Title 56, Motor Vehicles

Special personalized plates may not be issued to any applicant whose operator's or chauffeur's license has been suspended or revoked within two years from the date of application or to any applicant whose driving record indicates a disregard of traffic violations or unsafe drivin…

(A)(1) The department is authorized to administer a program for and regulate the issuance of temporary license plates for items required to be registered in this State and items that are purchased in this State that may be registered in a foreign jurisdiction. (2) The department,…

The department, licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities may issue temporary license plates to operate any item that is purchased in this State that may be registered in a foreign jurisdiction and farm trucks registered in another jurisdiction that are harvesting a…

Any common carrier engaged in the transportation of house trailers by the haulaway method and which has registered according to the laws of this State with the Public Service Commission, whether engaged in interstate or intrastate operations, or both, may purchase license plates …

(A) The department, licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities may issue temporary license plates to operate any item that will be registered in this State or vehicles used solely for corporate research and development. In the case of the need to move trailers and se…

The carrier shall pay twelve dollars and fifty cents for the first such license plate and six dollars each for additional plates and the highway safety fee authorized by Section 56-3-810.

(A) The department may issue solely to South Carolina residents, as proven by showing their driver's license or identification card issued by the department, special permits to operate any item otherwise required to be registered under this title when the item does not display th…

The plate shall be displayed on the rear end of the house trailer being towed and be transferable from one house trailer to another, but shall be used only on a house trailer that is in the custody of the common carrier. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall have a special plate…

(A) The department shall implement a quality assurance program to ensure the integrity of the electronic registration and titling program. Pursuant to this section, the quality assurance entity shall perform quality assurance reviews of data and submitted forms through the electr…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall honor similar plates from other states, if such states honor the South Carolina plates for house trailers authorized by this article.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to former members of the South Carolina Delegation of the United States Congress, retired judicial officers elected by the General Assembly or confirmed by the United States Senate, respectively, memb…

The special plates must be of the same size as regular motor vehicle license plates, but must be of a distinctive design and bear letters and numerals the Department of Motor Vehicles prescribes. The plates must be issued or revalidated biennially for the regular registration and…

The license plate issued pursuant to this article may be transferred to another vehicle of the same weight class owned by the same person upon application being made to and approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles. It is unlawful for a person to whom this plate has been issue…

The provisions of this article do not affect the registration and licensing of motor vehicles as required by other provisions of this chapter but are cumulative to them. A person violating the provisions of this article or a person who fraudulently gives false or fictitious infor…

Every motor vehicle as herein defined which is over twenty-five years old, is owned solely as a collector's item and is used for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses, but in no event used for general transportation, may be classified by the…

Upon receipt of an application on a form prescribed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, it may issue appropriate designated license plates to owners of antique motor vehicles. Such license plate shall be valid so long as title to such vehicle is vested in the applicant. The fee …

(a) Every motorcycle over twenty-five years old, which is owned solely as a collector's item and is used for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar uses, but is not used for general transportation, may be classified by the Department of Motor Vehic…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may provide, upon request, a sample motor vehicle license plate. The license plate shall be of the same size and general design of regular motor vehicle license plates. The fee for issuance of such license plate shall be ten dollars. The depar…

Every owner of a vehicle subject to registration and for which a license is required shall make application to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the registration and licensing of the vehicle upon the appropriate forms furnished by the department. Every application must bear th…

(A)(1) Upon application being made and the required fee being paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the department may issue dealer license plates to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The license plates, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, may be …

A person who misuses a dealer license plate issued pursuant to this article must be fined three hundred dollars or forfeit the dealer license plate, or both.

