Important Facts About Low Speed Vehicles and Golf Cars

• Low Speed Vehicles (LSV's) are not golf cars. Click here to see the legal definitions of each.
• Low Speed Vehicles are regulated and subject to the rules of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Golf cars are not.
• Low Speed Vehicles have a VIN number and title and must be licensed with DMV just as any other automobile or truck used on government maintained roads.
• Low Speed Vehicles must have same minimal insurance coverage as an automobile in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
• New LSV's can only be purchased from a company approved and licensed by the Virginia DMV.
  • All of the same consumer protections and conditions that go along with the purchase of an automobile or truck apply to the sale of new LSV's.
• Any business that sells used LSV's must also be approved and licensed by the Virginia DMV.
  • All of the same consumer protections and conditions that go along with the purchase of an automobile or truck apply to the sale of used LSV's.
• Low Speed Vehicles are further differentiated from golf cars by the following minimum physical characteristics:
  • Have a roll bar welded or attached to the frame.
  • Have headlights and turn signals.
  • Have seat belts and a solid one-piece windshield.
  • Capable of going at least 20 miles per hour.

Rules and Myths Concerning Golf Cars

• Golf cars CANNOT under ANY circumstance be converted or changed into a LSV as described and licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia DMV.
  • While other states may allow conversion of golf cars to LSV's, the Commonwealth of Virginia does not.
  • The Virginia DMV will not license any golf car as a LSV.
  • Gas LSV's as a rule do not exist.
• There are private communities and a few municipalities that allow the use of golf cars that are "equipped" as LSV's under certain specific conditions. The rules and conditions for the use of "golf cars equipped as LSV's" are specific to those communities and we suggest you get a copy of those rules and regulations prior to the purchase of any "golf car that is equipped as a LSV".
  • Regardless of the local rules and regulations, "golf cars equipped as LSV's" CANNOT be legally driven outside of these designated communities and municipalities on Commonwealth maintained roads.
  • The legal and insurance ramifications of "golf cars equipped as LSV's" is rather nebulous and we suggest that at a minimum a person driving one of these vehicles has some form of liability insurance prior to use.
• Peebles Golf Cars is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virgina's DMV to sell new and used LSV's.
  • While we will sell a "golf car equipped as a LSV", Peebles makes no representation that the vehicle is a LSV or that it will be subject to the local rules and regulations where the vehicle will be used.
  • Peebles, upon presentation of the local rules and regulations by an end user customer, will endeavor to craft a vehicle that meets these local rules and regulations. However, Peebles is not responsible for the ongoing regulatory condition of the vehicle after delivery to the customer.