South Carolina Form 45-A is the SCDMV application you use to get a 45-day temporary license plate after buying a vehicle from a private seller. Fill it out, bring it to an SCDMV branch or your county auditor’s office with your title or bill of sale, proof of liability insurance, and your license number, and pay $10 for an original plate or $5 for a replacement. The plate lets you drive the vehicle legally for 45 days while you finish titling and registration.
What to Bring Before You Fill It Out
The form is only one piece of the paperwork. Walk in without the rest and you leave without a plate. Gather these first:
- The signed title from the seller, with the assignment section on the back completed to show you as the buyer, the odometer reading, the date of sale, and the purchase price. If the title has no field for the sales price, bring a separate bill of sale.
- Proof that liability insurance is already active on the vehicle. South Carolina’s minimums are $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage.
- Your South Carolina driver’s license number or SCDMV customer number. Out-of-state residents can apply but must mark their non-resident status on the form.
- The vehicle’s year, make, and full 17-character VIN. Commercial vehicles also need gross vehicle weight and DOT number.
One detail that catches people out: only the buyer can apply for a temporary plate. A private seller cannot buy one on the buyer’s behalf.
How to Complete Each Section
Form 45-A is a single page available as a PDF on the SCDMV website. The sections move in this order.
Section A is your information as the purchaser. Full legal name, residence address, mailing address if different, the box for South Carolina resident or out-of-state resident, driver’s license or customer number, and phone number.
The vehicle block takes the year, make, and VIN. Commercial operators fill in gross vehicle weight and DOT number. Write in your insurance company’s name and the date of sale.
Next, mark whether you are requesting an original temporary plate or a replacement. If it is a replacement, indicate whether the original was defective or lost or stolen. A separate line offers an optional $5 donation to Donate Life South Carolina. It is voluntary and sits apart from the plate fee.
At the bottom, print your name and sign. The certification above the signature line confirms that your information is true and correct, and that false information can carry civil liability or criminal penalties. No refunds are issued once the plate is purchased.
Where to File It and What You Pay
Take the completed Form 45-A and your supporting documents to any SCDMV branch. Under South Carolina Code Section 56-3-212, you can also buy the temporary plate from the county auditor’s office in the county where you live.
The fees printed on the current form, revised November 2024, are:
- $10 for an original temporary plate
- $5 for a replacement
These cover the temporary plate only. Your title fee, registration fee, Infrastructure Maintenance Fee, and property tax come later, when you complete permanent registration.
If you bought from a licensed dealership, you generally will not need Form 45-A at all. Dealers issue temporary plates at the point of sale through their own electronic system. The form is the private-sale route.
Insurance Has to Be Active First
The form states that liability insurance must be in force at South Carolina’s minimum amounts before the temporary plate is valid. Those minimums are 25/50/25: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 property damage.
This is not a step to patch up later. If you have an accident while driving on a temporary plate without active coverage, you face the same consequences as any uninsured driver in the state, including license suspension. Call your insurer and add the vehicle to your policy before heading to the DMV.
Driving on the Temporary Plate
Attach the plate to the outside rear of the vehicle, horizontal and upright, with nothing covering or obscuring it. South Carolina Code Section 56-3-1240 sets this rule, and Section 56-3-2520 makes a violation punishable by a fine of up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail.
Keep your bill of sale or title in the vehicle at all times while driving on the temporary plate. The form’s conditions require it, and law enforcement may ask to see it to confirm the purchase date and that the plate has not expired.
One warning on the form itself is easy to miss: other states may not recognize South Carolina temporary plates. If you plan to cross state lines inside the 45-day window, check with that state’s DMV first.
Finishing Permanent Registration Within 45 Days
The temporary plate is valid for exactly 45 days from the date of purchase, not the date of issuance. There is no renewal and no extension. Under Section 56-3-212, driving on an expired temporary plate is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $100.
To complete permanent registration on a private-sale vehicle, bring the following to an SCDMV branch, or mail them by certified mail to SCDMV Titles and Registration, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0024:
- The signed title with the assignment section fully completed: buyer name and address, lienholder if any, odometer reading, sales price, date of sale, and both signatures.
- A completed Title Application, SCDMV Form 400.
- Title fee of $15 by mail or at a branch, or $35 for expedited processing in person.
- Infrastructure Maintenance Fee of 5% of the purchase price, capped at $500.
- A paid property tax receipt in your name. Your county auditor’s office issues the bill; you pay the county, then bring the receipt to the DMV.
- Registration fee of $40 for most passenger vehicles, billed biennially. Residents age 64 pay $38; residents 65 or older or with a permanent disability pay $36.
If you do not have a South Carolina license or ID, add a completed Statement of Vehicle Operation in South Carolina, SCDMV Form TI-006. Hybrid vehicles owe an added $60 on top of registration, and electric vehicles owe an added $120.
The property tax step is the one that eats people’s deadlines. You cannot pay it at the DMV. Call your county auditor early, get the bill generated, pay it, and keep the receipt. Forty-five days feels like a lot of room until that step adds a week.