Are Golf Carts Street Legal in Beaufort County? Your 2026 Guide to the Rules on Lady's Island, Port Royal & the Sea Islands

Quick answer: yes, golf carts are street legal in Beaufort County, but only after you register them and only on the right roads. You need a $5 permit decal and registration certificate from the SCDMV, proof of ownership, and proof of liability insurance. The driver has to be at least 16 with a valid license. A permitted cart can run on roads posted 35 mph or lower, within 4 miles of your registered address, during daylight unless your town has passed a night ordinance. South Carolina rewrote this law in May 2025, so a lot of the advice floating around online is now out of date. This guide covers the permit steps, where you can actually drive, how the rules shift from town to town across the Sea Islands, and when a low-speed vehicle is the smarter buy. Here is what applies in 2026.

 

What The 2025 Law Change Means For You

 

Most golf cart articles you will find still quote a statute that no longer exists. South Carolina repealed the old Section 56-2-105 and replaced it with Section 56-2-90, effective May 22, 2025, under Act No. 64.

We deal with this every week here in Beaufort, and the questions we get are almost always based on the old rules. The core requirements did not vanish, but a few things shifted, and the biggest change is how much power your local town now has over where and when you drive.

Here is what most first-time owners get wrong, what stayed the same, and how the rules break down across the specific places we serve: Lady's Island, Port Royal, the City of Beaufort, Fripp Island, and the rest of the Sea Islands. We will also cover the difference between a plain golf cart and a low-speed vehicle, because that single distinction decides how far and how late you can legally drive.

 

Are Golf Carts Street Legal In Beaufort County? The Short Version

 

A golf cart is street legal here once it carries an SCDMV permit decal and you meet the operating rules. Without that decal, it is a private-property vehicle only. Driving an unpermitted cart on a public road is where people get ticketed.

The permit is not a formality. It ties your cart to a registered address, and that address sets the boundary for where you are allowed to drive. Miss the registration step, and you have a cart you can use in a gated neighborhood or on your own land, but not on any county road.

To make a golf cart street legal in Beaufort County, you need four things in place:

• A permit decal and registration certificate from the SCDMV
• Proof of ownership for the cart
• Proof of liability insurance that meets South Carolina Code Section 38-77-140
• A five-dollar fee

You apply using SCDMV Form GC-2. The decal has to be replaced every five years, or sooner if you move, since your registered address is what the 4-mile rule is measured from.

 

Getting Your Golf Cart Permit: The SCDMV Steps

 

The registration itself is quick if you bring the right paperwork the first time. The holdup is almost always a missing insurance document.

Bring these to the SCDMV:

• Completed Form GC-2 (golf cart permit, decal, and registration application)
• The bill of sale or title showing you own the cart
• A current liability insurance card or policy for the cart
• Your valid driver's license
• The $5 fee

Once approved, you get the decal and a registration certificate. Keep that certificate, your insurance proof, and your license with you whenever you drive on a public road. An officer can ask for all three.

One rule worth repeating because it surprises people: the decal is tied to the address on your registration. If you sell your house on Lady's Island and move to Port Royal, you re-register, because your legal driving radius moves with you.

 

Where You Can Actually Drive: Roads, Radius, And Daylight

 

This is where the golf cart laws in Beaufort County get specific, and where a lot of drivers cross a line without realizing it.

Roads: A permitted golf cart may only be driven on a secondary highway or street where the posted speed limit is 35 mph or lower. That rules out the faster connectors around Beaufort. You can also cross a higher-speed road at an intersection, but you cannot travel along it.

Distance: Under the default state rule, your cart has to stay within 4 miles of the address on your registration certificate. If you live in a gated community, the 4 miles is measured from the community's main entrance instead.

Time of day: The default is daylight hours only. Your town or the county can change that by ordinance and allow night driving, but only if your cart has working headlights and taillights.

Children: A newer requirement says children under 12 must wear a seat belt any time the cart is on a public street or highway. If your cart does not have belts in the back, that affects who can ride there legally.

Here is the piece the 2025 law made bigger: local governments can now stipulate the hours, methods, and locations of golf cart operation in their jurisdiction. So the real answer to "where can I drive" is partly a state answer and partly a your-town answer.

 

The Rules Change By Town: A Sea Islands Breakdown

 

Beaufort County is a patchwork of municipalities, gated islands, and unincorporated areas, and each layer can add its own overlay on top of the state law. Below is how it shakes out across our service area. Treat the state rules as the floor, and always confirm the local overlay with the specific town or property owners association, since councils update these ordinances.

 

Two concrete county-level facts worth knowing. First, Beaufort County Council voted in 2022 against allowing golf carts on multi-use paths, so those paved walking and biking paths are not a legal cart route even though they look inviting. Second, Daufuskie is the standout example of a local night ordinance, which is exactly the kind of overlay the 2025 law lets other areas adopt.

If you are setting up a cart to use in a specific neighborhood, that neighborhood's rules matter as much as the state law. We can walk you through what applies where you actually live.

