How to Own a Golf Cart in South Carolina in 2026: The $5 Permit Is the Easy Part

Pull up to the beach access at the end of almost any avenue on the Grand Strand and count the golf carts. Then count the ones with a current state decal.

Most write ups about owning a cart here still point you to Section 56-2-105 of the South Carolina Code. That section was repealed on May 22, 2025. The law that replaced it, Section 56-2-90, was amended again on May 18, 2026.

That gap matters. The old rule was one statewide answer. The current one is a state baseline plus whatever your city or town has voted on since, and along this coast those votes did not all go the same way. If a cart is part of how you picture using a house here, the rules are part of the house.

The permit costs five dollars and asks for three things

Under Section 56-2-90, a cart driven on a public road needs a permit decal and a registration certificate from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. The statute asks the owner for proof of ownership, proof of liability insurance, and a $5 fee.

The application is SCDMV Form GC-2, revised May 2026. It asks for the cart's make and year, a vehicle identification number if the cart has one, your driver's license number, the name of your insurance company, and a signed statement that the cart is insured and will stay insured. You can hand it in at any SCDMV branch or mail it to SCDMV, Titles and Registration, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016.

The decal goes on the cart. The registration rides in it.

The decal has to be replaced every five years or when you change your address, whichever comes first. The address trigger is the one people miss after a move, so if you just closed, add it to your after closing checklist. Per the form, a replacement decal is $5 and a replacement registration is $1.

The insurance has to be real liability coverage, in writing

The statute requires proof of liability insurance that meets Section 38-77-140, the same section of state law that governs minimum liability coverage for vehicles on South Carolina roads. The driver has to carry that proof, along with the registration certificate and a driver's license, any time the cart is on a public road.

The limits and the premium are questions for your insurance professional. So is whether a homeowner's policy covers the cart once it leaves your lot. Don't assume it does. Ask for the answer in writing.

The driver rules don't bend for a parent in the passenger seat

The operator has to be at least 16 and hold a valid driver's license. A learner riding with an adult doesn't meet that.

Every passenger under 12 has to wear a fastened seat belt when the cart is on a public street or highway. The 2026 amendment carved out one exception, for carts owned by a golf course and used for golf on that course. If your cart has no belts and you carry children under 12, that's an installation before it's a ride.

Where and when you can drive depends on which town line you just crossed

Where no local ordinance exists, the statute's default applies. A permitted cart may run only during daylight hours, only on secondary highways posted at 35 miles per hour or less, and only within four miles of the address on the registration. It may cross a faster highway at an intersection. It may not travel along one.

Since May 2025, a city, or a county for its unincorporated areas, can set its own hours and locations and can allow night driving for carts with working headlights and taillights. The 35 mile per hour cap stays either way. Here is what's on the record along the Grand Strand.

Councils keep voting on this. Before you rely on any row above, read the current ordinance on the city or town's own site.

Same cart, same decal, different curfew depending on the town line.

Inside a gate, the four miles start at the gate

Here is the line almost nobody quotes. If the address on your registration sits inside a gated community, the statute measures the four miles from the community's point of ingress and egress, not from your driveway. For a house set deep inside a large community, that changes what's in range.

Compare that with a house on a public street inside town limits, where the town's ordinance sets the hours and the four miles run from the front door. Some towns add their own layer on top. The Town of Pawleys Island, for one, runs its own 2026 golf cart permit application and asks for your state registration to complete it.

Section 56-2-90 governs public highways. What a community allows on its own private roads is set by its covenants and rules, and that is a separate document to read before you close.

One more contrast. A low speed vehicle is a different class under state law. It is registered and plated through the SCDMV, has to meet federal safety standards, and isn't held to golf cart hours. If driving after dark is the point, settle which one you're buying before you buy it.

What this means if you're deciding

1. Find out whether the address is inside city or town limits or in the unincorporated county. That decides which rulebook applies.
2. Trace the route you actually want, to the beach access, the marina, the club, or dinner. Every road on it needs to be posted at 35 or under, and the whole trip needs to fit inside four miles.
3. Read the community's covenants for cart rules, parking, and charging.
4. Get the liability policy first. The SCDMV asks for it on the application.
5. File Form GC-2, put the decal on, and keep the registration and proof of insurance in the cart.
6. Calendar the five year replacement, and replace the decal sooner if your address changes. If you sell the cart, the form tells you to notify the SCDMV in writing with the buyer's name, address, and date of sale, and to take your decal off.

One gap worth naming. How a county treats a golf cart for personal property tax isn't spelled out on the SCDMV's golf cart page, so ask the Horry or Georgetown County Auditor before you budget for it. If you're sorting out the rest of your tax picture, start with the Horry County 4% application.

And if the cart route is part of the search, start with the map and work outward from the water.

A common question

Sources

• South Carolina Code Section 56-2-90, effective May 22, 2025, amended May 18, 2026
• SCDMV golf cart permit page and Form GC-2 (Rev. 05/2026)
• South Carolina Department of Public Safety golf cart checklist

Checked November 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Confirm current rules with the SCDMV, your city or town, and your insurance professional.

Megan Parker grew up on the Grand Strand and knows which questions to ask about a house before the cart ever leaves the garage. Let's Connect.