2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 56 - Motor Vehicles › Chapter 1 - Driver's License › Section 56-1-3350. Issuance of special identification card; veteran designation; fees and fee waivers.

(A) Upon application by a person five years of age or older, who is a resident of South Carolina, the department shall issue a special identification card provided that the:
(1) application is made on a form approved and furnished by the department;
(2) applicant presents to the person issuing the identification card a birth certificate or other evidence acceptable to the department of his name and date of birth;
(3) applicant, who wishes to obtain a special identification card that indicates the applicant is autistic, complies with subsections (A)(1) and (2) and provides documentation that he is autistic from a physician licensed in this State, as defined in Chapter 47, Title 40. The special identification requested must be indicated by a symbol designated by the department on the person's special identification card; and
(4) applicant, who wishes to obtain a special identification card that indicates the applicant has voluntarily disclosed a permanent medical condition, complies with subsection (A)(1) and (2), and provides documentation of the medical condition from a physician licensed in this State, as defined in Chapter 47, Title 40. The record of an identification card holder may not contain more than three permanent medical conditions unless subitem (A)(3) applies. The information contained on a special identification card and in the special identification card holder's department records pertaining to his autism, as provided for in item (3), or his permanent medical condition, as provided for in this item, may not be sold, is exempt from disclosure pursuant to Chapter 4, Title 30, the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, and may be released upon request only to:
(a) law enforcement, emergency medical services, and hospital personnel;
(b) the medical advisory board pursuant to Section 56-1-221;
(c) permitted entities pursuant to the Driver Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C.A. 2721; and
(d) the person to whom the records of the permanent medical condition applies.
(B) An applicant for a new, renewed, or replacement South Carolina identification card may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a veteran designation on the front of his identification card by providing a:
(1) United States Department of Defense discharge certificate, also known as a DD Form 214, that shows a characterization of service, or discharge status of "honorable" or "general under honorable conditions" and establishes the person's qualifying military service in the United States armed forces;
(2) National Guard Report of Separation and Record of Service, also known as an NGB Form 22, that shows a characterization of service, or discharge status of "honorable" or "general under honorable conditions" and establishes the person's qualifying military service of at least twenty years in the National Guard; or
(3) Veterans Identification Card (VIC) or a letter from a Military Reserve component notifying the recipient of the person's eligibility for retirement pay at age sixty (twenty-year letter). A Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) may not be accepted.
(C)(1) The fee for the issuance of the special identification card is fifteen dollars for a person between the ages of five and sixteen years.
(2) One identification card must be issued free to a person aged seventeen years or older per issuance cycle. A ten-dollar fee must be charged to replace a special identification card before its expiration date.
(D) The identification card expires eight years from the date of issuance. A person is not permitted to have more than one valid motor vehicle driver's license or identification card at any time.
(E) Special identification cards issued to persons under the age of twenty-one must be marked, stamped, or printed to readily indicate that the person to whom the card is issued is under the age of twenty-one.
(F) The fees collected pursuant to this section must be credited to the Department of Transportation State Non-Federal Aid Highway Fund.
HISTORY: 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1357; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 128; 2000 Act No. 227, Section 1; 2005 Act No. 176, Section 11, eff June 14, 2005; 2010 Act No. 277, Section 4, eff July 1, 2011; 2011 Act No. 27, Section 6, eff May 18, 2011; 2012 Act No. 147, Section 2, eff April 23, 2012; 2016 Act No. 275 (S.1258), Section 27, eff July 1, 2016; 2017 Act No. 19 (S.344), Section 2, eff May 9, 2017; 2019 Act No. 86 (H.3789), Section 6, eff November 24, 2019; 2022 Act No. 217 (H.3037), Section 2, eff May 23, 2023.
Editor's Note
2010 Act No. 277, Section 7, provides:
"This act takes effect July 1, 2011, and applies to all persons convicted of a crime of violence as defined in Section 16-23-10(3)."
2011 Act No. 27, Sections 7 and 8, provide as follows:
"SECTION 7. The State Elections Commission must establish an aggressive voter education program concerning the provisions contained in this legislation. The State Elections Commission must educate the public as follows:
"(1) Post information concerning changes contained in this legislation in a conspicuous location at each county board of registration and elections, each satellite office, the State Elections Commission office, and their respective websites.
"(2) Train poll managers and poll workers at their mandatory training sessions to answer questions by electors concerning the changes in this legislation.
"(3) Require documentation describing the changes in this legislation to be disseminated by poll managers and poll workers at every election held following preclearance by the United States Department of Justice or approval by a declaratory judgment issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, whichever occurs first.
"(4) Coordinate with each county board of registration and elections so that at least two seminars are conducted in each county prior to December 15, 2011.
"(5) Coordinate with local and service organizations to provide for additional informational seminars at a local or statewide level.
"(6) Place an advertisement describing the changes in this legislation in South Carolina newspapers of general circulation by no later than December 15, 2011.
"(7) Coordinate with local media outlets to disseminate information concerning the changes in this legislation.
"(8) Notify each registered elector who does not have a South Carolina issued driver's license or identification card a notice of the provisions of this act by no later than December 1, 2011. This notice must include the requirements to vote absentee, early, or on election day and a description of voting by provisional ballot. It also must state the availability of a free South Carolina identification card pursuant to Section 56-1-3350.
"In addition to the items above, the State Elections Commission may implement additional educational programs in its discretion.
"SECTION 8. The State Election Commission is directed to create a list containing all registered voters of South Carolina who are otherwise qualified to vote but do not have a South Carolina driver's license or other form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles as of December 1, 2011. The list must be made available to any registered voter upon request. The Department of Motor Vehicles must provide the list of persons with a South Carolina driver's license or other form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles at no cost to the commission. The commission may charge a reasonable fee for the provision of the list in order to recover associated costs of producing the list."
2022 Act No. 217, Section 3, provides as follows:
"SECTION 3. (A) SECTION 1 takes effect July 1, 2022.
"(B) SECTION 2 takes effect one year after the approval by the Governor."
Effect of Amendment
2017 Act No. 19, Section 2, in (A), added (3), relating to autism designations placed on a special identification card, and made other nonsubstantive changes.
2019 Act No. 86, Section 6, in (B), substituted "identification card" for "driver's license" in two places, made nonsubstantive changes in (1), rewrote (2), and added (3); in (C), in (1), substituted "fifteen dollars" for "five dollars", and in (2), in the first sentence, substituted "One identification card must be issued free" for "An identification card must be free" and inserted "per issuance cycle" at the end", and added the second sentence; and in (D), in the first sentence, substituted "eight years" for "five years", and added the second sentence.
2022 Act No. 217, Section 2, in (A), substituted "provided that" for "as long as", in (3), in the first sentence, substituted "Chapter 47, Title 40" for "Section 40-47-20(35)", and made a nonsubstantive change in the second, and added (4).