Title 56, Motor Vehicles

In the event of the termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal by the manufacturer or distributor under this section, except termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal for insolvency, license revocation, conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, or fraud by a dealer-owner: (a)…

The provisions of paragraphs (d) and (e) of Section 56-16-40 are not applicable when the termination, nonrenewal, or cancellation of the franchise agreement is the result of the voluntary act of the dealer.

Any person who engages directly or indirectly in purposeful contacts within this State in connection with the offering or advertising for sale or has business dealings with respect to a motorcycle within this State is subject to the provisions of this chapter and is subject to th…

(a) Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices as defined in Section 56-16-100 are declared to be unlawful. (b) In construing paragraph (a) the courts may be guided by the definitions in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).

A person required by a provision of law or by regulation to purchase a license, keep any records, or supply any information, who wilfully fails to purchase a license, keep the records, or supply the information or who wilfully falsifies information so supplied, at the time or tim…

For the purposes of this chapter and Chapter 21, Title 16, the following terms are defined as follows: (1) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles, and the ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public service c…

An owner of an ATV may make application to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a title for the vehicle accompanied by the required fee and upon the appropriate form prescribed and furnished by the department. The application must be accompanied by a manufacturer's certificate of…

When a person who is not a licensed ATV dealer receives by purchase, gift, trade, or by another means a vehicle that was titled in this State, the person who receives the vehicle may make application to the department for a title. The application must be accompanied by the requir…

The title fee for an ATV is contained in Section 56-19-420(A). For purposes of this article, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is defined as provided in Section 50-26-20.

A person aggrieved by an act or omission to act by the Department of Motor Vehicles under this chapter or Chapter 21 of Title 16 is also entitled to a review thereof by the circuit court in accordance with laws of this State relating to appeals.

The Department of Motor Vehicles is hereby vested with the power and is charged with the duty of observing, administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 21 of Title 16.

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale or mortgage in this State any vehicle of a type required to be registered and licensed in this State, or any mobile home, unless a certificate of title has been issued therefor and is currently valid; but this provisio…

No certificate of title need be obtained for: (1) A vehicle owned by the United States unless it is registered in this State; (2) A vehicle owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale, even though incidentally moved on the highway or used for purposes of testing or demons…

Except as otherwise provided for in this chapter, every owner of a vehicle which is in this State and for which no certificate of title has been issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles shall make application to the Department for a certificate of title of the vehicle.

(A) An application for a certificate of title for a vehicle in this State must be made by the owner to the Department of Motor Vehicles on the form it prescribes and must contain or be accompanied by: (1) if the owner is an individual: (a) the South Carolina residence address of …

The Department of Motor Vehicles, upon receiving an application for a first certificate of title, shall check the identifying number of the vehicle shown in the application against the record of stolen and converted vehicles required by Section 56-19-850 to be maintained by the D…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall file each application received and, when satisfied as to its genuineness and regularity and that the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a certificate of title, shall issue a certificate of title of the vehicle.

(A) Any liens or encumbrances on a motor vehicle or titled mobile home must be noted on the printed title or electronically through the Department of Motor Vehicles' Electronic Title and Lien System. The department shall transmit the lien to the first lienholder and notify the fi…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall refuse issuance of a certificate of title if any required fee is not paid or if it has reasonable grounds to believe that: (1) The applicant is not the owner of the vehicle; (2) The application contains a false or fraudulent statement; or (3…

When the theft or conversion of a vehicle is reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to Sections 56-19-810 or 56-19-820, until the department learns of its recovery or that the report of its theft or conversion was erroneous, it must not issue a certificate of title…

Each certificate of title issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles shall contain: (1) the date issued; (2) the name and address of the owner; (3) the names and addresses of any lienholders, in the order of priority as shown on the application, and dates of the liens, or if the …

A distinctive certificate of title shall be issued for a vehicle last previously registered in another state or country, the laws of which do not require that lienholders be named on a certificate of title to perfect their security interests. The certificate shall contain the leg…

The certificate of title issued to the first owner of a new vehicle must be designated by the letter suffix "A" after the title number. Titles issued to subsequent owners of such a vehicle must be designated "B", "C", "D", and "E" in the order of ownership. Titles issued to subse…

A certificate of title issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles is prima facie evidence of the facts appearing on it.

