Florida Street Legal Golf Cart Process (Personal Experience)

[FLBeachBum]

The process to make a golf cart street legal in Florida is.... a f$%#@&*! Nothing like what is posted on the DMV website and I haven't found much in depth information online. I wanted to quickly share the process and my experience from today which may help others in the future..maybe? I'll break up this rant into three sections: PARTS, DMV, and INSURANCE.

PARTS
I'll start with the parts. The standard parts (headlights, turn, windshield, seatbelts, etc.) can be found online, this is fairly easy and basic knowledge. But here is some information I found out by going through the process:

1. The SMV sign CAN be located in the bag well area on the access panel to the motor. I did not have a grab bar installed at the time of inspection, but I did have the rear seats and they approved it.

2. You do not need front reflectors, only rear. The rear must be a red rear reflector which is visible from the side of the cart AND they now look for reflectors (or reflective tape) on the back facing edge of the rear foot "shelf".


DMV/INSPECTION
Notes on the inspection (for reference I went to the Tampa, FL regional 6 office):

1. Make sure to call ahead to your regional office and ask for the best time to bring it in. This office does salvage titles on Tues and Thurs (today ) so we spend ~4hrs here waiting on them to complete the paperwork/inspect the cart.

2. All paperwork found online is almost useless if you fill it out ahead of time. They had all of the forms fill out with a majority of the information for a golf cart conversion. The form which asks for all of the parts used to convert the golf cart only ask for the following items and where you purchased them: SMV emblem, windshield, mirrors, seatbelts, lights/horn, and wiper. They do not ask for any other items (tires, motor, controller, rear seat, etc.)

3. KEEP ALL RECEIPTS for each "DOT" part listed above and each one MUST show sales tax. If you receive a receipt or a buyer agreement which does not state "PAID" they may not accept it. The bill of sale for the cart is very important, make sure this is signed and the words "PAID" are written on it.

4. They will inspect the cart on the trailer and you do not take it off for a speed/braking test (some offices may do this, Tampa definitely didn't care at all). The inspection is the easiest part, they looked at it for all of 2 mins. One even stated "I bet this thing buggies with that new motor".


INSURANCE
Next, insurance... If you didn't already have enough fun you will quickly find out getting insurance on these things is almost impossible. You need the insurance after DOT inspects it and assigns a VIN. The VIN assigned is not a standard 13 digit car VIN, it will read "FLAXXXXXX". There are only a few companies which will insure a "state assigned" VIN for a SMV, I know because I called all of them, quick recap:

1. GEICO - nope, even if you have an existing vehicle policy. They do not insure SMVs and will not add it so don't waste your time. Some have been able to get insurance from them in the past, but this is no longer an option. (I with GEICO for my cars and this royally ticked me off...)

2. Progressive - yes, but must add it to a regular auto policy. They will not allow it to be a stand-alone policy. I would have to move one car to progressive for them to provide insurance coverage for the cart...

3. Auto Owners - same answer as Progressive, except you must have ALL vehicles with them, not just 1

4. State Farm - WINNER! They are the only "large" company I found which will write a "stand-alone SMV policy". Once you get the VIN from the state, you are good to go! Call and ask for Michael at the State Farm office below, sounds like he has handled many street legal golf carts and the pricing is not terrible ~$700/yr. Only took me like 10min to set everything up. Props to forum member Swan on the tip in another thread.

Jay Littlejohn - State Farm Insurance
Ask for agent Michael Moore
727-586-1111
13220 Starkey Rd Suite 700, Largo, FL 33773
https://www.littlejohnsf.com/?cmpid=c34q_blm_0001


Finally, go to your local DMV office and request a tag. Just like you would for a regular car, make sure you have title, DMV paperwork, VIN, and proof of insurance. Two year + new tag fee came to a little over $300. This was the fastest part other than the inspection.

In all, it is a huge pain in the butt. But if I knew some of these little details I could have spent a few hours instead of a full day of misery and headaches.

[chrisr32]

I built a home made motorcycle couple years back and sounds very similar to your cart experience in Florida as mine in Kansas on getting it inspected and a VIN as well as the insurance woes. Thanks for sharing.

[Swan]

Great write up , been there done that lol. Everyone has there hand out , its one big cash grab. the only thing I noticed missing was the need for a weight slip in your write up .

Glad I could help with insurance lead

[Tom47]

Last year I called Geico to inquire about golf cart insurance. They transferred the call to the golf cart rep with Foremost Insurance.

He asked a lot of questions regarding use, street legal status (Georgia, which is a lot easier than Florida), and proceeded to issue a policy for $50,000/ 100,000 liability, property damage, and Medical for $50.00 per year. No collision coverage required. The policy says "Geico" on it. Foremost covers mobile homes and some other items for Geico.

He used the Serial number of the cart as the VIN number for reference only.

How good is it? I hope I never need to find out.

[Rooster59]

Shelter did that for us in Missouri with fewer questions. $50 a year. And our combined auto policy went down $98 a year due to the third vehicle. Saved us $48 per year overall to insure the cart.

[FLBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Tom47

Last year I called Geico to inquire about golf cart insurance. They transferred the call to the golf cart rep with Foremost Insurance.

He asked a lot of questions regarding use, street legal status (Georgia, which is a lot easier than Florida), and proceeded to issue a policy for $50,000/ 100,000 liability, property damage, and Medical for $50.00 per year. No collision coverage required. The policy says "Geico" on it. Foremost covers mobile homes and some other items for Geico.

He used the Serial number of the cart as the VIN number for reference only.

