down from 42 in 2020 to 12 in January to October 2022.
- January 2025: a Drive Bikes Singapore manager charged over a non-compliant PAB. LTA says it seized over 400 non-compliant devices and found about 10 retailer selling offences in the first half of 2024.
- 2025: about 90 retailer offences, according to LTA’s March 2026 release.
- March 2026: YY E-Bike’s director and store manager charged under section 35. LTA notes the retailer had been investigated in 2022 for displaying non-compliant devices.
- June 2026: a joint LTA and Police operation; LTA’s factsheet reports 11 retailer offences in the year to date, mainly displaying and selling non-compliant devices, and more than 600 non-compliant devices confiscated.
Display and sale are the offences LTA finds most often, and the YY E-Bike case shows it remembers: a retailer investigated for display in 2022 was charged over modifications in 2026.
A compliant listing and campaign checklist
- Clean the range first. Nothing non-compliant, uncertified or unregistered in stock for local sale, in the window or in a photo. Section 30 covers what is visible from outside the shop.
- Lead with the certification. Name UL 2272 for e-scooters, EN 15194 and the orange seal for e-bikes, and registration for mobility scooters. Done properly, compliance is a selling point.
- Use the legal specifications in your copy. State 25 km/h, not “up to 25 km/h in eco mode”. Do not mention unlockable modes at all.
- Cut “road legal”, “ride anywhere” and untrue “LTA-approved” wording.
- Do not advertise upgrades that change compliance. Battery, motor and controller upgrades are section 35 risks for the shop that fits them.
- Put up both warning notices at the point of sale or payment, in the prescribed size, and check them against LTA’s current version.
- For mobility scooters, state the eligibility rule in the ad and build the OneMotoring check into the sales process before payment.
- Brief your agency and staff in writing. Section 32 catches advertisements you authorise or cause to be published, and section 33 is often breached by a salesperson’s reassurance rather than by printed copy.
- Keep the evidence of certification, seal and registration for every model you list.
The general rules still apply on top. See our guides to dark patterns in Singapore, the Trade Descriptions Act, weights and measures in marketing, legal requirements for business websites, e-commerce marketing in Singapore and the online advertising code.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to advertise a non-compliant e-scooter in Singapore?
For a retail seller, yes. Section 32 of the Active Mobility Act 2017 prohibits publishing, or authorising or causing to be published, an advertisement promoting the purchase or use of a non-compliant PMD at the premises or place where the seller sells. A company faces up to $20,000, or $40,000 for a repeat offence.
Do the rules apply to Carousell and other marketplace sellers?
Anyone who sells or displays more than four PMDs, e-bikes, bicycles or mobility vehicles in 12 months is presumed to be selling in the course of business, and fewer sales can still count. Whether the section 32 advertising offence reaches online listings is not settled, but the selling offences apply wherever the sale happens, and LTA works with Carousell, Shopee and Lazada to take down non-compliant listings.
Can I describe an e-scooter as “LTA-approved”?
Usually not. E-scooters need UL 2272 certification from a certification body, which is not an LTA approval. Describing one as LTA-approved risks being an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. Say “UL 2272 certified” and, where it applies, “registered with LTA”.
What are the speed limits a PMD or e-bike listing must respect?
A motorised PMD must not exceed 25 km/h under all circumstances, and an e-bike’s motor assistance must cut out at 25 km/h. Mobility scooters must not exceed 6 km/h, with a grace period until 31 December 2028. Riding limits are 10 km/h on footpaths and 25 km/h on shared paths.
Who can buy a mobility scooter from 1 June 2026?
Retailers may only sell registered mobility scooters and must check through OneMotoring that the buyer holds a Certificate of Medical Need or is exempt, for example because they are aged 70 or above. Ads should state this eligibility rule.
Can my shop advertise battery or speed upgrades?
Not if the upgrade makes the device non-compliant. Altering a device so it no longer meets the rules is an offence under section 35, with penalties of up to $40,000 for a company, or $80,000 for a repeat offence. LTA charged a retailer’s director and store manager for fitting extra batteries to a PMD in March 2026.
The takeaway
Personal mobility devices are one of the few product categories in Singapore where the law tells a retailer, specifically, what it may not advertise or even leave in view. The rules turn on the device, not the wording, so the first job is a clean range: UL 2272 e-scooters, sealed EN 15194 e-bikes and registered mobility scooters. The second is copy that never contradicts the legal specifications, never promises road use and never sells an upgrade that takes a device out of compliance. Online listings sit in a grey area in the advertising offence itself, but not in the selling offences or in consumer protection law, so treat them as if the rules apply in full.
Our e-commerce web design team builds product pages and feeds with these checks built in, and you can see how we report results in our client case studies. For the wider picture of building a store that sells, start with our complete guide to web design in Singapore.
