Driving Your Golf Cart On The Road Is Illegal In These US States

The golf cart market was valued at $2 billion in 2024 and is projected to crack $3 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights. For example, Peachtree City, Georgia, has more golf carts than cars, with 11,000 golf carts registered for just 38,000 residents. That's a lot of blue hairs riding around. We think it's no coincidence that the popularity of golf carts continues to rise as the population ages. If Batman were a boomer, he'd drive a golf cart — the next Batmobile should be an electric vehicle, though.

But there are states and communities that would like to rain on this parade of rolling nanas. Alabama, Delaware, Oregon, and Hawaii all ban golf carts on the road statewide. Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Kansas also ban golf carts, but allow local municipalities to enact their own golf cart ordinances. Several local governments, like the ones in Port St. Lucie, Florida; Goose Creek, South Carolina; and Vanderburgh County, Indiana, have done just that, adding another layer of legislation governing golf carts. South Carolina and even Florida have begun tightening up regulations around golf carts, as well.

At the heart of all these rules and regulations are safety concerns. And so governments have been left with deciding where golf carts should be permitted, who should be allowed to drive them, and whether they need to be insured. Every place is different and has different laws and ordinances. Some localities encourage these little vehicles because they believe that golf carts are safer and greener alternatives to cars. So be sure to check the laws where you live before you decide to hot rod around town on your golf cart.

Several states have laws that specifically restrict or ban golf carts from public roads. Alabama state law says that golf carts are not street legal and cannot be used on a public street. Delaware has a similar law, allowing golf carts only on private property. Oregon only allows the use of golf carts on golf courses and golf-adjacent communities. Hawaii doesn't allow golf carts on the road unless they qualify as a low-speed vehicle (LSV), and most traditional golf carts don't – you always seemed so chill, Hawaii. 

In Massachusetts, they can tow your golf cart if they catch you anywhere on a public street other than a golf course crossing. In New York, you can't even operate a golf cart in a private parking lot, and they might arrest you, too. South Carolina doesn't ban golf carts, but they need to be registered and you can't drive them farther than 4 miles from your home.

Some states ban golf carts on public roads, but allow local communities to enact ordinances that permit golf carts on certain streets. These states include Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Kansas. Golf carts are illegal on the road in the entire state of Maryland, except for one town, Crisfield. But wandering outside of that golf cart haven can get you cited.

Florida — which added jail time for speeders in June 2025 — is rolling out resctrictions on golf carts. Seeing that it's home to the Golf Cart Capital of the World — The Villages, a community so iconic that "the" is part of its name — we are shocked, to say the least. In fact, golf carts are so prolific in some Florida communities that you might get the impression that the law requires you to have one.

However, in 2023, Florida lawmakers passed a law restricting the minimum age to operate golf carts. You know all those teenagers you see taking joy rides around the neighborhood in their pimped-out golf carts? Yeah, we haven't seen that either. But apparently, Florida legislators felt that was enough of a problem to make it illegal for anyone under 18 to operate a golf cart unless they have a valid driver's license or learner's permit. If you're over 18, you just need a valid government-issued ID.

But some localities in the Sunshine State have begun cracking down on the scourge of golf carts. Take Port St. Lucie, for example. Police there are apparently tired of responding to golf-cart-related accidents, so they've been getting tougher about their use on public roads, determined to keep that weirdness inside private HOA communities, where it belongs. They've been getting strict about issuing tickets and fines to golf cart drivers who venture out of their HOAs. While no one's been arrested, as far as we can tell, authorities have warned that you could see a year in the slammer for driving your golf cart on a public street. So, to sum up, Florida is losing its patience with golf carts but guns are still totally fine.

The need to get a handle on the use of golf carts has been seen by local officials, even in towns where golf carts are very popular. In St. Johns, Michigan, there are 2,000 golf carts in use among a population of only 8,000. So, the town passed an ordinance requiring golf carts to be inspected and have working horns and turn signals. Only licensed drivers over the age of 18 are allowed to operate them. "If that golf cart gets in a wreck, it's pretty disastrous," St. Johns Mayor Scott Dzurka told CBS News in October 2025. One resident, Ed Thelen, agreed, saying, "If a cart hits a car, the golf cart is just going to lose. There's nothing there to protect the people in the golf cart."

Goose Creek, South Carolina, enacted some strict regulations regarding golf carts. They can only be driven on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, any passenger under the age of 12 must be wearing a seat belt, and they must have working headlights and taillights if driven at night. All of that sounds reasonable. The strict part is the penalty. Breaking these rules can get a $500 fine, 30 days in jail, or both.

Vanderburgh County, Indiana recently enacted an ordinance that allows golf carts on county roads, where they weren't allowed before. But the ordinance also puts some heavy restrictions on their use. They can only be driven in subdivisions and drivers must be licensed. Children under 14 can only ride as passengers if accompanied by an adult.

It turns out allowing gold carts isn't just about your grandma getting to McDonalds every morning so she can order coffee and gossip with the other old people — these can be a lifeline for disabled people, as well. This became in issue in 2016 in Yorkville, Illinois. We're guessing that all other crime in the town had been solved or eliminated, because the police had the time to pull over and cite a disabled man while he was driving his golf cart on a grassy neighborhood common area.

As WSPY News reported at the time, Andrew Graham had been suffering from Ankylosing spondylitis, an incurable and painful bone disorder that causes the vertebrae to fuse together, resulting in serious mobility issues. Why didn't he use one of those little vehicles old people drive around, like this 125 cc mobility scooter? Because at the time he was 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, and claimed that a scooter would have just tipped over. So, he wound up using a golf cart for such nefarious purposes as taking his kids to the bus stop. 

His citation was overturned, since state law specifies roads and not grassy areas. But Graham wanted to ensure that he wouldn't be cited again, so he brought his cause to the city council. He also filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, claiming the city was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Finally, in September of 2017, after an advocate got involved, the city council amended the relevant ordinance to allow people with disabilities to drive golf carts on the streets.

As much as they invoke the image of rich boomers puttering around their gated retirement communities, the fact is that golf carts come along with serious safety issues that need to be addressed by state and local governments. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) released a report in 2023 that stated there were 59,000 golf cart related emergency room injuries between 2017 and 2021. It doesn't state how many of those were from accidents on the road, but it does demonstrate that golf carts are not perfectly safe. The report does state that 93.7% of those 65 and older who were injured were white and, well, we'll just leave that one alone.

Yamaha has decided to recall golf carts it produced between 2021 and 2025 just because they didn't have stop lights, per CPSC. So, even large corporations understand the safety issues (we hope). Really, anyone with common sense can see that a vehicle capable of 20 mph but without doors, seat belts, or mirrors sharing a road with full-size SUVs and other vehicles poses some obvious hazards. Not to mention the danger to pedestrians when golf carts are driven on sidewalks. So, some regulation is probably a good thing, even for the well-to-do blue hairs in their retirement communities.