Short answer: In Florida, a driver under 18 needs a learner’s license or driver license to drive a golf cart on a public road; a driver 18 or older needs valid photo ID. Golf carts are not titled or registered, and may only use roads a city or county has designated for carts. A low-speed vehicle must be titled, registered and insured.
How old do you have to be to drive a golf cart in Florida?
There is no longer a single minimum age. Since October 1, 2023, Florida Statute 316.212 sets two rules for public roads and streets:
- A person under 18 must hold a valid learner’s driver license or a valid driver license.
- A person 18 or older must carry a valid form of government-issued photographic identification.
The statute covers public roads and streets; on private property the owner or the community association sets its own rules, so ask them.
What changed in Florida’s golf cart law in 2023?
The age rule. Before October 1, 2023 the statute only required a golf cart driver on a public road to be 14 or older, and some county web pages still show that line, so check the date on anything you read. The amended Florida Statute 316.212 replaced it with the license and photo ID requirement above. The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, whose county includes our Ponte Vedra Beach address, published a flyer summarizing the amended statute once it took effect. The sources we cite below do not document who sponsored the change, why it was introduced, or the vote by which it passed, so we do not state those details here.
Do golf carts need a title in Florida?
No. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) does not title or register golf carts, and because they are not registered they are not required to carry the personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage liability (PDL) insurance that registered vehicles need. Keep the bill of sale and note the serial number: without a title, that paperwork is your record of the purchase.
A low-speed vehicle is treated like a road vehicle. Florida defines an LSV as a four-wheeled vehicle whose top speed is greater than 20 mph but not greater than 25 mph, and LSVs must be registered, titled and insured with PIP and PDL. Anyone driving one must have a valid driver license with them. A golf cart converted into an LSV has to be inspected and assigned a VIN before it can be titled; FLHSMV’s low-speed vehicle page lists the photographs and forms it asks for.
Do you need insurance on a golf cart in Florida?
Not by state law for a golf cart: because Florida does not register golf carts, they are not required to carry PIP and PDL. A low-speed vehicle is different and must be insured with both before it can be registered. Whether to insure a golf cart anyway, against damage, theft or liability, is your call; a homeowners policy may or may not extend to a cart on the road, so ask your insurer, and ask your community too, because an association can set its own conditions for carts on its streets.
Is a golf cart that goes 25 mph still a golf cart?
Not under Florida’s definitions. A golf cart is a vehicle not capable of exceeding 20 mph; a vehicle that tops out above 20 and up to 25 mph is a low-speed vehicle. So a cart rated 25 mph falls in the LSV class, and before you drive it on a public road it needs the LSV equipment and paperwork, not just the speed; our guide to what makes a golf cart street legal lists the equipment and the conversion route. Several carts on our fast golf carts page are rated 25 mph without an LSV rating in their manufacturer record; the models whose record carries one are on our street-legal golf carts page.
Where can you drive a golf cart in Florida?
Only on roads a local government has designated for golf carts, and those are marked with signs or pavement markings. Each city and county sets its own map and conditions, so the rules below are St. Johns County’s, as published by its Sheriff’s Office under County Ordinance 2018-42:
- No road posted above 25 mph may be designated for golf carts, though a cart may cross a faster road to get from one designated road to another.
- A road being county-owned or county-maintained does not make it a golf cart road; look for the signs.
- Carts may not use ordinary sidewalks. They may use multi-use paths the county has approved, at no more than 15 mph, and need a horn to do so.
- Driving on designated roads after dark requires headlights, a windshield, brake lights and turn signals.
- Every cart on a county road needs efficient brakes and steering, safe tires, a rearview mirror and reflectors front and rear.
Low-speed vehicles have wider access: Florida Statute 316.2122 allows them on streets with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less. And the impaired-driving law, Florida Statute 316.193, applies to golf carts and LSVs alike.
What equipment does a Florida LSV need?
FLHSMV’s low-speed vehicle page lists the equipment an LSV needs:
- Headlamps and turn signals
- Stop lamps and tail lamps
- Red reflex reflectors
- An exterior driver-side mirror and a rearview mirror
- A parking brake
- A windshield
- Seat belts
- A VIN
Each of our product pages shows what the maker fits as standard and says when a cart reaches LSV status only with the maker’s LSV package.
Do these rules apply outside Florida?
No. Titles, age limits and road access are set state by state and often town by town, which is why our general guide calls street legality a local question. If the cart will live outside Florida, ask your state motor vehicle agency and your city or county clerk before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
How old do you have to be to drive a golf cart in Florida?
A driver under 18 must hold a valid learner’s driver license or a valid driver license. A driver 18 or older must carry a valid form of government-issued photographic identification. These rules apply on public roads and streets; private property rules are set by the owner or community association.
Do golf carts need a title in Florida?
No. FLHSMV does not title or register golf carts. Keep your bill of sale and note the serial number, since without a title that paperwork is your record of the purchase.
Do you need insurance on a golf cart in Florida?
Not by state law, since golf carts are not registered in Florida. A low-speed vehicle is different and must be insured with PIP and PDL before it can be registered.
Is a golf cart that goes 25 mph still a golf cart?
No. Florida defines a golf cart as a vehicle not capable of exceeding 20 mph, so a cart rated above 20 and up to 25 mph is classed as a low-speed vehicle and needs LSV equipment and paperwork to use a public road.
Where can you drive a golf cart in Florida?
Only on roads a city or county has designated for golf carts, marked with signs or pavement markings. Each local government sets its own map and conditions.
Do Florida’s golf cart rules apply in other states?
No. Titles, age limits and road access are set state by state and often town by town, so ask your state motor vehicle agency and local clerk if the cart will be used outside Florida.
Sources
- St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, “Golf Cart Safety” (October 2023): Florida Statute 316.212 as amended, and St. Johns County Ordinance 2018-42.
- Martin County, golf carts and low-speed vehicles, relaying FLHSMV on titles, registration, insurance and LSV equipment.
- Florida Statute 316.212, operation of golf carts and 316.2122, low-speed vehicles.
This is a plain-language summary checked against those sources on October 5, 2026, not legal advice. Related: golf carts in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach and how fast a golf cart goes.