(A) Upon application and payment of the required fee, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue not more than five hundred manufacturer license plates to a motor vehicle manufacturer. The license plates must be used exclusively on motor vehicles, including motorcycles, owned or …

(A) Upon application and payment of the required fee, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue a standard license plate to a manufacturer for vehicles it has manufactured and which are used in a benefit program for the manufacturer's employees or used by the manufacturer for te…

(A) As used in this section: (1) "Research and development business" or "business" means a person who manufacturers tires or transmissions in this State for use as original or replacement equipment on motor vehicles and who conducts research and development activities on tires or…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles, or its designated agent, shall require licensed motor vehicle dealers to issue temporary motor vehicle registrations and temporary license plates directly from the dealership. Unless disallowed by the department, any dealership that begins a …

(A) Upon application being made and the required fee being paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the department may issue antique dealer license plates to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The license plates, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, ma…

(A) For purposes of this section "financial institution" means a supervised financial organization as defined in Section 37-1-301(27) or a supervised lender as defined in Section 37-3-501(2). (B) A financial institution engaged in the business of repossessing vehicles or acceptin…

Registrants licensed under this article shall notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of any change of address of his principal place of business within thirty days after such change is made, and the Department may cancel the registration and all license plates issued upon failur…

Transporter license plates issued under this article may be transferred from vehicle to vehicle, but shall be used only for the limited purposes as provided in Section 56-3-2350.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may deny the application of any person for registration under this article and may suspend or revoke a registration or refuse to issue a renewal thereof if it is determined that the applicant or registrant has: (a) Made a material misrepresentatio…

Every such application shall contain: (1) The name, bona fide residence and mail address of the owner or business address of the owner if a firm, association or corporation and the county, municipality, if applicable, and school district in which the applicant resides; (2) A desc…

Commissioned and uniformed personnel of the South Carolina Highway Patrol when on duty may: (1) Upon reasonable belief that any vehicle is being operated in violation of any provision of this chapter require the driver thereof to stop and exhibit the registration card issued for …

Officers and employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles engaged in the work of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter are, for the purpose of such work of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter, authorized to administer oaths and acknowl…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall keep such records of all transactions relating to the enforcement and administration of this chapter as the Department shall determine to be necessary and appropriate for fiscal, statistical and administrative purposes. Suitable and appropri…

The Department of Motor Vehicles and such officers and employees of the Department as the Department may designate may prepare and deliver upon request a certified copy of any record of the Department relating to the registration and licensing of any vehicle, and every such certi…

In any case tried in any court of competent jurisdiction in this State in which the ownership of any motor vehicle is in issue an affidavit by a duly authorized officer or agent of the Department of Motor Vehicles showing what the registration records of the Department show or fa…

The Department of Motor Vehicles may compile and publish annually or at shorter intervals a list of all registered and licensed vehicles. The list shall show vehicles registered and licensed serially according to registration and license numbers and also may contain the names and…

The Department of Motor Vehicles may destroy any records accumulated by it in connection with the administration of this chapter which have been maintained on file for three years or more and which may be deemed by the Department to be obsolete and of no further service in connec…

Whoever knowingly conceals any motor vehicle from which the manufacturer's serial number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark has been removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the identity of the motor v…

No vehicle shall be registered and licensed by the department unless a signed statement accompanies the application certifying that all county and municipal taxes legally due by the applicant on the vehicle concerned have been paid and if such vehicle is legally subject to being …

The Department of Motor Vehicles may assign a distinguishing number to a motor vehicle whenever the motor or serial number thereon is destroyed, replaced or obliterated and may issue or assign to the owner a special plate or number which shall be affixed to the vehicle or stamped…

It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this chapter unless such violation is by this chapter or other law of this State declared to be a felony. Unless another penalty is by the laws of this State provided every person convicted of a misdemeanor fo…

(A) Vehicles required by Chapter 3 of Title 56 to be registered biennially must be assigned registration periods as provided in this section. (1) Upon the first reregistration of the vehicles by the Department of Motor Vehicles after the effective date of the implementation of bi…

The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630 registered in their names which shall have imprinted on the plate "Conserve South Carolina" and which may have an emblem, a…

Of the fees collected pursuant to this section, the Comptroller General shall place sufficient funds into a special restricted account to be used by the Department of Motor Vehicles to defray the expenses of the Department of Motor Vehicles in producing and administering this spe…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall require evidence of the payment of the use tax imposed by Section 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 prior to issuing vehicle registration and plates for those vehicles for which the taxes are required.