Title 56, Motor Vehicles

(A) When a person is convicted of one or more of the offenses listed in Section 56-1-1020(a), (b), or (c), the Department of Motor Vehicles must review its records for that person. If the department determines after review of its records that the person is an habitual offender as…

(A) No license to operate motor vehicles in this State may be issued to an habitual offender nor shall a nonresident habitual offender operate a motor vehicle in this State for a period of five years from the date of a determination by the Department of Motor Vehicles that a pers…

Any negligence or wilful misconduct of a minor when driving a motor vehicle upon a highway must be imputed to the person who has signed the application of such minor for a beginner's permit, instruction permit, or driver's license, which person is jointly and severally liable wit…

A person found to be an habitual offender under the provisions of this article, who subsequently is convicted of operating a motor vehicle in this State while the decision of the Department of Motor Vehicles prohibiting the operation is in effect, is guilty of a felony and must b…

(A) For purposes of this section: (1) "Great bodily injury" means bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. (2) "Habitual offender" has …

Nothing in this article shall be construed as affecting any existing law of this State or any existing ordinance of any political subdivision of the State relating to the operation of motor vehicles, the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles or providing penalties for th…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall send a written notice to any person who it determines is in danger of becoming an habitual offender.

Any person who has signed the application of a minor for a permit or license may thereafter file with the Department of Motor Vehicles a verified written request that the permit or license of such minor so granted be cancelled. Thereupon, the person who signed the application of …

(A) Upon receiving proper authority from the United States Government, a United States male citizen or immigrant who is less than twenty-six years of age must be registered for the United States Selective Service when applying to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the issuance,…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall examine every applicant for a driver's license, except as otherwise provided in this article. The examination shall include a test of the applicant's eyesight, his ability to read and understand highway signs regulating, warning, and dir…

(A) A person with a South Carolina driver's license, a person who had a South Carolina driver's license at the time of the offense referenced below, or a person exempted from the licensing requirements by Section 56-1-30, who is or has been convicted of a first offense violation …

The provisional driver's license provision must include a mandatory requirement that the applicant enroll in an Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program certified by the Office of Substance Use Services and successfully complete services pursuant to the requirements specified in Se…

The applicant shall have a provisional driver's license in his possession at all times while driving a motor vehicle, and the issuance of such license and the violation convictions shall be entered in the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles for a period of ten years as re…

(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 56-1-130, a paid or volunteer firefighter of a lawfully and regularly organized fire department designated to drive a firefighting vehicle may have a special endorsement affixed to his driver's license which authorizes him to drive th…

In the event the holder of a provisional driver's license issued pursuant to this article is convicted of violations under Section 56-1-720 of the 1976 Code totaling four or more points or any other law relative to the operation of a motor vehicle for which suspension of a driver…

In the event the holder of a provisional driver's license issued pursuant to this article is convicted of a second violation under Section 56-5-2930, during the specified suspended period, the provisional driver's license shall be revoked and the full suspension imposed.

Upon conviction of the offense stated in Section 56-1-1320, outside the jurisdiction of the State, the person convicted may apply for the provisional driver's license in the event his South Carolina driver's license is revoked as a result of such conviction.

Any person applying for the provisional driver's license provided for in this article whose application is denied by the Department of Motor Vehicles may appeal to the circuit court or county court of the county in which he resides. The department shall be given at least ten days…

(A) Upon payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars for a license that is valid for eight years, the department shall issue to every qualified applicant a driver's license as applied for by law. The license must bear on it a distinguishing number assigned to the licensee, the full n…

An applicant for a new or renewal driver's license, commercial driver's license, motorcycle driver's license, identification card, issuance of a vehicle title or transfer of title, or issuance or renewal of a vehicle license plate must be given an opportunity in writing to make a…

When a person is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a crime of violence as defined in Section 16-23-10(3) on or after July 1, 2011, in this State, the clerk of court must notify by mail, electronic mail, or facsimile the Department of Motor Vehicles within thirty…

(A) As used in this chapter "identifying code" means a symbol, number, or letter of the alphabet developed by the department to identify a person convicted of or pleading guilty or nolo contendere to a crime of violence as defined in Section 16-23-10(3) on or after July 1, 2011. …

