SCDMV Form MV-96 is South Carolina’s application for a personalized license plate. You complete the form, sign an insurance declaration, and mail it to the SCDMV in Blythewood with a $30 personalization fee and your regular registration fee. The same form covers standard personalized plates, motorcycle plates, specialty organizational plates, and amateur radio plates.
Before You Apply
Personalized plates are for passenger cars and light trucks with an empty weight of 9,000 pounds or less and a gross vehicle weight of 11,000 pounds or less. Motorcycles qualify too. The vehicle has to be registered in your name in South Carolina, and you need active liability insurance for the full registration period.
One timing rule catches people out. If your current plate is within three months of expiring, pay your property taxes and renew your registration first. The SCDMV will not process an MV-96 that close to an expiration date.
Pick Your Plate Type and Combination
The form gives you four choices, and each has its own character limit:
- Regular personalized: up to 8 characters
- Motorcycle personalized: up to 6 characters
- Specialty (organizational) personalized: up to 6 characters
- Amateur radio: up to 7 characters, with proof of a valid FCC amateur radio license
You can use letters, numbers, and the “&” symbol. Spaces count against the limit. Every combination has to be unique, and the SCDMV can refuse any request it considers offensive or indecent under the state statute governing personalized plates.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-13910 – Special Personalized Motor Vehicle License Plates
Not every specialty design can be personalized. Only organizations that have opted in offer a personalized version, so check the SCDMV plate gallery for the design you want before filling out the form.2South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Plate Gallery
How to Complete the Form
The form is a PDF on the SCDMV website or available in paper at any branch office.3South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Personalized License Plate MV-96 Work through it in order.
Personal Information
Write your last name, first name, and middle initial exactly as they appear on your South Carolina registration. Give a phone number the SCDMV can use if there is a problem with the application. Fill in your residence address and your mailing address; if they are the same, still enter both.
Read the voter registration notice. The addresses you provide will be forwarded to the State Election Commission unless you check the opt-out boxes. If you do not want your voter registration updated, mark those boxes.
Vehicle Information
Enter the VIN, make, year, and your current plate number. This has to match what the SCDMV already has on file. Check the VIN twice. A single wrong character will delay the plate or bounce the application back.
Requested Plate and Meaning
Choose your plate type and write out the exact combination you want. Then explain what it means. This field is required, and the form asks you to spell out any abbreviations. The SCDMV uses your explanation to decide whether the combination is appropriate, and the application will not be processed without it.
Insurance Declaration and Signature
At the bottom, list your insurance company. Sign and date the declaration, which states under penalty of perjury that the vehicle is insured and will stay insured for the entire registration period.
What It Costs
The personalization fee is $30. It is non-refundable once the plate has been manufactured. You pay it on top of your regular registration fee, which is $40 for most passenger cars and is billed biennially.4South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Fees A standard personalized passenger plate therefore costs $70 at the time of application.
Specialty organizational plates carry an additional plate-specific fee. Some examples listed on the form:
- University plates (Clemson, USC, SC State, and others): $70
- Heritage Classic: $75
- Homeownership: $100
- In God We Trust: $42
- Carolina Concerns of Police Survivors: $25
- SC Beekeepers Association: $40
Amateur radio plates use a different structure: $2 in place of the $30 personalization fee, plus the regular registration fee, and you must attach proof of your FCC license.3South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Personalized License Plate MV-96
Where to Send It
MV-96 is a mail-only application. Send the completed form with a check or money order payable to the SCDMV to:5South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Personalized Plates
SCDMV
Personalized Plates
PO Box 1498
Blythewood, SC 29016-0038
Do not mail cash. If your check bounces or your money order is invalid, the SCDMV will not process the application, and you will have to resubmit with a valid payment.
After You Send It
The SCDMV reviews your combination for availability and appropriateness. If it duplicates an existing plate or the department finds it offensive or misleading, the request is denied. The statute gives the SCDMV wide discretion to refuse combinations that “carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency.”1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-13910 – Special Personalized Motor Vehicle License Plates
Once approved, the plate is manufactured and mailed to the address on your form. The SCDMV does not publish a guaranteed processing time, and custom plates take longer than standard-issue ones because each is made to order. If several weeks pass with no update, call the SCDMV to check the status.
The $30 personalization fee is not refundable once the plate has been made. If your combination is denied before manufacturing, contact the SCDMV about submitting a different combination; the form itself does not spell out the refund policy in that situation.