 

Golf Cart Or LSV? The Difference That Decides Your Freedom

 

Here is the distinction that changes everything, and the one competitors rarely explain clearly. South Carolina treats a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle as two separate categories of vehicle. They are not the same thing with different trim.

A low speed vehicle, or LSV, is a four-wheeled vehicle built to reach 20 to 25 mph and weighing under 3,000 pounds. To qualify, it has to be manufactured to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 500, which requires real equipment from the factory: headlights, taillights, turn signals, reflectors, mirrors, a windshield, a parking brake, seat belts, and a VIN.

Because an LSV meets those federal standards, the state lets it do things a golf cart cannot:

• It is titled, registered, and tagged like a car, not with the golf cart permit decal
• It is not held to the 4-mile radius, so you can drive across town
• It can operate at night as standard equipment
• It can use and cross roads with speed limits up to 35 mph, and cross higher-speed roads at intersections

For a lot of Sea Islands owners, the LSV is the better answer. If you want to run from your house to the marina, the store, and back after dinner without mapping out a 4-mile circle or racing the sunset, an LSV removes those limits. If that sounds like your daily driving, talk to us about the right build for the islands contact before you decide.

 

When a plain golf cart is still the right call

A standard permitted golf cart is the simpler, lower-cost choice if your driving is genuinely local. If you mostly cruise your own neighborhood, run short errands within a few miles, and drive during the day, you do not need to pay for an LSV. The permit route is cheaper, and the cart is lighter. The decision comes down to how far and how late you actually plan to drive.

 

Common Ways Drivers Get It Wrong Around Here

 

We see the same handful of mistakes, and every one of them is avoidable.

Driving an unregistered cart on a public road is the big one. A cart with no SCDMV decal is fine on private property, but the moment it touches a county street it needs the permit.

Assuming a golf cart can go anywhere an LSV can go is the second. People buy a cart, see a neighbor driving all over the island after dark, and copy them, not realizing the neighbor is on a titled LSV.

Riding on the multi-use paths is the third. They feel safer than the road, but the county closed that door in 2022. Carts belong on the qualifying streets, not the paved paths.

Letting the insurance lapse is the quiet one. Your liability coverage is part of what makes the cart street legal, not just a nice-to-have. If it lapses, the cart is no longer legal to drive on the road even with a valid decal.

 

Keeping A Street Legal Cart Road-Ready In The Lowcountry

 

Legal is step one. A cart that survives salt air and humidity is step two, and the two are linked, because a cart you cannot keep running is not much use no matter how it is registered.

Salt in the air corrodes terminals, connectors, and cables even if you never drive on the beach. A simple rinse-and-dry habit and a little dielectric grease on the connections go a long way here. Battery choice matters too. Lithium batteries tend to handle our heat and humidity better than older lead-acid packs and skip the water top-offs, which is why a lot of island owners upgrade once the old set fades.

The equipment that makes a cart street legal also needs to keep working. Headlights, taillights, and turn signals are required for night driving and for an LSV, so keep them maintained, and add proper Wheels and tires rated for road use if you are running errands rather than laps around a course. Registered or not, a cart is only as road-ready as its worst-maintained part.

 

Where this leaves Beaufort drivers

 

Golf carts are street legal in Beaufort County once you register with the SCDMV, insure the cart, and stick to 35 mph roads within your 4-mile radius during legal hours. The 2025 law handed your town real control over the details, so the state rules are only half the picture, and your local ordinance is the other half. If you want more range and night driving without the restrictions, a low-speed vehicle is the path. Come see The Cart Outfitters, and we will help you sort the rules, the paperwork, and the parts to keep it running in the Lowcountry. We are on Sea Island Parkway in Beaufort, right in the middle of the area these rules cover.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q. Are golf carts street legal in Beaufort County without a permit?

No. Golf carts are street legal in Beaufort County only after you get an SCDMV permit decal and registration certificate, carry liability insurance, and follow the operating rules. Without the decal, a cart is limited to private property.

Q. How much does a golf cart permit cost in South Carolina?

The permit fee is $5, payable to the SCDMV with Form GC-2, proof of ownership, and proof of liability insurance. The decal must be replaced every five years or whenever you change your address, since your registered address sets your legal driving radius.

Q. Can I drive my golf cart at night in Beaufort County?

Only if your local jurisdiction has passed a night ordinance and your cart has working headlights and taillights. The state default is daylight only, but the 2025 law lets towns and the county allow night operation, as Daufuskie Island already does.

Q. What is the difference between a golf cart and an LSV in South Carolina?

A low-speed vehicle meets Federal Standard 500, is titled and tagged like a car, and skips the golf cart permit and 4-mile radius. It can be driven at night and across town, while a permitted golf cart is limited to nearby daytime driving on 35 mph roads.

Q. How far can I legally drive a street legal golf cart?

Under the default state rule, a street legal golf cart must stay within 4 miles of the address on your registration, or 4 miles from your gated community's entrance. Local ordinances can adjust this, so confirm the rule for your specific town.