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles must enter into contracts with persons, corporations, or governmental subdivisions, including public schools, in localities throughout the State to administer the portion of the driver's license examination that tests the driver's license appl…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles upon issuing a driver's license has authority, whenever good cause appears, to impose restrictions suitable to the licensee's driving ability with respect to the type of or special mechanical control devices required on a motor vehicle which t…

(A) A person whose driver's license has been suspended for failure to comply with an order for child support may obtain a special route-restricted driver's license from the Department of Motor Vehicles. The special route-restricted driver's license allows the person to only opera…

(A) To operate a moped on public highways, a person must possess a valid driver's license issued under Article 1 of this chapter or a valid moped operator's license issued under this article. The department may issue a moped operator's license to a person who is fifteen years of …

(A) A person is eligible for a moped operator's license without regard to his eligibility for or the status of any other driver's license or permit. (B) The Department of Motor Vehicles may suspend, revoke, or cancel a moped operator's license only for violations committed while …

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall examine every applicant for a moped operator's license. The examination shall include a test of the applicant's eyesight and, as pertains to the operation of a moped, a test of his ability to read and understand highway signs regulating, war…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue a conditional driver's license to a person who is at least fifteen years of age and less than sixteen years of age, who has: (1) held a beginner's permit for at least one hundred eighty days; (2) passed a driver's education course as…

(A) School attendance is a condition for the issuance of a conditional driver's license and a special restricted driver's license. The Department of Motor Vehicles may not issue a conditional driver's license or a special restricted driver's license to a person pursuant to Sectio…

Every licensee shall have his license in his immediate possession at all times when operating a moped and shall display it upon demand of any officer or agent of the Department of Public Safety or any police officer of the State.

Application for a moped operator's license must be in accordance with the procedures and requirements of Article 1, Chapter 1 of Title 56.

The provisions of Sections 56-1-100 and 56-1-230 apply to persons with moped operator's licenses.

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue a special restricted driver's license to a person who is at least sixteen years of age and less than seventeen years of age, who has: (1) held a beginner's permit for at least one hundred eighty days; (2) passed a driver's education …

(A) A person while operating a motor vehicle under a conditional or a special restricted driver's license who is convicted of a traffic offense or involved in an accident in which he was at fault shall have the removal of the restrictions postponed for twelve months and is not el…

A parent or guardian who knowingly and wilfully permits his dependent to operate a motor vehicle in violation of a restriction imposed on a beginner's permit pursuant to Section 56-1-50, a conditional driver's license pursuant to Section 56-1-175, or a special restricted driver's…

A licensee shall have his license in his immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle and shall display it upon demand of an officer or agent of either the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Public Safety or a law enforcement officer of the Stat…

No person, except those expressly exempted in this article shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State unless such person has a valid motor vehicle driver's license issued to him under the provisions of this article. No person shall receive a motor vehicle driver's…

(A) If a driver's license is lost or destroyed, the person to whom the license was issued, upon payment of a fee of ten dollars, may obtain a duplicate or substitution of it upon furnishing proof satisfactory to the Department of Motor Vehicles that the license has been lost or d…

The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles shall administer the South Carolina Commercial Driver's License Program in accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The rules adopted by and regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Transportat…

This article may be cited as the South Carolina Commercial Driver License Act.

This article is a remedial law and must be construed liberally to promote the public health, safety, and welfare. To the extent that this article conflicts with general driver licensing provisions, this article prevails. Where this article is silent, the general driver licensing …

(A) The Governor may authorize the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive temporarily any requirements under the provisions of this title relating to any permits, authorizations, or licenses required to operate a motor vehicle in this State. However, a temporary waiver must be for…

As used in this article: (1) "Commercial driver's license" means a license issued in accordance with the requirements of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (Title XII of Public Law 99-570) to an individual which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercia…

No person who drives a commercial motor vehicle may have more than one driver's license except during the ten-day period beginning on the date the person is issued a driver's license.

A person qualifies to be a student at a South Carolina truck driver training school, which offers instruction toward a South Carolina Class Three truck driver's license, if he has a Class Three learner's permit or an equivalent permit issued by his state of residence.