Tennessee Golf Cart Laws (2025)

No – not as golf carts. In Tennessee, a traditional golf cart cannot be titled or registered for road use and is generally illegal to drive on public streets. The only way to legally drive a “golf cart” on the road is if it has been modified to meet the criteria of a Low-Speed Vehicle or Medium-Speed Vehicle and then properly registered. Once it’s an LSV or MSV (with all required safety equipment), it’s treated as a street-legal vehicle on appropriate roads. But a standard golf cart, as defined by TN law, is not street legal.

Yes, if it’s being driven on a public road. Since only LSVs/MSVs are allowed on the road, and Tennessee requires drivers of those to be licensed, you must be 16 and hold a valid driver’s license. (On private property, like within a campground or golf course, a license isn’t legally required by the state, but on public streets a license is mandatory.)

If you’ve registered it as an LSV or MSV, absolutely yes – it needs liability insurance just like any other vehicle. In fact, when you title and plate the vehicle, you’ll certify insurance coverage. Traditional unregistered golf carts aren’t driven on roads (so insurance isn’t applicable to them unless you get some special rider). But any vehicle on public roads in TN, including a converted street-legal cart, must be insured.

Yes – for any road-legal usage, seat belts are required. Tennessee defines a golf cart (non-road) as not exceeding 20 mph and specifically notes it has safety belts in the front seats (though that’s more part of the definition than a mandate). More importantly, an LSV/MSV must have seat belts for all seating positions as part of the required safety equipment. So if you’ve made your cart street legal, it will need seat belts installed (and you should wear them).

Tennessee’s Low-Speed Vehicles are limited to 25 mph by law, and Medium-Speed Vehicles to 35 mph. So if your cart is registered as an LSV, its max speed is 25 mph. If somehow it qualified as an MSV (a category TN allows, up to 35 mph), then 35 mph. Regular golf carts (non-LSV) usually top out around 15–17 mph, but again, those aren’t allowed on public roads in TN at all.

At least 16 with a valid license on public roads. Tennessee doesn’t let anyone without a driver’s license operate motor vehicles on public streets, and there’s no special exemption for golf carts. In Knoxville, for example, the city explicitly notes that no one under 16 (or unlicensed) may operate a golf cart on public streets. So effectively the minimum age is 16 (with a license).

You can’t register a vehicle as a “golf cart.” Instead, you must upgrade it to an LSV or MSV. That means adding all required safety features (windshield, DOT lights, turn signals, horn, mirrors, seat belts, etc.), and the vehicle must have a VIN. Many people purchase purpose-built LSVs that come with a manufacturer’s certificate of origin indicating they’re an LSV. With that, you would go to the County Clerk’s office to apply for title and registration (just as you would for a car), pay the fees and taxes, and get a license plate. Note that MSVs (35 mph capable) are also allowed by TN law, but few carts meet that spec. If you just have a normal golf cart, the DMV will not register it unless it’s been essentially converted into an LSV and meets all requirements.

It must meet the definitions of either a Low-Speed Vehicle or Medium-Speed Vehicle. For an LSV: four wheels, top speed >20 mph but ≤25 mph, and equipped with all federal safety features (headlights, tail/brake lights, turn signals, horn, windshield, seat belts, mirrors, etc.). For an MSV: similar but top speed >30 and ≤35 mph, and it must be electric or gasoline and meet an even higher safety spec (essentially all the LSV equipment). In both cases it needs a 17-digit VIN and must be titled/registered. A plain golf cart as sold (no VIN, 15 mph, minimal equipment) does not meet these requirements and thus cannot be made street legal in TN without extensive modification.