The South Carolina DL-222 form is a Change of Residency Certification you use after moving out of South Carolina to have the state’s SR-22 insurance filing requirement waived, so an unresolved suspension on your South Carolina record stops blocking you from getting a driver’s license in your new state.1South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. DL-222 Change of Residency Certification The one-page form has three sections: you fill in the first, a DMV official in your new state fills in the second, and an SCDMV employee completes the third after the form is submitted.
When You Need the DL-222
The form fits a narrow set of circumstances. All three of these have to be true:
- You now live outside South Carolina.
- You are applying for a driver’s license or beginner’s permit in your new state.
- You have a South Carolina suspension that requires an SR-22 filing.
An SR-22 is a certificate of financial responsibility that your auto insurer files for you. South Carolina commonly requires one after suspensions tied to uninsured accidents, DUI convictions, or point accumulations. If you leave the state with that filing still required, your new state’s DMV may refuse to issue you a license until South Carolina’s record is cleared. The DL-222 is how you clear it without having to keep a South Carolina insurance policy you no longer need.1South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. DL-222 Change of Residency Certification
Filling Out Section I
Download the form from the SCDMV website and complete Section I yourself. It asks for your full name, your South Carolina driver’s license, beginner’s permit, or ID number, your date of birth, and home, cell, and work phone numbers.1South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. DL-222 Change of Residency Certification
Below that, you make a sworn declaration under penalty of perjury covering three things:
- The date you became a resident of your new state and your current address there.
- The date you applied for a driver’s license in that state.
- A statement that you do not wish to keep a South Carolina license and are requesting a waiver of the SR-22 filing requirement.
Sign and date the form. Because the declaration is sworn, the facts need to be accurate. Misrepresenting your residency or your license application can create legal exposure in both states.
Getting Section II Signed in Your New State
Section II has to be completed by a DMV official in the state where you now live. That official prints their name, signs, and provides their title, the date, and a phone number. It is independent verification that you have in fact applied for a license in a new state and left South Carolina residency behind. Bring the DL-222 with you to a DMV office in your new state and ask an employee at the counter to complete this section.1South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. DL-222 Change of Residency Certification
Sending the Form to the SCDMV
Once Sections I and II are both filled in, send the form to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. The form does not print a mailing address or specify a submission method, so call the SCDMV before you send it to confirm where it needs to go and whether fax or email is accepted. Branch locations and contact information are listed at dmv.sc.gov.2South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Locations and Wait Times
Section III is handled internally. An SCDMV employee completes it when the form is processed, confirming the SR-22 filing requirement has been waived. Once that is done, the insurance-filing hold on your South Carolina record should no longer stand in the way of your new state issuing you a license.
If You Move Back Within Three Years
The waiver is tied to your non-resident status. It does not permanently erase the SR-22 obligation. You may still have to meet the SR-22 requirement if all three of these happen:
- You become a South Carolina resident again.
- You apply for a South Carolina driver’s license or beginner’s permit.
- It is within three years of the date your South Carolina suspension ended.
If you return to South Carolina inside that three-year window, expect to carry SR-22 insurance as a condition of getting a license here again. Once three years have passed from the suspension’s end date, the SR-22 requirement no longer applies even if you move back.1South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. DL-222 Change of Residency Certification