Guide
Can I drive my golf cart on the road in BC?
In most of BC, no. A golf cart isn't allowed on a public road, apart from a few narrow cases. Here's what the rules say, as of November 2026.
Updated November 2026
The short answer
Under BC's Motor Vehicle Act, a golf cart is a motor vehicle, and a public road counts as a "highway". That covers every road, street or lane the public uses, and even places where the public is invited to park. Golf carts can't be registered or insured for those roads, so in most places you can't drive one there.
The exceptions
- Golf courses. A golf course's own carts can use the course's parking lots and driveways, and cross a road between parts of the same course.
- The Village of Chase. Chase, in the Shuswap, is the only community in BC's golf cart pilot. The Province says it isn't taking other communities into the pilot right now. Kelowna, Vernon, Lake Country, Penticton, Salmon Arm and Blind Bay aren't part of it.
When the pilot started in 2016, carts in it needed registration, insurance, a licensed driver, seat belts, a horn, lights, turn signals, a rear-view mirror and a local permit, and could only be driven on village roads of 30 km/h or less, in daylight. Check with the Village of Chase for today's rules.
Low-speed vehicles are different
A low-speed vehicle (BC calls it a neighbourhood zero-emission vehicle) is built to a federal safety standard for road use. It can be driven on roads with a speed limit of 40 km/h or less, and a city or town can allow it on roads up to 50 km/h. It has to be electric, have four wheels, meet the federal low-speed vehicle standard, and be registered, licensed and insured with ICBC.
Some carts are built as low-speed vehicles from the factory. A regular golf cart can't simply be changed into one. Ask us which carts we sell are built that way.
Private roads in strata and golf communities
Roads the public doesn't use, like a private, gated community's own roads, usually follow the rules set by the owner or strata. Whether a particular road is private in the eyes of the law can depend on how it's used, so check your strata's bylaws and ask ICBC about insurance before you drive.
Questions?
We're happy to talk through which cart suits how you'll use it.