On Jekyll Island, qualifying personal transportation vehicles (PTVs) may use specified public streets, subject to equipment, driver, insurance and access rules. True golf carts, the kind built only for the golf course, may not be driven on the island’s public streets.
State law: see golf cart laws in Georgia.
Do you need a driver’s license to drive a PTV on Jekyll Island?
Yes. PTV drivers need a valid driver’s license. True golf carts may not be driven on the island’s public streets.
How old do you have to be to drive a PTV on Jekyll Island?
At least 16, with a valid driver’s license.
Does a PTV need a permit or insurance on Jekyll Island?
No Glynn County registration is needed on Jekyll. The owner needs liability insurance at Georgia’s minimum limits, with proof kept in the PTV.
Required: brakes and a parking brake, a reverse warning, a main power switch, headlights and taillights, front and rear turn signals, brake lights, reflectors, a rearview mirror, a horn, hip restraints, hand holds, a seat belt for every seat, and the orange slow-moving-vehicle triangle on the back. A gas-powered PTV also needs a working exhaust system that keeps smoke, fumes and noise down.
That list is on top of any equipment state law requires, so it isn’t complete; see the Authority’s Chapter F, Article II, for the full rule.
Where can PTVs go on Jekyll Island, and can golf carts use the streets?
PTVs can use the island’s public streets, but not roads that are part of the state highway system. No PTVs on sidewalks, bike paths, the pedestrian-only paths in the Historic District, unimproved trails, service roads or golf-cart paths.
Park in regular vehicle spaces.
Golf cart, PTV or LSV: what’s the difference on Jekyll Island?
The Authority’s rules use the main modern category in Georgia law: a PTV has at least four wheels, a top speed under 20 mph, weighs no more than 1,375 lb empty and carries up to eight people. (Georgia law also has an older category for carts that towns approved before 2012; see our Georgia page.) A golf cart is built only for golf and averages under 15 mph.
On Jekyll, golf carts may not be driven on public streets or Authority property, except to cross a street while playing golf, or at a parade, festival or other event with the sponsor’s OK. Privately owned carts may not be used on the Authority’s golf courses.
LSVs (low-speed vehicles) are registered and insured with the state, can use streets posted 35 mph or less, and are kept off the same paths as PTVs. An LSV can’t travel along roads posted over 35; lawful crossings are separately regulated.
Can you drive a PTV at night on Jekyll Island? Hours and lights
PTVs, yes, with lights: PTV headlights and taillights go on at night, in rain, or when you can’t see 500 feet ahead. True golf carts may not be driven on the island’s public streets at any hour.
On the road
Everyone wears a seat belt, one person per belt. Children under 8 ride in a child seat (a seat belt is fine if they weigh at least 40 lb or are over 4′9″). If two or more vehicles are behind you, pull over at the first place where you can. No passing in the same lane, and no riding two abreast.
Follow the law and posted signs. Follow applicable law, posted restrictions and lawful directions from officers. If permission is unclear, don’t use that road or path until confirmed. Rules can change after we check them.
Using SlowGo here
SlowGo routes on roads posted 35 mph or under by default; it doesn’t establish cart access here.
Check local rules before you ride. It doesn’t know Jekyll’s rules yet: if a route uses a path here, don’t take it in a PTV or LSV, and don’t drive a true golf cart on the island’s streets.
Where these rules come from
- Jekyll Island Authority Rules, Chapter F: Streets and Rights-of-Way (April 2022) — Jekyll Island Authority (PDF)
- Georgia HB 877 (2014), the enacted bill that set the state’s cart (PTV) rules — Georgia General Assembly
- Georgia Code: low-speed vehicles — Georgia Department of Public Safety
Town staff: see something out of date? Email hello@slowgoapp.com and we’ll fix it quickly.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Always follow posted signs and local rules.