The Golf Cart On The Street
S.C. Code 56-2-90 — a permit decal, a licensed driver of sixteen, daylight only, and within four miles of home
To drive a golf cart on a public highway, the owner gets a permit decal and registration certificate from the Department of Motor Vehicles with proof of ownership and liability insurance and a $5 fee. The decal is replaced every five years or on a change of address.
Sixteen, licensed, and carrying the papers. The driver must be at least sixteen years of age with a valid driver's license, and carry the license, the registration certificate and proof of insurance.
- Only during daylight hours.
- Only on a secondary highway with a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less.
- Only within four miles of the address on the registration, or of a gated community's entrance.
- Crossing a faster highway only at an intersection.
Those are the limits where no local ordinance says otherwise. A city or county may set its own hours and places, allow night driving with working lights, and build cart paths, but never on a road over thirty-five miles per hour.
Every passenger under the age of twelve years old wears a fastened seat belt. Local ordinances add their own rules. A particular question is for the Department of Motor Vehicles or the city or county.
Sources for this section (1)
- S.C. Code 56-2-90 — Operating a golf cart on a public highway
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.