In South Carolina, payment of personal property taxes is required before a license plate can be renewed.
Citizens can pay both the property taxes and renewal fees at the county treasurer's office.
After this is done, the license plate or validation number is issued in an overnight program and mailed to the customer from the DMV the next working day. You may be issued a license plate or validation that shows a different expiration date than shown on your vehicle registration. This is necessary because personal property taxes must be paid on a yearly basis while registration fees are collected on a two-year basis. In addition to our regular series license plate illustrating the Palmetto Tree and the slogan Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places, South Carolina has a large number of special license plates to choose from. Disabled Plates and Placards Disabled persons' plates and placards are available at any full-service DMV Branch Office.