How to Complete SCDMV Form 447-NC: Steps, Fees, and Documents

SCDMV Form 447-NC is South Carolina’s in-person application for a beginner’s permit, driver’s license, or state identification card covering all non-commercial vehicle classes: D, E, F, G, and M.¹ You complete it at an SCDMV branch office, present your supporting documents, take any required tests, pay the fee, and walk out with a temporary paper certificate. Your permanent card arrives by mail within seven to fifteen business days.²

There is no mail-in or online version. Everything happens at the counter.

Documents to Bring Before You Go

Missing paperwork is the single most common reason people get turned away. The SCDMV requires originals or government-issued copies. Photocopies and phone images will not be accepted. U.S. citizens should check their documents against Form MV-93; international customers use Form MV-94.¹

You need three things:

Proof of identity, U.S. citizenship, and date of birth. A certified birth certificate showing the registrar’s signature and a filing or tracking number works, as does an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card, a Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570), a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561). If your birth certificate shows you were born outside the United States, you must bring a second document from that list to confirm citizenship.³

Your Social Security number. You do not need the card itself. The SCDMV verifies the number electronically with the Social Security Administration, so the name, date of birth, and SSN on your application must match SSA’s records exactly. If they don’t, you’ll need to fix the mismatch, usually with a name-change document or a correction at SSA, before the SCDMV can process the application.³

Proof of your South Carolina address. A REAL ID requires two proofs from different organizations, both showing the same address. A standard card marked “NOT FOR FEDERAL I.D.” requires only one. Acceptable documents include a utility bill, a bank or credit card statement, a current lease, a property tax receipt, a voter registration card, a vehicle registration, insurance paperwork, a payroll stub, or school records such as a transcript or tuition receipt.³

If your legal name has changed since your birth certificate was issued, bring every document in the chain: marriage license, divorce decree, court order, or any combination that connects the two names. An unexpired U.S. passport in your current legal name can replace the entire chain.²

Already have a permit, license, or ID from another state? You must surrender it. If it was lost or stolen, bring a certified copy of your driving record from the issuing state.³

Filling Out the Nine Steps

The form runs nine steps. Some sections apply only to certain applicants, and the form itself tells you which questions to skip. Print clearly in ink.

Step 1: Type of Card

Check the box for beginner’s permit, driver’s license, identification card, or moped operator’s card. Then choose whether you want a REAL ID. Selecting “Yes” adds a star to your card so you can use it for federal purposes like boarding domestic flights, but you must bring the second address document. Selecting “No” prints “NOT FOR FEDERAL I.D.” across the front. You also indicate whether you are a U.S. citizen, which determines which document checklist applies.¹

Step 2: Identification

Enter your existing permit, license, or ID number if you have one. Then fill in your full legal name, residential address (no P.O. boxes), county, Social Security number, date of birth, and physical description: height, weight, eye color, race, and sex. Fields for a special mailing address and a temporary mailing address are optional; use them only if mail should go somewhere other than your home.¹

Steps 3 and 4: Organ Donation and Voter Registration

Step 3 asks whether you want to register as an organ and tissue donor and offers an optional contribution to Donate Life SC. If you’re already registered and want the red heart symbol reprinted on your card, check “Yes.” Step 4 asks whether you want to register to vote, and lets you tell the SCDMV not to update your voter registration address if it differs from your residence.¹

Step 5: Optional Designations

You can add three optional designations to your card. A veteran designation requires a DD-214, an NGB Form 22 showing an honorable or general-under-honorable-conditions discharge with at least twenty years of qualifying service, a twenty-year retirement-eligibility letter, or a Veteran Identification Card; a Veteran Health Identification Card does not qualify. A caduceus medical symbol, which lists one or more medical conditions on the back of your card, requires Form 447-CAD signed by a South Carolina-licensed physician; an autistic designation specifically requires the physician’s signature under SC Code Section 56-1-80(A)(8). A hearing-impaired designation requires Form RG-004A.¹

