Title 56, Motor Vehicles

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "South Carolina Highway Patrol-Retired" license plates for use on private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in a person's name in this State who served …

The following vehicles are exempt from registration and licensing under this chapter: (1) a vehicle driven, operated, or moved upon a highway pursuant to the provisions of this chapter relating to nonresidents or under temporary permits issued by the department as authorized; (2)…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which must have imprinted on the pla…

Beginning with the licensing year 1975-1976, the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon registering and licensing a vehicle, shall issue to the owner one license plate. Every license plate shall remain the property of the State but shall be displayed on the vehicle as required by thi…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which must have imprinted on the pla…

No county or municipality shall issue a municipal or county license plate.

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Beach Music" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, and motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which may have imprinted on th…

(A) License plates must be at least six inches wide and not less than twelve inches in length and must show in bold characters the year of registration, the serial number, the full name or the abbreviation of the name of the state, and other distinctive markings the department ma…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue Citadel Alumni Association "Big Red" special license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630, and motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. The fee for …

(A) Unless the provisions of this section apply, license plates issued for motor vehicles must be attached to the outside rear of the vehicle, open to view. License plates must always be fastened securely in a horizontal and upright position to the vehicle for which it was issued…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Largemouth Bass" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. The license plate…

The department, upon registering and licensing a vehicle, shall issue to the owner of the vehicle a registration card containing upon the face of the card the date issued, the name and address of the owner, including the county in which the owner resides, the registration and lic…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in a person's name, special motor vehicle license plates which may have imprinted on them an embl…

Whenever the owner of a registered and licensed vehicle transfers his ownership therein, he shall immediately notify the Department of Motor Vehicles in writing, giving the name and address of the new owner and the date of transfer. The license plate issued for the vehicle shall …

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "South Carolina Wildlife Federation" or "Palmetto Wild" or both, special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registe…

The Department of Motor Vehicles must display in all Department of Motor Vehicle offices where motor vehicle license plates or stickers may be obtained or renewed examples of all types of special license plates which individuals of a particular group may obtain. The provisions of…

Whenever any person other than a duly licensed motor vehicle dealer receives by purchase, gift, trade, or otherwise a vehicle which was registered and licensed in this State for the then current registration and license year, the person so receiving such vehicle shall within thir…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune" special license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which shall have imprin…

Whenever a duly licensed motor vehicle dealer receives by purchase, gift, trade, or otherwise a vehicle which was registered and licensed in this State for the then current registration and license year, the dealer shall not be required to obtain a new registration and license pl…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Gadsden Flag" motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630 and motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20 registered in their names. The fee for this special lice…

The Department of Motor Vehicles, upon application and the payment of a fee of ten dollars, shall transfer the license plate assigned for one vehicle to another vehicle of the same general type owned or leased by the same person without a paid tax receipt for the vehicle. However…

Boat trailers under twenty-five hundred pounds, farm trailers and other utility trailers which are privately owned and not for hire need not be licensed or registered.

Whenever any person after making application for or obtaining the registration and licensing of a vehicle shall move from the address named in the application or shown upon the registration card, such person shall within thirty days thereafter notify the Department of Motor Vehic…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "2010-11 Baseball National Champions" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. (B) The University o…

In the event any registration card or license plate is lost, mutilated or becomes illegible, the owner or legal representative or successor in the interest of the owner of the vehicle for which it was issued, as shown by the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall imme…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall charge a fee of six dollars for every license plate or revalidation sticker issued as a replacement. If a special personalized plate is replaced by a new special personalized plate, the department shall charge a fee in the same amount as the…

The Department of Motor Vehicles may suspend, cancel, or revoke the registration and license of a vehicle, or the registration card, license plate, revalidation sticker, or other document issued by the department as authorized under this chapter in any of the following events whe…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Motorcycle Awareness Alliance" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which may ha…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall suspend a motor vehicle's current registration and shall not register or reregister a motor vehicle that was operated when its driver failed to pay a toll and whose owner has an outstanding judgment for failure to pay a toll pursuant to Sect…

The suspension of a license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to any person to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the State shall not serve to automatically suspend the registration or license plates.

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue S.C. Riverkeepers special license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names which shall have a blue backgro…

Whenever the Department of Motor Vehicles, as authorized under this chapter, cancels, suspends, or revokes the registration and license of a vehicle or the registration card, license plate, revalidation sticker, or other document issued by it pursuant to this chapter, the owner o…

This article may be cited as the "Savannah Lee Monroe Autism Awareness Special License Plates Act".

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Autism Awareness" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. This special license pla…

No person shall drive or operate any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer on a highway displaying thereon a vehicle license plate which was issued for any other vehicle, and no person shall give, sell, lend, steal or borrow any vehicle license plate issued for a pa…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "South Carolina Stands with Israel" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. This sp…

No person shall, with intent to defraud, deface or cause to be defaced in any manner any vehicle license plate issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Any duly authorized agent of the Department may take up, repossess or recover any license plate if it is being improperly use…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue American Red Cross special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, and motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. This special license pl…

An owner who dismantles or wrecks a vehicle registered and licensed pursuant to this chapter shall forward to the Department of Motor Vehicles the registration card, license plate, and revalidation sticker last issued for the vehicle. A person or entity who disposes of a vehicle …

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Chase Away Childhood Cancer" motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630 and motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20 registered in their names. The fee for th…

(A) The department may issue special personalized motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630, and motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names for any special organizational plate authorized pu…

Professional racing cars not operated under their own power but towed by another vehicle going to or from a race track need not be registered or licensed.

(A)(1) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue "Clemson University 2016 Football National Champions" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names.…

It is a misdemeanor, punishable as prescribed in this chapter, for any person (a) to alter, with fraudulent intent, any document issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles as authorized under this chapter except a registration card or license plate, (b) to forge or counterfeit an…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue "2016 Baseball National Champions" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles, as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names. (B) Coastal Carolina…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue "University of South Carolina 2017, 2022, and 2024 Women's Basketball National Champions" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56…