On May 22, 2025, Governor McMaster signed H3292, which amended state law at SC Code Section 56-2-90 to allow municipalities and counties to adopt ordinances to regulate the operation of golf carts within their jurisdiction. This includes the hours, methods and locations of operations provided the golf cart is operated on a highway where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.
SC Code Section 56-2-90 allows municipalities to take several actions, or counties to do the same in their unincorporated portions:
- Pass an ordinance that sets the hours, methods, and locations of golf cart operations, but only on highways where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.
- Pass an ordinance that allows golf carts to be operated at night, so long as the golf carts are equipped with working headlights and taillights, and only operated on highways where the speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour or less.
The new law also allows local governments to designate separate golf cart paths on the shoulder of primary or secondary highways, as well as streets and roads, with several stipulations:
- the municipality or county obtains the necessary approvals, if any, to create golf cart paths; and
- the golf cart path is separated from the traffic lanes by a hard concrete curb; separated from the traffic lanes by parking spaces; or separated from the traffic lanes by a distance of 4 feet or more.
In cases where the local government does not enact a golf cart ordinance, the law allows golf carts to be operated only under certain conditions:
- It must be daylight hours.
- The golf cart can only operate on a secondary highway where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.
- The golf cart can only operate within 4 miles of the address on the registration certificate, or only within 4 miles of a point of ingress and egress of a gated community if the address is within a gated community.
- The golf cart may only cross a highway at an intersection where the speed limit is more than 35 miles an hour, but not otherwise drive on it.
The law prohibits local governments from requiring proof of property ownership or a long-term rental agreement within the municipality or county as a requirement to receive a decal to operate a golf cart within their limits.
The law also requires passengers under the age of 12 to wear a safety belt when a golf cart is being operated on public streets and highways.
View the bill in its entirety for more information. Municipalities can reach out to their field service manager to request a copy of a golf cart model ordinance that was developed by the Municipal Association.