In Florida, do you need a driver’s license to ride a moped or motorized bicycle?
Florida law is very confusing regarding this issue. Florida law makes a distinction between mopeds and motorized bicycles. One interpretation of Florida law requires that you need a driver’s license to ride a moped, but not a motorized bicycle. A bicycle with a motor is still a bicycle. It does not become a moped. For the other interpretation, see BEWARE section below:
§ 322.01(27), Florida statutes says:
“Motor vehicle” means any vehicle which is self-propelled, including a “moped,” but not any vehicle moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchairs or motorized bicycles. (Emphasis added.) 
The jury instruction for No Valid Driver’s License (28.9) says: “A ‘motor vehicle’ means any vehicle which is self-propelled, including a ‘moped,’ but not any vehicle moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchair or motorized bicycle.” (You don’t get a jury trial for a No Valid Driver’s License charge. But the statute book still lists the “jury instruction.” It shows what the State has to prove in court.)
The jury instructions for Driving with a License Suspended or Revoked (DWLSR) and DWLSR habitual have identical definitions of “motor vehicle.”
BEWARE
The above interpretation may all be wrong based on 316.003(2) which defines “bicycle.” That definition says mentions that a motorized bicycle has an electric motor.
The 50cc test
You’ll often hear of the 50cc test, that if the motor is less than 50cc, you don’t need a driver’s license. This is NOT the law in Florida. For example, you could have a moped with a 49cc engine. You would need a driver’s license to ride the moped, even though the engine size is less the 50cc. Florida law focuses on the type of vehicle. So, don’t rely on the 50cc test.
“You don’t need a motorcycle license.”
Here’s another trap. Many people who get cited or arrested for driving a scooter without a driver’s license have said to me, “When I bought it, they told me I don’t need a license because it’s less than 50cc.” In Florida, you don’t need a motorcycle license or endorsement to ride the scooter, but you do need a driver’s license.
Tags: Florida, Florida driver's license, moped, motorized bicycle
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October 26, 2011 at 12:53 pm
I live in Tallahassee, FL and my driver’s license is currently suspended. By Florida law, an “electric” powered bicycle is legal to ride without a license if it has less than 750 watt motor, functional pedals, and max speed is less than 20mph… I want to adapt a gas-powered motor kit to my bicycle and don’t know the laws concerning a “gas” powered motor-bicycle. In your article, you have a section referring to 50cc test, that if the motor is less than 50cc, you don’t need a driver’s license. I understand that is NOT the law in Florida for mopeds, but what about gas-powered bicycle adapter kits?
October 26, 2011 at 2:55 pm
I don’t think there’s a clear answer. If the legislature would remove the word “electric” from 316.003(2), then any helper motor would be okay. Right now the definition of bicycle is “Every vehicle propelled solely by human power, and every motorized bicycle propelled by a combination of human power and an electric helper motor . . . ” The statute prefers electric motors over all others. Doesn’t seem right.
December 3, 2011 at 7:18 am
It seems to me United States history is one of negative law. I can find no statute which explicitly prohibits the use of a gas helper engine in the same manner as an electric helper motor. I would think 316.003 implies the same 20 mph restriction to gas engines.