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall maintain a record of all certificates of title issued by it.

The certificate of title must be mailed to the first lienholder named in it or given to the lienholder's authorized agent or, if none, to the owner.

If a certificate of title is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed or becomes illegible, the owner or legal representative of the owner named in the certificate, as shown by the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall promptly make application for and may obtain a dupli…

If an owner, manufacturer or dealer transfers his interest in a vehicle other than by the creation of a security interest, he shall, at the time of the delivery of the vehicle, execute an assignment and warranty of title to transferee in the space provided therefor on the certifi…

(A) If a dealer buys a vehicle and holds it for resale and procures the certificate of title from the owner within forty-five days after delivery to him of the vehicle, he need not send the certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles, but, upon transferring the vehicle to ano…

The Department of Motor Vehicles, upon receipt of a properly assigned certificate of title, with an application for a new certificate of title, the required fee and any other documents required by law, shall issue a new certificate of title in the name of the transferee as owner …

(1) If the interest of an owner in a vehicle passes to another other than by voluntary transfer, the transferee shall, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, promptly mail or deliver to the Department of Motor Vehicles the last certificate of title, if available, p…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall examine and determine the genuineness, regularity and legality of every application for registration of a vehicle or for a certificate of title therefor and of any other application lawfully made to the Department and may in all cases make i…

The Department of Motor Vehicles, upon receipt of an application for a new certificate of title by a transferee other than by voluntary transfer, with proof of the transfer, the required fee and any other documents required by law, shall issue a new certificate of title in the na…

A person holding a certificate whose interest in the vehicle has been extinguished or transferred other than by voluntary transfer shall mail or deliver the certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles upon request of the Department. The delivery of the certificate pursuant to…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall charge fifteen dollars for: (1) the issuance of a certificate of title; (2) the transfer of a certificate of title; (3) the issuance of a duplicate certificate of title; or (4) the establishment, modification, or revocation of Transfer o…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall be authorized to charge a fee of three dollars for furnishing the odometer reading or other odometer information concerning a particular vehicle to a requesting party.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may assign a new identifying number to a vehicle if it has none, its identifying number is destroyed or obliterated or its motor is changed and shall either issue a new certificate of title showing the new identifying number or make an appropriate…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall suspend or revoke a certificate of title: (1) If it finds (a) the certificate of title was fraudulently procured or erroneously issued or (b) the vehicle has been scrapped, dismantled or destroyed; (2) When the Department determines that the…

Suspension or revocation of a certificate of title does not, in itself, affect the validity of a security interest noted on it.

When the Department of Motor Vehicles suspends or revokes a certificate of title, the owner or person in possession of it shall, immediately upon receiving notice of the suspension or revocation, mail or deliver the certificate to the Department.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may seize and impound any certificate of title which has been suspended or revoked.

(A) An owner who scraps, dismantles, destroys, or in any manner disposes to another, except to a demolisher or secondary metals recycler, as salvage, a motor vehicle otherwise required to be titled in this State immediately shall mail or deliver to the Department of Motor Vehicle…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any motor vehicle with a vehicle title brand as defined in Section 56-1-10 is transferred in this State pursuant to Section 56-19-480, whether the vehicle was, immediately before such transfer, titled in this State or in an…

(A) In every sale or transfer of a motor vehicle returned to the manufacturer under the provisions of Chapter 28, Title 56, a similar statute of another state, or as the result of a legal action, the title must have the following sentence printed on its face in large, bold, upper…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall convene a working group chaired by the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, or the director's designee, for the purpose of assisting in the development of a process to be used for the titling of vehicles in this State for which no t…

The Department of Motor Vehicles may take possession of any certificate of title, registration card, permit, license or registration plate issued by it (a) upon expiration, revocation, cancellation or suspension thereof, (b) which is fictitious or (c) which has been unlawfully or…