Texas Golf Cart Laws (2025)

Yes – but only under defined conditions. Texas law lets you drive a golf cart on public roads if it has a Texas Golf Cart license plate and you’re in an area that authorizes golf cart use. Typically, this means within a master-planned community, on a public beach, or on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or below in a city that has approved it. Also, you’re generally restricted to daytime driving and short distances (up to 2 miles from your starting point, like traveling to and from a golf course).

Yes. To drive on public roads in Texas, you must have a valid driver’s license, and that includes driving a golf cart on those roads. The law doesn’t allow unlicensed drivers (like minors without a license) to operate golf carts in public street settings. If you’re on private property or a private gated community, a license might not be legally required, but on any public roadway, it is.

Texas doesn’t require insurance specifically to obtain a Golf Cart plate (since golf carts aren’t registered or titled in the typical way). However, if you’re driving on public roads, some cities may require liability insurance as part of their ordinance. It’s strongly recommended to carry insurance on your cart. Also, if your cart is actually an NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) and registered as such, then by law it must be insured just like a car. In short: check local rules, but having insurance is a wise idea and often required by local policy.

Ordinary golf carts are not required by Texas law to have seat belts – they’re exempt from the typical vehicle equipment standards (and most don’t come with belts). But if your vehicle is classified as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (which Texas defines as capable of up to 35 mph and meeting federal standards), it would have seat belts by design. Some jurisdictions that allow open golf carts on streets strongly encourage or require seat belt use for kids or certain situations. The rule of thumb: for a true “golf cart,” seat belts aren’t mandated by state law; for an NEV or modified cart treated as an LSV, seat belts are part of the required equipment.

Texas law limits standard golf carts to roadways with speed limits of 35 mph or less, and the carts themselves typically max out around 20–25 mph. If it’s a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, by definition its top speed is around 25–35 mph (Texas includes some vehicles up to 35 mph in that NEV category). But a typical golf cart will be governed around 25 mph or lower. Also, if you’re going 25 mph or under, Texas requires a slow-moving vehicle emblem on the cart.

At least 16 with a license. Texas doesn’t specify a separate golf cart driving age – since a license is required to drive on public streets, that sets the minimum age at the standard licensing age (16). So even if you see younger teens driving carts in private neighborhoods, legally they shouldn’t be on public roads. Always ensure the driver is a licensed driver.

You don’t “register” it in the traditional sense (there’s no title issued), but you do need to obtain a Golf Cart license plate. To get the plate, you’ll fill out Texas DMV Form 130-U and take it to your county tax assessor’s office. You’ll pay a small fee and they will issue a license plate labeled for a Golf Cart (no state inspection is required). You must attach this plate to the cart. Keep in mind this plate simply authorizes road use under the allowed conditions – it’s not full registration and the cart isn’t titled. If your vehicle is an NEV (fully street-legal LSV), you would go through the normal vehicle title and registration process for that.

For a regular golf cart to be road-legal, Texas requires: a Golf Cart license plate, and the cart must have certain equipment – at minimum, headlamps, tail lamps, reflectors, a parking brake, and mirrors. It can only be driven on 35 mph or lower roads (and ideally within 2 miles of home or to a golf course during daylight). The driver must have a license and follow all traffic laws. If your vehicle is an NEV (LSV), it has additional requirements like a windshield, turn signals, seat belts, and a VIN – and once registered, it can go on 35 mph roads anywhere in Texas. In summary: Golf Cart – needs lights, mirrors, permit plate, 35 mph roads, daylight only; NEV – needs full LSV safety features, regular registration, 35 mph roads.