If you want to know how Alabama feels about golf carts, just look at their state flag, a big red X!
In Alabama, it’s not possible to make a golf cart into a street legal LSV if it didn’t roll out of the factory with safety equipment and a 17 digit VIN. For example, the EZGO 2Five looks like a golf cart but it has a title and a VIN number from the factory.
No Titles for Golf Carts
When I called the state’s Department of Revenue, the woman who answered said they don’t assign VIN numbers to golf carts, only to vehicles that are titled, and that they don’t title golf carts. Why does Alabama hate golf carts? I don’t know. Alabama will not issue titles or VIN numbers to golf carts, which in turn, do not allow them to be registered as LSVs.
You can build a kit car using parts from 100 different places in your garage and get a title – but for some reason golf carts that weren’t provided a VIN out of the factory cannot get a title. It’s a crying shame!
According to Google Trends, Alabama ranks #2 for Street Legal Golf Cart, just under Florida’s #1 spot.
Some Areas Allow Carts
Alabama does have a few areas that have local laws which allow for golf carts to be driven on designated streets if they are registered and inspected. A few of these are the cities of Orange Beach, Foley, Gulf shores, and Fairhope.
What’s the Hold Up?
It seems as if the state has some concern around the public’s safety with regards to golf cart use. Particularly the age at which some adults are letting their kids drive the carts. It seems like this issues could be addressed through a registration and education, similar to that of the cities I listed above.
For more insight into the general attitude of the decision makers in Alabama, check out this article where a golf cart rental business was denied the right to operate in Gulf Shores. You can read in between the lines on that one.
