South Carolina General Assembly
104th Session, 1981-1982

Bill 3843


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3843
Ratification Number:       557
Act Number                 447
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   To provide for temporary license plates
                           and certificates of registration for motor
                           vehicles to be registered and licensed in
                           another state
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A447, R557, H3843)

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 56, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 29 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR TEMPORARY LICENSE PLATES AND CERTIFICATES OF REGISTRATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES TO BE REGISTERED AND LICENSED IN ANOTHER STATE, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Temporary license plates and certificates of registration

Section 1. Chapter 3, Title 56, of the 1976 Code, is amended by adding:

"ARTICLE 29

Temporary License Plates and Certificates of Registration of Motor

Vehicles to be Registered and Licensed in Another State

Section 56-3-2600. The Department of Highways and Public Transportation upon request and subject to the limitations and conditions hereinafter set forth shall provide temporary license plates and registration cards designed by the Department to nonresidents of South Carolina and to licensed motor vehicles who apply for such plates and cards. The fee for each set of license plates and registration cards shall be ten dollars. Application therefor shall be made to the Department on forms prescribed and furnished by the Department. Dealers, subject to the limitations and conditions hereinafter set forth, may issue such temporary license plates to owners of vehicles which are to be permanently licensed in a state other than South Carolina.

Section 56-3-2610. Every dealer shall maintain in permanent form a record of all temporary license plates delivered to him, and shall also maintain in permanent form a record of all temporary license plates issued by him. In addition, every dealer shall maintain in permanent form a record of any other information pertaining to the receipt or the issuance of temporary license plates that the Department may require. Each record shall be kept for a period of at least one year from the date of entry of such record.

Section 56-3-2620. Every dealer who issues temporary license plates shall also issue a temporary registration certificate upon a form prescribed and furnished by the Department and shall deliver it with the license plates to the owner. On the day that a dealer issues such plates, he shall also send to the Department a copy of the temporary registration certificate.

Section 56-3-2630. A dealer shall issue temporary plates and cards solely for vehicles which are purchased from that dealer for licensing and registering in another state. No dealer shall issue temporary plates or cards for any other purpose or reason. It shall be unlawful for a dealer to issue any temporary plates or registration cards containing any misstatement of fact or to knowingly insert any false information upon the face thereof.

Section 56-3-2640. Every dealer who issues temporary plates shall insert clearly and indelibly on the face of each temporary license plate the date of issuance, the date of expiration, the make, and the identification number of the vehicle for which issued and such other information as the Department shall require.

Section 56-3-2650. A temporary license plate shall be used only on the vehicle for which issued and shall not be transferred, loaned, or assigned to any other person or vehicle.

Section 56-3-2660. The temporary license plate and registration certificate shall be valid for twenty days from the date of issuance.

Section 56-3-2670. The Department shall be authorized to promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of the article.

Section 56-3-2680. Any person violating the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

Section 56-3-2690. If temporary license plates and registration certificates are issued for a motor vehicle pursuant to this article, no other provisions of law of this State relating to temporary licensing and registration shall apply."

Time effective

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.