2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 56 - Motor Vehicles › Chapter 3 - Motor Vehicle Registration And Licensing › Section 56-3-210. Time period for procuring registration and license; temporary license plates; transfer of license plates.

Section effective January 18, 2024. See, also, Section 56-3-210 effective until January 18, 2024.
(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, pursuant to this section and with input from temporary license plate distributors, shall establish the design and layout of all temporary license plates to be issued within the State. Temporary license plates shall be of a material specified by the department so as to resist deterioration or fading from exposure to the elements during the period for which display is required.
(3) Temporary license plates must be six inches wide and at least eleven inches in length. Temporary motorcycle and moped license plates must be four inches wide and seven inches in length.
(4) Each temporary license plate must contain a vehicle's identifying information as determined by the department including, but not limited to, the date of expiration, the name of the issuing entity or standard identifier as determined by the department and a unique identifying license plate text assigned by the department. The temporary license plate text must be linked to the vehicle record and the vehicle's owner in the department's vehicle database. In order to operate on the highways of this State, an item must display either a valid temporary license plate issued pursuant to this title or a valid metal license plate, and, when applicable, a decal that the owner intends to transfer pursuant to Section 56-3-1290.
(5) Licensed motor vehicle dealers, leasing companies, the department, and other entities shall not obtain or procure a temporary license plate from any entity other than a registered temporary license plate distributor.
(B)(1) Only statewide motor vehicle dealer associations in which at least thirty percent and no fewer than two hundred members are licensed South Carolina motor vehicle dealers may be temporary license plate distributors. Except as otherwise provided in this section, only temporary license plate distributors may sell or distribute temporary license plates.
(2) If a temporary license plate distributor is unable to provide temporary license plates for the department in a timely manner, the department may solicit for and select a different temporary license plate distributor. The department's solicitation and selection of a different temporary license plate distributor is subject to the provisions of the State Consolidated Procurement Code.
(3) If the only temporary license plate distributors in this State do not respond to a solicitation as provided for in item (2) then this subsection is of no force or effect.
(C)(1) The department is authorized to administer an electronic system for county auditors' offices, licensed motor vehicle dealers, leasing companies, and other entities authorized by the department to use in issuing temporary license plates. The department may contract with third parties to provide service connection between the issuing entities and the department, or may provide the service directly to participating entities. Licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities participating in the electronic registration and titling program that fail to comply with the program's requirements may be removed from the program by the department.
(2) Third parties contracted pursuant to this section are authorized to produce temporary license plates and temporary vehicle registration transactions on behalf of the department. The department shall develop program terms, conditions, standards, and specifications required for certification. Third parties requesting certification must agree to the terms, conditions, standards, and specifications in order to participate.
(D) The department, with input from temporary license plate distributors, shall develop program specifications that define the requirements of the temporary license plate program governing the issuance of temporary license plates by all authorized entities. The design, specifications, and method of distribution of all temporary plates shall be the same.
(E) Issuing entities may utilize no more than the upper fifty percent free space on their temporary license plates for dealer or company identification. Traceable temporary license plates from issuing entities that do not utilize the plate for dealer or company identification must include an identifier selected by the department. Third-party providers that produce temporary license plates must not charge an additional fee to issuing entities that chose to issue traceable temporary license plates that include the identifier selected by the department. The lower fifty percent of all temporary license plates is reserved to display the temporary license plate number and other information required by the department pursuant to Section 56-3-210(A)(4).
(F) Except as provided for in this chapter, a dealer or leasing company may not use a temporary license plate for any other purpose, which includes, but is not limited to, vehicle demonstration, employee use, or transporting vehicles from one location to another location. A dealer or leasing company may not place a temporary license plate on a vehicle until the vehicle is sold to a purchaser and until the temporary license plate number and other identifying information has been recorded in the electronic database and printed on the lower fifty percent of the temporary license plate. A dealer that issues or allows a temporary license plate to be issued in violation of this section also may have the dealer violation points, as determined by the department, assessed. A nondealer issuing entity that violates this section may have its issuing privileges suspended by the department. The department shall develop a process for tracking fraudulently issued or sold temporary plates.
(G) Any person or entity authorized by this chapter to issue a temporary license plate shall maintain records as required by the department. Records maintained pursuant to this subsection shall be open to inspection by the department or its agents during reasonable business hours. Records must include the inventory control number of each temporary license plate, the vehicle identification number, issuance date, and expiration date.
(H) Licensed motor vehicle dealers, leasing companies, and other entities may provide temporary license plates only for items that are purchased from that dealer company or entity.
(I) The total fee for the temporary license plates the department or counties issue pursuant to this chapter shall be calculated based on:
(1) the five-dollar cost of the plate, which must be placed in a special restricted account to be used solely by the department for the costs associated with the production and issuance of new license plates; and
(2) an additional five dollars which must be disbursed to the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank's state highway account pursuant to Section 56-3-910.
(J)(1) The total fee for the temporary license plates issued pursuant to this chapter by licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities must be calculated based on:
(a) the actual cost of the license plate plus issuing and printing, as well as standard shipping and handling costs; and
(b) an additional five dollars which must be remitted to the department. The department shall disburse two dollars and fifty cents of each additional five dollars remitted to the State Highway Fund, as established by Section 57-11-20, to be distributed as provided in Section 11-43-167. The remaining two dollars and fifty cents of each additional five dollars remitted shall be disbursed to the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank's state highway account pursuant to Section 56-3-910.
(2) Dealers, leasing companies, and other entities shall not charge any fees for traceable temporary license plates in excess of the fees provided for in this subsection.
(K) The bill of sale, title, lease contract, temporary registration card issued in conjunction with a temporary license plate or copy of one of these documents must be maintained in the vehicle at all times to verify the vehicle's date of purchase or lease. The bill of sale, title, lease contract, or copy of one these documents must contain a description of the vehicle, the name and address of both the seller and the purchaser of the vehicle, and its date of sale or lease.
(L) All temporary license plates must be valid for no more than forty-five days and must be affixed at all times to the rear of the item in an unobscured and secure manner.
(M) Only one temporary license plate may be issued to a purchaser of an item. The temporary license plate must be used only on the item for which it was issued and must not be transferred, loaned, or assigned to any other person or item.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-15; 1952 Code Section 46-15; 1949 (46) 342; 1951 (47) 527; 1984 Act No. 371, Section 1; 1985 Act No. 40, Section 3; 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, Section 121H; 2002 Act No. 251, Section 1, subsections (A), (B), (C); 2004 Act No. 288, Section 1; 2016 Act No. 275 (S.1258), Section 28, eff July 1, 2016; 2018 Act No. 208 (S.1083), Section 1, eff May 15, 2019; 2023 Act No. 51 (S.549), Section 8, eff January 18, 2024.
Code Commissioner's Note
At the direction of the Code Commissioner, in (J)(1)(b), the reference to "Section 57-11-167" was changed to "Section 57-11-20" to correct a scrivener's error.
Editor's Note
2018 Act No. 208, Section 2, provides as follows:
"SECTION 2. All entities authorized to issue temporary license plates pursuant to Section 56-3-210 must comply with all program specifications within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this act [May 15, 2019]."
2023 Act No. 51, Section 40(C)(1), provides as follows:
"[SECTION 40.](C)(1) SECTIONS 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 30, 31, 32, and 33 take effect eight months after the approval by the Governor, provided that necessary solicitations are awarded in a timely manner in accordance with the State Consolidated Procurement Code."
Effect of Amendment
2018 Act No. 208, Section 1, rewrote the section.
2023 Act No. 51, Section 8, rewrote the section.