Step 6: Medical and Driving History

Ten questions cover your license history, prior suspensions, and medical conditions including loss of consciousness, heart surgery, stroke, and substance use. Permit and driver’s license applicants answer all ten. ID-card-only applicants answer just questions one and two.¹

Step 7: Automobile Insurance

List your auto insurance company. If you don’t own a motor vehicle, check the declaration box saying so.¹

Steps 8 and 9: Signatures

Print your name, sign, and date in Step 8. If you’re under 18, an authorized adult must sign Step 9, accepting liability and responsibility under SC Code Sections 56-1-110 and 56-1-120. Emancipated minors skip the adult signature but must show proof: a court order, a marriage certificate, or active military orders.¹

Which License Class to Choose

Form 447-NC covers five non-commercial classes. Most people need Class D, the standard passenger-car license. Class G functions similarly for standard driving. Class E covers non-commercial single-unit vehicles over 26,000 pounds gross weight, such as large trucks and motorhomes. Class F covers non-commercial combinations (a Class E vehicle towing a trailer) over 26,000 pounds.⁴ Class M is for motorcycles; if you’ve never held any driver’s license, you have to get a motorcycle beginner’s permit before testing for a Class M.⁵

If You’re a First-Time Driver

A beginner’s permit is the entry point. You must be at least 15 and pass a vision screening and a knowledge test at the branch.⁶ The permit is valid for up to twelve months.⁷

On a permit, you can drive between 6:00 a.m. and midnight with a licensed driver at least 21 years old who has at least one year of driving experience sitting beside you. Between midnight and 6:00 a.m., the accompanying driver must be an authorized adult under Section 56-1-100. On a motorcycle, the accompanying driver stays within a safe viewing distance.⁷

How long you hold the permit before testing for a full license depends on age. Under 18: at least 180 days. 18 or older: at least 30 days.⁷

Applicants who are at least 15 but not yet 16 can pursue a conditional driver’s license. That requires holding the permit 180 days, completing a driver’s education course through an approved school or a high school instructor with a valid driver’s instructor permit, logging at least 40 hours of supervised practice (including 10 hours after dark), passing the SCDMV road test, and meeting a school attendance requirement. An out-of-state driver’s training course counts if the SCDMV finds it equivalent.⁸

Every permit and license applicant takes a vision screening at the branch. The standard is 20/40 or better. If you can’t pass at the counter, you’ll need a Certificate of Vision Examination from a licensed eye care professional, which stays valid for 36 months. If corrective lenses bring you up to standard, your license will carry a lenses restriction. Active-duty military members are exempt from the screening; bring a Leave and Earnings Statement dated within the last 31 days and an unexpired military ID.⁹

What You Pay

SCDMV fees for credentials issued through Form 447-NC:¹⁰

Beginner’s permit (original, renewal, duplicate, or modified): $2.50
Eight-year driver’s license: $25.00
Four-year-or-less license (international customers only): $12.50
ID card, ages 5 through 16: $15.00
ID card, age 17 and older (within a year or less of the renewal cycle): free

Submitting the Form and Getting Your Card

Take the completed form and your documents to any SCDMV branch. You’ll present everything, take the vision, knowledge, and road tests that apply to what you’re seeking, and pay at the counter in the same visit.²

Once approved, the branch issues a temporary paper driving certificate on the spot. The permanent card is mailed within seven to fifteen business days.² The SCDMV website shows branch locations and live wait times, and smaller branches usually move faster than the Columbia and Charleston offices.

1
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Beginner’s Permit, Driver’s License, or Identification Card
2
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s License
3
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. United States Citizens’ Checklist (Form MV-93)
4
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Non-Commercial License – Classes E and F
5
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Motorcycle
6
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver’s Manual – Driving Tests
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-1-50 – Beginner’s Permit
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-1-175 – Issuance of Conditional Driver’s License
9
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Vision Tests
10
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Fees