Eligible off-road utility vehicles can use roads starting November 18

Owners can register eligible utility terrain vehicles, or UTVs, for limited public-road use. Covered UTVs are side-by-side, four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles with a top speed over 55 mph, an engine of at least 450 cubic centimeters, width of no more than 80 inches, and a maximum loaded weight rating of 4,000 pounds. Owners need a state title or a submitted title application, proof of ownership, liability insurance, and a rear license plate. Road-use registration costs $10 every two years. Interstate travel is prohibited. The South Carolina Department of Transportation can prohibit UTVs on other highways for safety. Without a local ordinance, travel is limited to secondary highways with speed limits of 55 mph or less and within 10 miles of the registered address. For gated-community addresses, that distance runs from a community entrance. Drivers can cross faster highways at intersections. Cities and counties can set operating hours, methods, and locations and allow night travel on highways with speed limits of 55 mph or less. County rules cover areas outside city limits. Neither can charge local road-use taxes or fees or require property ownership or a long-term lease for a decal, meaning a local operating sticker or permit marker; the law uses only the term decal. These provisions take effect November 18, 2026. Sales tax and applicable alternative-fuel road-use fees apply, but owners are exempt from property taxes in the county where the UTV or Farm UTV is registered.

UTV drivers and passengers must meet age, license, equipment, and safety rules for public-road travel. The travel rules cover UTV drivers and passengers on public highways. Equipment rules apply to registered UTVs. Drivers need a license allowing driving at any time. Beginner permits, moped-only or motorcycle-only licenses, temporary alcohol licenses, route-restricted licenses, and provisional licenses do not qualify. Drivers must carry their license, registration certificate, license plate, and proof of liability insurance. Registered UTVs need seat belts at every seat and working headlights, brake lights, taillights, and turn signals. An exhaust modified to be louder than its original design bars road use. These requirements take effect November 18, 2026.

Eligible farmers can operate slower UTVs or similar motorized vehicles without restrictions within the stated farm-area limit. The exception covers UTVs and similar motorized vehicles with a top speed below 55 mph, operated within 10 miles of the farmer's agricultural operation. The farmer must have a valid driver's license and a valid SCATE card from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. The farmer exception takes effect November 18, 2026.

The law protects certain UTV dealers, dealership employees, and manufacturers from claims for damage caused by public-road use. The protection covers injury, death, and property damage from public-road use of UTVs not designed or intended for that use. The manufacturer's protection does not cover damage caused by a defect that existed when the UTV left the company's possession or control. These protections take effect November 18, 2026.

Golf carts can travel near specified events under traffic-control rules. A narrow exception to children's seat-belt requirements also applies. The event rule covers Division I college athletic events and events at a coliseum or arena that can hold at least 19,000 people. Event travel is allowed within a half-mile radius from three hours before the event starts until one hour after it ends. Police must control traffic, and carts and drivers must meet the law's other referenced requirements. Golf carts operating at night under the event rule need working headlights and taillights. Passengers under 12 must wear seat belts on public streets and highways. The exception applies to a golf-course-owned cart used while playing golf on that same course. The golf cart provisions took effect May 18, 2026, when the Governor approved the law.