E-scooters in Thessaloniki: Dott and Lime, Greece’s helmet law, and the city’s own scooter regulation

Which e-scooter apps work in Thessaloniki?

At 11:57 am on Monday 2 November 2026, Greek time, the Thessaloniki map showed about 690 Dott scooters free to rent at that moment and about 330 Lime scooters as last counted. The map shows the nearest scooter and the walk to it, and a button opens the operator’s app.

Each operator has its own app: you unlock a scooter with your phone and pay in the app. Check the price before you unlock, and read where you may end the ride.

New to shared scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Thessaloniki’s own e-scooter rules: from December 2024 to October 2025

National law sets the riding rules everywhere in Greece, but the Municipality of Thessaloniki has written its own rulebook for e-scooters too. Greek law counts e-scooters among Ε.Π.Η.Ο., light personal electric vehicles, and each of the city’s decisions below, all published on Diavgeia, the state’s transparency site, names the same rulebook: the “Regulation on the circulation and parking of light personal electric vehicles”. Two bodies took part: the Municipal Committee, which approved each text and referred it to the council, and the Municipal Council, which then approved it.

• 11 and 16 December 2024. The Municipal Committee approved the regulation and referred it to the council (act 1383/2024), then amended that act (1395/2024).
• 16 December 2024. The Municipal Council approved the regulation by a majority (decision 835/2024).
• 10 March 2025. The council approved an amendment by a majority (decision 86/2025), after the committee’s act 258 of 5 March.
• 2 June 2025. The council approved a second amendment by a majority (decision 270/2025).
• 14 July 2025. The council unanimously amended the June decision (decision 416/2025), after the committee’s act 808 of 9 July.
• 8 October 2025. Once the new Highway Code applied in full, the committee approved the regulation again and referred it to the council (act 1191/2025).
• 13 October 2025. Decision 527/2025 was issued: the council approved the regulation unanimously.

On 2 November 2026, decision 527/2025 was still the latest on the regulation that Diavgeia listed for the municipality. The decisions are in Greek. For a visitor the practical rule is simple: end a ride only where the app allows, and read its map before you park.

The new Highway Code it follows is law 5209/2025, published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 100) on 13 June 2025. Each town’s rules apply only within its borders, so check the app again if you ride into a neighbouring municipality. Next door, the Municipality of Kalamaria has a council decision of its own, 196/2025: by its title on Diavgeia, it sets the fees e-scooter rental firms pay for the use of public space, and fines for the use of e-scooters. It was amended in 2026 (decision 240/2026 of 21 May, approved on 23 June in decision 230/2026).

Two rulebooks apply at once. The city’s regulation covers how e-scooters circulate and park in Thessaloniki; Greek national law, below, sets the age, helmet, speed and fines for every rider.

Can you ride an e-scooter in Thessaloniki? Age, helmet and licence

Yes, and you need no driving licence. The rules below come from the Highway Code (KOK, law 5209/2025) as amended by law 5322/2026, published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 117) and in force since 24 July 2026.

• Age: 17 or over. Riding younger is a €150 fine. The app may set a higher age.
• Helmet: compulsory at any age, adults included: an approved helmet, fastened, or €30. Bring your own.
• ID: carry a passport or ID card when you ride. The operator’s insurance certificate can stay in the app.
• Passengers: one rider only (€150).
• Phone and headphones: no phone in your hand and no headphones while riding: €350 and 30 days’ licence removal.
• After dark: wear reflective clothing or gear (€30).

Since July 2026 third-party insurance has been compulsory for every e-scooter; on a shared scooter it’s the operator’s.

Where can you ride an e-scooter in Thessaloniki?

Greek law treats an e-scooter rather like a bicycle, with three rules that matter most in a big city:

• Cycle lane first. Where a road has a cycle lane, you must ride in it (€30 if you don’t).
• No fast roads. E-scooters are banned on any road where the limit is over 50 km/h (€350); a 50 km/h road is allowed. Where a big road’s signs show a limit over 50 km/h, take a quieter parallel street.
• No pavements, squares or pedestrian streets. Riding on them costs €350 and 30 days’ licence removal. Get off and walk the scooter across a square or along a pedestrian street.

The top speed is 25 km/h: €30 for riding up to 35 km/h, €150 above that.

On a steep street, brake early on the way down; on smooth paving, which turns slippery in the rain, slow right down or walk.

Where can you park a rental e-scooter in Thessaloniki?

End your ride only where the app allows. Thessaloniki’s regulation covers parking as well as circulation, as its title says, and the app shows where a ride may end.

National law adds limits wherever you stop:

Stand the scooter upright, out of the walking line, and take a photo if the app asks for one. Heading for a boat? End the ride where the app allows before the quay and walk the rest: the law bans parking where passengers board.

Greece’s e-scooter rules and fines in one table

These are the national rules that apply in Thessaloniki, as in Athens, Heraklion, Kos and Rhodes.

The Highway Code’s fines are national, so the same offence costs the same in Thessaloniki as in Athens or on the islands. The July 2026 law raised several of them, set the minimum age at 17 and made third-party insurance compulsory. Thessaloniki’s own regulation sits on top of these rules and doesn’t replace them.

Drinking, heat and night rides

• Alcohol. The limit is the drivers’ one, 0.5 g/l in the blood or 0.25 mg/l in breath, and the fine starts at €350. After an evening out, walk or take a taxi.
• Heat. On a hot day, ride early or late, carry water, and remember that the helmet rule still applies.
• At night. Wear something reflective, as the law requires, and keep to lit streets you know.

Stations, bus stops and the port

A shared e-scooter is for the street. End your ride outside the station or stop, in a spot the app allows, and walk in; at a bus stop, leave it at least 12 metres away, as the law asks.

Coming back out, open the Thessaloniki map to find the nearest Dott or Lime to the exit. At the port, the same rule as for any boat applies: no parking where passengers board.

Did you know?

• Ahead of Athens. Thessaloniki’s council approved the latest version of its regulation unanimously, in decision 527/2025, issued on 13 October 2025: more than five weeks before Athens adopted its rules, on 20 November 2025. Its first version is older still, approved in December 2024.
• Five council votes in ten months. The regulation and its first two amendments passed by a majority, from December 2024 to June 2025; the July and October 2025 votes were unanimous.
• Greek law files e-scooters under Ε.Π.Η.Ο., short for Ελαφρύ Προσωπικό Ηλεκτρικό Όχημα, a light personal electric vehicle. It is the name you’ll see on each of Thessaloniki’s decisions on its regulation.