Pennsylvania Golf Cart Laws (2025)

For the most part, no. Pennsylvania law prohibits the operation of standard golf carts on public roads. You cannot register a golf cart for road use, and driving one on streets is illegal except in very narrow circumstances. The only exceptions are driving a cart directly across a road (at a 90° crossing) or driving up to one mile on a low-speed road to get to or from a golf course, as recently allowed by PA law.

Interestingly, Pennsylvania does not require a driver’s license to operate a golf cart in the limited scenarios where they’re allowed. State law permits anyone over age 12 to drive a golf cart on a public road (e.g. crossing a road or going to a course). However, to cross a highway (drive across a road with higher speed traffic), the driver must be at least 16 (or accompanied by an adult). If you’re driving a registered low-speed vehicle (NEV) on the road, then a driver’s license is required, as with any motor vehicle.

If you have a registered NEV/LSV (the only kind of “golf cart” that can be fully street legal in PA), yes, you must have it insured just like a car. For a regular golf cart, since it’s not street legal, no motor vehicle insurance is available or required unless it’s being operated under the limited conditions (and even then the law doesn’t explicitly mandate insurance for those short golf cart trips). However, it’s wise to have liability coverage if you’re using a cart, even in allowed areas.

If the vehicle is an officially registered low-speed vehicle (NEV) being used on the road, it must have seat belts (that’s part of the federal safety standards such vehicles must meet). Standard golf carts used on golf courses or for the rare on-road exception generally are not required to have seat belts by PA law. Keep in mind, though, that any NEV you see on the street in PA will have seat belts, windshield, lights, etc., by definition, because otherwise it couldn’t be registered.

If we’re talking about a true street-legal cart (registered as a low-speed vehicle), it will have a top speed of 25 mph (the federal cap for low-speed vehicles). Pennsylvania limits NEVs to roads with a posted speed limit of 25 mph or lower. A regular golf cart, by contrast, typically maxes out around 15–20 mph, but since it’s not allowed on public roads (except to cross or short distances near a course), its speed isn’t relevant for general road travel.

Pennsylvania law says you must be at least 12 years old to operate a golf cart on public roads (in the special instances it’s allowed). To cross a highway (even at a designated crossing), you must be 16 or older (or have an adult supervising). Note that these age rules apply because PA doesn’t require a driver’s license for golf carts. For a low-speed vehicle, however, the driver would need a valid license (so effectively 16 or older).

You cannot register a conventional golf cart in Pennsylvania – the DMV will not title or tag vehicles that don’t meet highway safety standards. The only way to “register” something like a golf cart is if it’s manufactured or modified to qualify as a Low-Speed Vehicle (NEV) with all required safety equipment. That NEV can then be titled and registered in PA like a regular car. Regular golf carts are simply not registered; instead, if you want to use one legally near a golf course, you might obtain a special golf cart permit or sticker from local authorities, but it’s not a state registration.

Pennsylvania doesn’t have a process to make a regular golf cart street legal aside from the limited golf-course-related uses. To be on the road as a vehicle, it must be a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) that conforms to federal safety standards (e.g. it has seat belts, windshield, lights, reflectors, mirrors, etc., and a top speed of 20–25 mph). That NEV must be registered, plated, and insured. Pennsylvania law specifically created a category for NEVs to be used on 25 mph roads. If your vehicle doesn’t meet those standards, you can’t fully legalize it for road use – at best, you’re limited to the one-mile golf course trips and crossings outlined by state law.