GB 17761-2024 - Battery Design

Safety Technical Specifications for Electric Bicycles

GB 17761-2024 is the updated mandatory Chinese national standard for electric bicycle safety, covering the complete e-bike including the battery, charger, motor, and vehicle structure. It was officially implemented on 1 September 2025. Complete electric bicycles must comply with the new requirements and obtain CCC (China Compulsory Certification) to be sold in China. Separately, lithium-ion batteries and chargers for electric bicycles also require their own CCC certification, effective from 1 November 2025, under new rules (CNCA-C09-02:2025) that break out battery and charger certification from vehicle certification.

Published by: Standardization Administration of China (SAC) / State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)

Current edition: GB 17761-2024

Replaces: GB 17761-2018

Status: Mandatory (GB prefix) — CCC certification required for electric bicycles, and separately for lithium-ion batteries and chargers, to enter the China market

Enforcement dates: GB 17761-2024 effective 1 September 2025; battery/charger CCC mandatory from 1 November 2025; non-compliant products prohibited from sale from 1 December 2025

Scope

GB 17761-2024 applies to electric bicycles sold in China, defined as two-wheeled bicycles with pedals and an electric motor with rated power ≤400 W and maximum design speed ≤25 km/h. Both lead-acid and lithium-ion battery variants are covered, with distinct requirements for each chemistry.

Key Battery Requirements

Vehicle weight limits: for lead-acid battery e-bikes the maximum vehicle weight increases to 63 kg; for lithium-ion battery e-bikes the maximum remains ≤55 kg (excluding rider)
Tamper-proof battery design: battery packs must not include reserved interfaces or circuits for external battery extension; mutual recognition and coordinated charging/discharging between battery and charger is required — the battery will only charge when matched to an approved charger
“One vehicle, one battery, one charger, one code”: traceability requirement ensuring each bicycle, its battery, and its charger share a linked code for full lifecycle tracking
Fire and flame retardancy: total plastic content of the e-bike shall not exceed 5.5% of total vehicle weight; enhanced flame retardancy requirements for all non-metallic components, tested against the same broad abuse-test principles covered on Abuse Testing
Lithium battery CCC: lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes require separate CCC certification under CNCA-C09-02:2025; certification is product-specific and cannot be bundled with the vehicle CCC

Speed Limiter and Controller Requirements

The standard includes extensive tamper-proofing requirements to prevent speed de-limiting modifications that have been a safety concern in the Chinese market:

Speed limiters: must be non-removable and must ensure maximum speed cannot exceed 25 km/h under any operating condition
Controller: must not be modifiable via wire cutting, jumpers, decoder devices, or IoT connections; must include overvoltage locking to prevent higher-voltage battery substitution

Related Standards

ECE R136 — EU equivalent safety standard for electric L-category vehicles including e-bikes
BS EN 50604-1 — UK/EU secondary Li battery requirements for light EV applications
CNCA-C09-02:2025 — CCC implementation rules for power banks, lithium-ion batteries, and battery packs
GB/T 36972-2026 — China\u2019s companion performance standard for e-bike Li-ion battery packs (GB 17761 covers safety; GB/T 36972 covers performance)
EN 50604-2 — the performance-requirements companion to BS EN 50604-1 for light EV batteries
UL 2849 — US safety standard for e-bike electrical systems
UL 2271 — US safety standard for light electric vehicle batteries

Disclaimer: This is not a definitive guide, just an indication and it is important that you always go back to the source for legislation.