New Jersey now says Pennsylvania residents should register their e-bikes in New Jersey if visiting

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Pennsylvanian e-bikers headed to the Shore, get ready for your appointment with New Jersey’s motor vehicle commission.

In a reversal, New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission now says out-of-state residents should register their e-bikes in New Jersey in order to legally ride them in New Jersey.

Earlier, MVC spokesperson William Connolly said New Jersey would not be registering out of state e-bikes and that visitors to the Shore should follow the law in their home states.

But now the MVC says that since New Jersey is the only state that requires e-bikes to be registered, out of state e-bikers should follow New Jersey’s law.

That means out-of-state riders need to make an appointment at the MVC when they visit, which starts by filling out a registration form.

Connolly says as of July 28, New Jersey had issued 9,410 e-bike registrations; of those, 182 are for out-of-state residents.

“MVC is now offering to register e-bikes for out-of-state residents so that they can lawfully ride their bikes in NJ,” Connolly said in a statement e-mailed to the Inquirer.

“Thus far, MVC has registered more than 100 e-bikes for individuals who reside outside of New Jersey. Out-of-state visitors who are sixteen or older can also rent a low-speed e-bike from rental companies operating under a contract with a local government, which is an exception to the registration requirement under the e-bike law.”

Properly registered e-bikes will display a sticker issued by the MVC.

The law has caused confusion among riders, bike-shop owners, and law enforcement since its adoption in January. After a six month grace period, it went into enforcement mode July 19.

The law requires all riders to wear helmets, forbids any riders under the age of 15, and requires insurance for higher speed classified electric bikes. The classification for basic e-bikes is for pedal assisted electric bicycles that have a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

If an out-of-state rider does not already have a driver’s license, they won’t be permitted to ride an e-bike in New Jersey, according to the Motor Vehicle Commission, which has been embroiled in a national controversy since it was revealed that thousands of non-U.S. citizens were automatically registered to vote while obtaining driver’s licenses in New Jersey.

For non-New Jersey e-bikers, the process for e-bike registration will be the same as for residents, but out of staters can use out-of-state proof of identification and register the e-bike with an out-of-state address.