How to Fill Out the South Carolina TEA-1 Title Correction Form

South Carolina’s TEA-1 form voids a mistake made in the reassignment section on the back of a vehicle title so the SCDMV can issue a corrected record. The seller who made the error fills it out, checks a box identifying what went wrong, marks an X through the bad reassignment, and submits everything with the original title and a $15 fee. Expedited processing is $35 at a branch office.¹

When the TEA-1 Applies

This form fixes mistakes made in the reassignment portion of a title, which is the section on the back where the seller signs the vehicle over to a buyer. If the error happened somewhere else, or the title was wrong when the state first issued it, the TEA-1 is not the right tool.²

The form itself lists the errors it covers as checkboxes:

Typographical error in the reassignment fields
Misspelled name (buyer’s or seller’s)
Signature written incorrectly
Strikeover in the buyer’s name
Signature placed in the wrong field
Title reassigned to yourself instead of the buyer
Wrong date of sale
Wrong sale price
Incorrect odometer mileage written in
Wrong odometer status box checked (exempt, not actual, exceeds mechanical limits)
Customer changed their mind
Title assigned to the wrong individual

If your situation isn’t on the list, the form has an “Other” line where you write a short explanation.²

What to Gather Before You Fill It Out

Have the original title in front of you. The top of the form asks for four details pulled directly from the certificate:

Title number
Issuing state
Year and make of the vehicle
The full 17-character VIN

Copy each one straight from the title rather than from memory. These fields are how the SCDMV matches the form to the correct vehicle record.²

You also need to prepare the corrected reassignment that will replace the voided one. The SCDMV accepts either a secured bill of sale with the correct information or the next available reassignment section on the back of the title filled in properly. If no unused reassignment sections remain, the secured bill of sale is your only option.³

If the vehicle has an active lien, call the lienholder before you submit anything. The SCDMV will not change the people listed on a title or their relationship to the vehicle without the lienholder’s involvement, so you’ll want to know what your lender needs from you first.⁴

How to Fill Out and Sign the Form

The seller completes the TEA-1, not the buyer. If two people sold the vehicle together, both sign.

Enter the title number, state, year/make, and VIN at the top. Check the box that matches the error. More than one box can apply if several things went wrong at once. If you use the “Other” line, keep the explanation short and specific.

Then turn the title over and draw an X through the incorrect assignment. This physically voids the bad section and tells the SCDMV which reassignment you’re correcting.³

Sign and date at the bottom. A co-seller signs and dates in the second signature block.²

Two Reasons That Require an Extra Letter

If you check “Customer changed his/her mind” or “Assigned title to wrong individual,” the SCDMV requires a signed and dated statement from the buyer or from the person the title was mistakenly assigned to. The statement must explain what happened and confirm that person never took possession of the vehicle. Without this letter, the SCDMV will not process the TEA-1 for either of these reasons.²

Odometer Mistakes Have Legal Stakes

Fixing a wrong mileage entry isn’t only paperwork. Under South Carolina law, knowingly providing a false odometer reading on a disclosure statement is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, up to one year in jail, or both, in addition to any federal odometer-fraud penalties.⁵ If you genuinely wrote down the wrong number, correcting it promptly with a TEA-1 is the safer path than leaving the error on the record.

Where to Send It and What It Costs

Your submission packet is the completed TEA-1, the original title with the bad reassignment X’d out, and the corrected reassignment (either the next assignment section on the title or a secured bill of sale). You have two ways to file it:

By mail to SCDMV, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016, with a check or money order for $15 payable to SCDMV. Do not mail cash.¹
In person at any SCDMV branch office. The standard fee is $15, or $35 if you want an expedited title.¹

A check made out to the wrong payee or a missing fee will send the packet back unprocessed. Confirm the payee line reads “SCDMV” before you seal the envelope.

What Happens Next

Once the SCDMV approves the packet, staff update the vehicle’s record and print a new certificate of title, which arrives by mail. When it comes, check every field before filing it: buyer’s name, sale date, sale price, and odometer reading. Catching a second error while the title is still fresh is easier than starting over after it has changed hands again.

The TEA-1 is available as a PDF at dmv.sc.gov and in paper form at any branch office.²

1
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Fees
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South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Title Error Acknowledgement TEA-1
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South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Dealer Titling Class Presentation
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South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Titles
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South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 56 Chapter 19 – Protection of Titles to and Interests in Motor Vehicles