Golf cart laws in Georgia

In Georgia, a street cart usually counts as a personal transportation vehicle (PTV), and it can use only the streets and paths a city or county has designated for it. Low-speed vehicles (LSVs) are a separate, registered class that can use roads posted 35 mph or less.

Rules checked October 15, 2026 · Always follow local signs

Do you need a driver’s license to drive a golf cart in Georgia?

Usually. A PTV driver needs a valid driver’s license, unless the town’s cart ordinance permitted unlicensed drivers before 2012. No license is needed on a PTV-only path or at a designated crossing where the town permits unlicensed drivers. LSVs are motor vehicles: the state’s Department of Public Safety says they need a licensed driver.

How old do you have to be to drive a golf cart in Georgia?

State law doesn’t set an age for PTVs; each town’s ordinance does. Many towns say 16 with a license.

Does a golf cart need a permit or registration in Georgia?

There’s no state registration or title for PTVs. A town may register them, at least every five years, for up to $15. LSVs are registered and insured with the state.

Where can golf carts go in Georgia?

Only on streets and paths a city or county has designated by ordinance. Without that, a PTV has no place on a public road. The ordinance takes effect once the town posts warning signs where state highways enter it.

Towns that set PTV rules after 2011 must keep shared streets at 25 mph or less. Towns with a cart ordinance from before 2012 aren’t bound by that limit; their own ordinance decides. (That’s our reading of the law, not legal advice.)

Golf cart or LSV: what’s the difference in Georgia?

Georgia has three kinds of small vehicle:

• a golf car is for playing golf and averages under 15 mph; it has no street rules of its own;
• a PTV (the main modern category) has at least four wheels, a top speed under 20 mph, weighs no more than 1,375 lb empty and seats up to eight; this is what town cart rules cover. An older category covers carts with three or more wheels, up to 1,300 lb and 20 mph, that a town approved before 2012;
• an LSV has four wheels and a top speed over 20 mph and up to 25, built or converted to the federal LSV standard.

LSVs can use roads posted 35 mph or less. An LSV can’t travel along roads posted over 35; lawful crossings are separately regulated.

Can you drive a golf cart at night in Georgia? Hours and lights

The state sets no hours for PTVs; towns may. PTVs need head lamps and tail lamps, except daylight-only carts under a pre-2012 ordinance.

Crossing roads

A PTV may cross a state highway only at a crossing the state Department of Transportation has designated, built as an active crossing and marked with the golf cart crossing sign. On city and county roads, it may cross only where the town or county has designated a crossing.

Equipment

PTVs need brakes with a parking brake, a reverse warning, a main power switch, head lamps, reflectors, tail lamps, a horn, a rearview mirror, safety labels, and hip restraints or hand holds.

How we read Georgia’s law

We read these rules from the bills as the General Assembly passed them (2014, 2015 and 2020) on its own website, not from the compiled code.

Towns we’ve checked in Georgia

• CantonPTVs only inside council-approved PTV districts, on streets 25 mph or less. $15 yearly registration.
• FayettevilleWithin subdivisions and on the city’s named recreational paths. Register with the police ($20).
• GriffinRegistered PTVs ($15 a year) on public roads and paths, but not faster roads, and not federal or state highways unless GDOT designates them.
• Jekyll IslandQualifying PTVs on specified public streets (not state highways or paths). 16+ with a license.
• Peachtree City100+ miles of shared-use paths. City decal; non-residents pay a path fee.
• Port WentworthCity roads posted 25 mph or less, minus a list of busy roads. Yearly police registration; 16+ licensed.
• RomeDesignated 25 mph zones only. Police inspection and registration; 18+.
• St. Simons IslandPublic streets posted 25 mph or less. County decal; 16+ with a license.
• Tybee IslandCity streets except Highway 80, which carts cross only at designated locations. Sticker; 16+ licensed.
• TyroneDesignated multi-use paths and the town’s share-the-road streets. Use the town’s map.
• WoodstockRegistered PTVs on city streets posted 25 mph or less. $15 decal; licensed drivers.

Using SlowGo here

SlowGo routes on roads posted 35 mph or under by default; it doesn’t establish cart access here.

Where these rules come from

• Georgia HB 877 (2014), the enacted bill that set the state’s cart (PTV) rules — Georgia General Assembly
• Georgia SB 169 (2015), as enacted — Georgia General Assembly
• Georgia HB 877 (2020), the enacted bill that rewrote the LSV definition — Georgia General Assembly
• Georgia Code: low-speed vehicles — Georgia Department of Public Safety

Rules checked October 15, 2026