How good is it? I hope I never need to find out.

That doesn't sound right for the yearly rate. That's similar to what I was quoted doe a golf cart (non street legal) in Florida. I would request a copy of the policy.. then again you're in GA where it's a little more sane lol

[FLBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Swan

Great write up , been there done that lol. Everyone has there hand out , its one big cash grab. the only thing I noticed missing was the need for a weight slip in your write up .

Glad I could help with insurance lead

Good point! I will add another small section for this as it was my first time doing that too and it was a bit confusing at the truck stop... The day was so long I completely forgot!

[04fxsts]

Slightly off topic but still a Florida question. We live in Illinois that as of now does not register or license golf carts but they can be locally registered if your city or village allows them. In my small town they must have lights, horn, brake lights, turn signals, SMV plate and insurance. Our local Chief of Police will come to the house to inspect it, checks lights, horn and insurance and issues a city sticker. I also have State Farm and they added a cart policy for $30.00 and the sticker is $20.00 so not bad at all.
Now the question, if we take the cart with us for a trip to Florida do we have to get registered there for just a few weeks? I guess it would be up to the campground as long as we stay on the property but I am talking about on local streets. This might be something best answered by the local police in the area. Jim.

[jdpber]

Glad to hear that you survived the process victoriously. South Carolina is so so so so much easier. Hate to hear that FL is so difficult. Almost makes you want to spend the extra coin for a LSV to avoid the stack of paperwork.

[Naples Native]

Originally Posted by FLBeachBum

The process to make a golf cart street legal in Florida is.... a f$%#@&*! Nothing like what is posted on the DMV website and I haven't found much in depth information online. I wanted to quickly share the process and my experience from today which may help others in the future..maybe? I'll break up this rant into three sections: PARTS, DMV, and INSURANCE.

PARTS
I'll start with the parts. The standard parts (headlights, turn, windshield, seatbelts, etc.) can be found online, this is fairly easy and basic knowledge. But here is some information I found out by going through the process:

1. The SMV sign CAN be located in the bag well area on the access panel to the motor. I did not have a grab bar installed at the time of inspection, but I did have the rear seats and they approved it.

2. You do not need front reflectors, only rear. The rear must be a red rear reflector which is visible from the side of the cart AND they now look for reflectors (or reflective tape) on the back facing edge of the rear foot "shelf".


DMV/INSPECTION
Notes on the inspection (for reference I went to the Tampa, FL regional 6 office):

1. Make sure to call ahead to your regional office and ask for the best time to bring it in. This office does salvage titles on Tues and Thurs (today ) so we spend ~4hrs here waiting on them to complete the paperwork/inspect the cart.

2. All paperwork found online is almost useless if you fill it out ahead of time. They had all of the forms fill out with a majority of the information for a golf cart conversion. The form which asks for all of the parts used to convert the golf cart only ask for the following items and where you purchased them: SMV emblem, windshield, mirrors, seatbelts, lights/horn, and wiper. They do not ask for any other items (tires, motor, controller, rear seat, etc.)

3. KEEP ALL RECEIPTS for each "DOT" part listed above and each one MUST show sales tax. If you receive a receipt or a buyer agreement which does not state "PAID" they may not accept it. The bill of sale for the cart is very important, make sure this is signed and the words "PAID" are written on it.

4. They will inspect the cart on the trailer and you do not take it off for a speed/braking test (some offices may do this, Tampa definitely didn't care at all). The inspection is the easiest part, they looked at it for all of 2 mins. One even stated "I bet this thing buggies with that new motor".


INSURANCE
Next, insurance... If you didn't already have enough fun you will quickly find out getting insurance on these things is almost impossible. You need the insurance after DOT inspects it and assigns a VIN. The VIN assigned is not a standard 13 digit car VIN, it will read "FLAXXXXXX". There are only a few companies which will insure a "state assigned" VIN for a SMV, I know because I called all of them, quick recap:

1. GEICO - nope, even if you have an existing vehicle policy. They do not insure SMVs and will not add it so don't waste your time. Some have been able to get insurance from them in the past, but this is no longer an option. (I with GEICO for my cars and this royally ticked me off...)

2. Progressive - yes, but must add it to a regular auto policy. They will not allow it to be a stand-alone policy. I would have to move one car to progressive for them to provide insurance coverage for the cart...

3. Auto Owners - same answer as Progressive, except you must have ALL vehicles with them, not just 1

4. State Farm - WINNER! They are the only "large" company I found which will write a "stand-alone SMV policy". Once you get the VIN from the state, you are good to go! Call and ask for Michael at the State Farm office below, sounds like he has handled many street legal golf carts and the pricing is not terrible ~$700/yr. Only took me like 10min to set everything up. Props to forum member Swan on the tip in another thread.

Jay Littlejohn - State Farm Insurance
Ask for agent Michael Moore
727-586-1111
13220 Starkey Rd Suite 700, Largo, FL 33773
https://www.littlejohnsf.com/?cmpid=c34q_blm_0001


Finally, go to your local DMV office and request a tag. Just like you would for a regular car, make sure you have title, DMV paperwork, VIN, and proof of insurance. Two year + new tag fee came to a little over $300. This was the fastest part other than the inspection.

In all, it is a huge pain in the butt. But if I knew some of these little details I could have spent a few hours instead of a full day of misery and headaches.

Everything the same with me except it was the Manatee office. They did however email the papers ahead of time with the information needed highlighted for me. That made it way less confusing as most of the forms don’t need filled out completely. State Farm is also the only company that I could fine that would insure the lsv properly to be considered an on road vehicle.