How Old Do You Have To Be To Uber Eats? (And Why Uber Eats Is Perfect For Young People)

How old do you have to be to Uber Eats? There are two different minimum age requirements to deliver for Uber Eats depending on which mode of transport you use. If you sign up to deliver for Uber Eats via bike, you must be at least 18 years old. Meanwhile, if you sign up to deliver for Uber Eats in a car, motorcycle, or moped, you have to be at least 19 years old.

In this post, we’ll go into more detail about the requirements to become an Uber Eats driver and explain why Uber Eats is a particularly good side hustle for young people looking to make some more extra money.

How Old Do You Have To Be To Uber Eats?

As noted in the introduction to this post, the minimum age to deliver for Uber Eats will depend on the vehicle you use. If you’re delivering using a bike, you must be at least 18 years old. Meanwhile, if you’re using a car, motorcycle, or moped, you’ll need to be at least 19 years old.

It’s a bit interesting that Uber Eats has two separate minimum age requirements depending on which type of vehicle you use. The other major food delivery apps don’t seem to differentiate between bikes and cars (DoorDash requires you to be at least 18 years old, while Grubhub has a minimum age of 19 years old). This makes Uber Eats interesting because if you’re too young to drive for Uber Eats, you could still sign up as a biker.

In addition to the minimum age requirements, you’ll also need to have the following:

A valid driver’s license (or government-issued ID if you aren’t driving)
Social security number (so Uber Eats can run a background check)
Access to a vehicle (car, moped, or bike)

For the most part, most people won’t have trouble meeting these requirements, although if you are planning to drive, you’ll need to be sure that you can pass the Uber Eats background check (serious traffic violations or DUIs may disqualify you, for example).

When signing up, be sure you select the correct vehicle type. Depending on the city you’re in, you can sign up using a car, moped, bike, or walking.

how old do you have to be to Uber Eats — The requirements from the Uber Eats website.

Why Uber Eats Is The Perfect Side Hustle For Young People

Uber Eats is, in my opinion, one of the best side hustles for young people. Uber Eats didn’t exist when I was in college, but if it had, I would have definitely done it. It would’ve been a perfect way for me to make extra money, instead of working a campus job that wasn’t as fun or as flexible.

Here are some of the reasons why I think Uber Eats is a great side hustle for someone just out of high school or in college (or someone just beginning their career and looking for some extra money).

1. Flexibility

The main benefit of Uber Eats is the flexibility that comes with it. You can usually log in and accept deliveries whenever you want, work for as much or as little as you want, and accept or reject any delivery requests that come your way. Even better, unlike other food delivery apps, Uber Eats doesn’t have any scheduling features, which means you can always log into the app.

The flexibility means you can fit Uber Eats around your schedule. If you have time, simply log into the Uber Eats app and do a few deliveries.

If you’re like most people, you probably have a lot of spare time where you’re doing nothing. Try turning on Uber Eats and see if you can do some deliveries and make some extra money. I like listening to podcasts while I deliver for an hour or so. It’s a great way to use some of my free time. You might even be surprised at how much you can make.

2. You Don’t Need To Use A Car

One of the reasons Uber Eats is so appealing – especially for young people – is that you don’t need to have a car to sign up. I’ve been delivering for Uber Eats for years (since 2016 at this point) and have exclusively done my deliveries using a bike. Using a bike can also save you a lot of money too.

For students or other young people, Uber Eats on a bike can work really well. It’s likely you live in a dense area that’s better suited for bike deliveries. On college campuses, for example, traffic can be a huge pain and there aren’t many places to park. With a bike, however, you can zip through traffic and park your bike anywhere. And since college campuses are small areas, you can stay in a tight zone and get a lot of deliveries done. Plus, you also get the benefit of improving your health and avoiding the costs associated with operating a car.

You aren’t limited to doing Uber Eats on a traditional bike either. My brother often does his deliveries using a skateboard. I’ve transitioned towards doing most of my deliveries using an electric bike or electric scooter. Try out various modes of transportation and see what works best for you. You can be as creative as you want!

3. The Reverse Latte Factor And The Power Of Compounding

Becoming an Uber Eats Driver can be very valuable financially thanks to a concept that I call the Reverse Latte Factor.

There’s a concept in personal finance called the Latte Factor (coined by David Bach, who wrote a great personal finance book called The Automatic Millionaire). The idea behind the Latte Factor is that we spend small amounts of money each day on things that we don’t really notice. If rather than spending that money, we save and invest it, it can add up to hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars if given enough time.

The Reverse Latte Factor takes that idea and applies it in reverse. Instead of saving small amounts, what happens if we earn small amounts of extra money and save it? The answer is that it can become a lot of money with time and consistency.

Consider this. Earning an extra $10 per day means you’ll end up with $3,650 by the end of the year. If you invest that money each year for 30 years and average a 7% annual rate of return, you’ll end up with over $368,000. Double it to $20 per day and you’re looking at over $735,000. Save $30 per day, and you’ll end up a millionaire. It’s that easy.

When you’re young, compounding can be an amazing and unstoppable force.

4. It’s Fun

Perhaps most importantly, Uber Eats is a great side hustle because it’s fun. I don’t need the money from doing Uber Eats these days. I do it because it’s fun. In a way, it sort of gamifies my life.

It also probably helps that I’ve been doing it so long that I know the best ways to make Uber Eats as stress-free as possible.

You don’t have a lot to lose by trying out Uber Eats – so I say just give it a try and see if you enjoy it. If not, you can always find something else to do.

Final Thoughts – I Wish I Had Uber Eats Back When I Was In College

If Uber Eats had existed back when I was in college, I definitely would have done that instead of some of the other college jobs I did. I had a lot of free time on my hands – time that I would have loved to have used to make extra money.

So give it a try and see how it works for you. If you’re like me, you might find it’s a lot of fun – and lucrative too.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($500) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: AZ, AR, CA, CO, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR, SD, TN, UT, WA, WI, WY. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Upgrade ($50) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $50 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on April 15, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before April 15th, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $50 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $500 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.