West Virginia Golf Cart Laws (2025)

By themselves, no – golf carts are not street legal in WV. You cannot drive an ordinary golf cart on public roads in West Virginia. The only way is if the “golf cart” is actually registered as a low-speed vehicle (LSV) with the DMV, meaning it meets all equipment requirements and isn’t a DIY conversion. West Virginia law was updated to explicitly prevent regular golf carts from being considered low-speed vehicles. In summary: A factory-built LSV (which looks like a beefed-up golf cart with safety features) is street legal on 25-mph city streets, but a standard golf cart from the golf course is not.

Yes, if it’s on public roads. Since the only street-legal form is an LSV, you would need a valid driver’s license to operate that vehicle on the road (just as you would for a car). West Virginia requires LSV operators to be licensed drivers. On private property or within a golf course, a license isn’t legally required, but the moment you’re on a public street with a registered LSV/golf cart, you must have a driver’s license (generally meaning 16 or older).

Yes. If your golf cart is registered as a motor vehicle (LSV) in West Virginia, you must carry insurance just like any other vehicle. State law requires liability insurance for all registered motor vehicles. Since West Virginia only allows road use of carts that are titled/registered, those carts fall under the insurance mandate. Driving an uninsured LSV (golf cart) on public roads would be illegal. So, you’ll need at least the minimum liability coverage. (An unregistered golf cart shouldn’t be on the road at all, and if it were, it would effectively be an illegally uninsured vehicle.)

If it’s a true low-speed vehicle, yes, seat belts are required. A street-legal LSV in West Virginia must meet federal safety standards, which include seat belts for all seating positions. So any golf cart that’s been made road-legal (registered) will have seat belts installed and you are required to use them. Regular golf carts (not street legal) might not have seat belts, but those aren’t supposed to be on public roads anyway. So, bottom line: for any road-going cart/LSV in WV, seat belts are mandatory equipment.

West Virginia’s limit for low-speed vehicles is 25 mph. By definition, LSVs can’t exceed 25 mph, and they’re only allowed on roads with speed limits of 25 mph or less. In practice, most LSVs/golf carts in WV will cruise around 20–25 mph. Attempting to drive on faster roads is not permitted (and would be unsafe). So your top speed in a street-legal cart is going to be about 25 mph by law.

You need to be old enough to have a driver’s license – so basically 16 years old in West Virginia. Since any on-road operation requires the cart to be a registered vehicle, the operator must be a licensed driver (no exceptions for younger teens or anything). Off-road or on private property, there’s no legal age limit, but on public streets it’s tied to the licensing age.

You can’t register a golf cart in the traditional sense – what you register is a low-speed vehicle. If you have a cart-like vehicle from a manufacturer that certifies it as an LSV (with 17-digit VIN, etc.), the West Virginia DMV will title and register it. The process involves providing the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin (which must clearly label it as a low-speed vehicle), getting a title, then obtaining license plates. Homemade conversions or retrofitted golf carts will be rejected – WV will not register those as LSVs. So, you essentially need a compliant LSV from the get-go. If you do have that, just follow the normal vehicle registration steps (application, title, insurance, fees). After registration, you’ll have a street-legal LSV with a plate. But you cannot take a regular golf cart and simply try to “register” it – WV’s law blocks that.

It must be a factory-built low-speed vehicle (LSV) that meets all federal safety requirements. That includes having headlights, tail/brake lights, turn signals, reflectors, a windshield, seat belts, a horn, mirrors, and a VIN number – basically all the equipment of a small car. The vehicle must be able to go at least 20 mph but no more than 25 mph. West Virginia law specifically says the DMV will only title/register an LSV if the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin identifies it as a low-speed vehicle. Also, it can only be driven on 25 mph or lower city streets (not on highways or faster roads). In short: you need a compliant LSV, proper registration, a driver’s license, and you must stick to the low-speed roads within municipal areas.