Safety & Regulations
Electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC)
What does Electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC) mean?
The legal name for an e-bike in Great Britain: pedals that propel it, no more than 250 W continuous power, and no motor help above 15.5 mph.
An electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC) is what Great Britain’s law calls a road-legal e-bike. GOV.UK says an EAPC must have pedals that can propel it, a continuous rated power of no more than 250 W, and a motor that can’t propel the bike above 15.5 mph. You can ride one from age 14 without a licence, registration, tax or insurance.
What if a bike doesn’t meet the EAPC rules?
GOV.UK says it is “classed as a motorcycle or moped.” It then needs approval, registration and tax, insurance, a driving licence and a motorcycle helmet, and it can only be ridden on the road. A throttle that propels the bike without pedaling is allowed up to 15.5 mph only on an approved bike.
The EAPC limit is the lowest step on our fastest e-bikes speed ladder. Our guide to making an e-bike faster legally explains why a tuning kit takes a bike out of EAPC status.
Also known as: EAPC, EAPCs, electrically assisted pedal cycles
Related terms
- Assist cut-off speed The road speed at which an e-bike's motor must stop helping: 25 km/h (15.5 mph) in the UK and EU, 20 or 28 mph in the US.
- Speed pedelec An e-bike that assists up to 45 km/h (28 mph). In the EU it is a type-approved L1e-B moped, ridden with an AM licence under national moped rules.
- E-bike tuning kit A device or software change that raises an e-bike's assist cut-off speed. On public roads it usually takes the bike out of e-bike law.