New rules for golf carts in Beaufort. Here’s what to know and what’s the cost?
New rules are in place for golf cart operation in Beaufort. Key points include everybody on board must wear a seatbelt and, for the first time, the city will allow the operation of golf carts at night, joining neighboring Port Royal.
The Beaufort City Council approved the regulations on Tuesday and they are now effective.
Police will begin enforcing the new rules, including the seatbelt requirement, following a 60-day grace period, said Ashley Brandon, a spokesperson for the city of Beaufort.
The biggest changes:
- For the first time, nighttime golf cart operation will be allowed. But driving at night will only be legal if golf carts have headlights, rear lighting and turn signals.
- Seatbelts are now required. A new state law says seatbelts are required for children 12 and under. Beaufort got tougher. It said everybody has to wear one.
- Aftermarket seatbelts on Amazon retail from approximately $40 to $70 for a set of two if a cart does not already have them installed. That requires the cart owner to install them and tools will be required to complete the job.
- According to Sutcliffe Golf Carts in Port Royal, which has been around since 1955, a professionally installed seat belt runs approximately $40 a piece.
Nighttime driving brings the city in line with the town of Port Royal, where golf carts are so popular the town holds a popular parade featuring lighted buggies each Christmas. The town and city share a border. Previously, it could be tricky for golf cart drivers in that vicinity to legally travel to area events and sites because of the differing operating rules.
“It didn’t make sense,” said Beaufort City Councilman Josh Scallate, who pushed for the change. “You had one municipality right next to another and because of a technicality, one was allowed to do something another wasn’t.”
Residents also asked him to support allowing golf carts to operate at night, Scallate said.
Van Willis, Port Royal’s town manager, is pleased Beaufort is allowing nighttime use of golf carts.
“We had people who wanted to come to Port Royal but they passed through sections of Beaufort that didn’t allow it, so it made it kind of tricky,” Willis said. “You could be in and out of Port Royal.”
Other new rules in Beaufort:
- Carts can only travel on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less within a four-mile radius of the operator’s address. Larger roads with higher speed limits such as Ribaut, Boundary or Carteret are still off limits to golf carts, but drivers can cross them at controlled intersections.
- Residents must purchase a decal from the city for $5 and also be registered with the state.
The city began looking at the new regulations in June and gave preliminary approval in August. The discussion followed passage of a 2025 law mandating safety requirements like seatbelts for children under 12 and registration and insurance for all golf carts operated on public roads. The law also gave municipalities such as Beaufort the power to pass rules for where and when golf carts can be operated. Previously, in counties with 150,000 to 250,000 residents, only municipalities with jurisdiction over barrier islands could enact ordinances allowing golf cart operators to drive barrier islands at night. Port Royal previously used that law to enact its night-time rules.
The ordinance also contains language that would allow the city, in the future, to build separate paths for golf carts. None are planned at this time.
“I’d like to get to the point where we have identified paths to downtown Beaufort,” Scallate said.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 2:51 PM.
