Sara Salty

Towns / Sun City Center

Sun City Center Golf Cart Guide: Streets, SR 674 Crossings, Cart Paths and the 2023 Licence Rule

A self-contained 55+ community where the internal streets are cart-approved. Carts cross SR 674 only at signed crossings and never travel along it or US 301. Daylight only.

Plain golf cart (no tag)

Yes

Internal SCC streets, daylight only, with the statute's equipment. Cross SR 674 and US 301 only at the signed crossings. Never drive along either.

LSV (tagged, titled, insured)

Yes

Any street posted 35 mph or less. SR 674 and US 301 are state roads; treat them as crossings only unless a posted limit of 35 or less says otherwise.

County
Hillsborough County
Who sets the rules
Hillsborough County, under ss. 316.212 and 316.2125; the Community Association publishes the handbook
Last checked

Partly checked: some points rest on local reports. Not sure what counts as a golf cart or an LSV? Read the Florida law explainer first.

The short version

Plain golf carts are legal on the internal streets of Sun City Center. The legal footing is s. 316.212 and s. 316.2125, the statute that allows reasonable golf cart use inside a self-contained retirement community, and the Sun City Center Community Association states that all SCC streets are approved for carts. LSVs (low-speed vehicles: the tagged, titled, insured kind that every rental company on this coast actually rents) may use any street posted 35 mph or less. The thing most people get wrong is SR 674. You cross it at the signed crossings. You never turn onto it, and the same goes for US 301. For the difference between the two vehicle types, start with golf cart vs LSV in Florida.

Who makes the rules here

Sun City Center is unincorporated, so Hillsborough County is the local government that designates roads under s. 316.212. The Community Association’s Golf Cart Drivers Handbook (revised August 2009) is the document residents actually use, but it is an association publication, not an ordinance. We could not find a Hillsborough County ordinance number designating SCC roads. A 2017 Tampa Bay Times piece confirms that county signage exists as state law requires, which is the practical evidence that the designation is real.

Two state roads frame the community. SR 674 runs through the middle and US 301 runs along the east side. Under s. 316.212(2)(a), a golf cart may cross a state road only at an intersection with a designated local road and only with FDOT approval. That is exactly what the signed SCC crossings are.

Plain golf carts

What the handbook says, as of its 2009 revision:

  • Carts belong on roads posted 30 mph or less. That 30 mph figure is the handbook’s rule, not a statewide one.
  • No carts on the main roads west of South Bay Hospital. Use the cart paths and crossings instead.
  • SR 674 crossings are at Kings Blvd and Valley Forge Dr, at Trinity Lakes Dr and Sun City Center Plaza, and at Pebble Beach Blvd. A 2026 third-party summary adds a fourth at El Rancho and Stoneham Dr. We have not confirmed that fourth crossing against a county document; check the signs on the ground.
  • Never turn onto SR 674.
  • No sidewalks.
  • Sunrise to sunset only. The handbook treats night driving as a violation even if the cart has lights. State law allows night driving only where the local government permits it, and we found no Hillsborough County authorisation. Keep to daylight until the county confirms otherwise.
  • If the cart has no turn indicators, use arm signals.
  • An annual safety inspection runs each March at Prince of Peace.
  • The handbook recommends a separate golf cart insurance policy for errands, because homeowners policies usually cover the cart only on the golf course.

The handbook also says drivers under 14 may not operate a cart. That line is obsolete. Since 1 October 2023 a driver under 18 must hold a valid learner’s permit or driver licence, and a driver 18 or over must carry government-issued photo ID. The state rule controls.

Equipment the statute always requires on a golf cart: working brakes, reliable steering, safe tyres, a rear-view mirror, and red reflective warning devices front and rear.

The same 2026 summary describes cart paths along SR 674 (south side from Kings Blvd east to the US 301 shops; north side from Del Webb Blvd W via Haverford toward the HCA South Shore Hospital and the Bealls and Home Depot area), a cart-path crossing of US 301 between E Del Webb Blvd and Walmart, and paths on Upper Creek Dr and Cortaro Dr. It also mentions fines over $160 for driving on unapproved roads. All of this comes from a third-party site, not the county. Treat it as a map to check, not a rule to rely on.

Kings Point is a separate gated community with private roads. Its internal rules apply there, and we have not reviewed them.

LSVs

An LSV may use any street posted 35 mph or less under s. 316.2122, and it may cross a faster road at an intersection. Inside SCC that covers the residential grid. SR 674 and US 301 are state roads carrying faster traffic; unless you can see a posted limit of 35 mph or less on the stretch in front of you, treat them as crossings only. FDOT may also prohibit LSVs on a state road for safety.

An LSV must be registered, insured and titled, and the driver must carry a valid driver licence. Seat belts are part of the LSV equipment list, so Florida belt and child-restraint law applies in an LSV. A plain golf cart has no statutory belt rule, and we found no Hillsborough County rule adding one.

Renting here

Sun City Center is a residents’ community rather than a rental market, and we found no published local rental rates. If you need a cart for a visit, GolfCartNearMe lists rental companies by town. Expect what operators require elsewhere on this coast: a driver 21 or older, a licence, and proof of your own auto insurance. Whatever the rental contract says, the driver, not the company, receives any citation. See renting a golf cart on the Gulf coast.

Parking and paths

Park in marked vehicle spaces at the shops and the plazas. Do not drive on sidewalks; the handbook bans it and the statute allows sidewalk use only where the local government has designated a specific stretch, which we have not found here. Use the cart paths where they exist and the crossings where they are signed.

If you need parts or service for the cart you drive around here, Parts ’n Carts is on Sun City Center Plaza, right by the Trinity Lakes Dr crossing of SR 674. Details at partsncarts.com. Salt and humidity work on carts here just as they do nearer the water; see salt-air golf cart care and golf cart hurricane prep.

What we could not confirm

  • The Hillsborough County ordinance or resolution number that designates SCC streets. Ask Hillsborough County Public Works.
  • Whether the county has ever authorised night driving in SCC. Until it does, daylight only.
  • The fourth SR 674 crossing at El Rancho and Stoneham Dr, the cart paths along SR 674, the US 301 cart-path crossing and the paths on Upper Creek Dr and Cortaro Dr. All come from a 2026 third-party summary. Verify each on the ground.
  • The fine amounts quoted by that summary.
  • Whether any part of the 2009 handbook has been updated. Ask the Community Association.
  • Kings Point’s internal cart rules.

Sources