South Carolina Temporary Tag: 45-Day Rules, Costs, and Renewal

A South Carolina temporary tag gives you 45 days to drive a newly purchased or leased vehicle while you finish permanent registration. Dealers issue the tag at the point of sale and file your paperwork with the SCDMV electronically. If you bought from a private seller, you pick up the tag yourself at any SCDMV branch. Miss the 45-day window and you owe delinquency fees, and after 30 days past the deadline you are driving an unregistered vehicle, which is a misdemeanor.¹

The 45-Day Clock

The 45 days starts the day you acquire the vehicle, or the day you bring a vehicle from another state into South Carolina. The expiration date printed on the tag cannot go past that mark.¹ It applies the same way whether you bought from a dealer, from a private seller, or leased.

Treat that date as firm. The SCDMV rarely grants extensions, and running out of time because you did not pay your county property tax or gather your documents is not the kind of exceptional circumstance that qualifies. Genuine delays outside your control, like a lienholder sitting on a title or a complicated out-of-state title transfer, can be submitted for review at an SCDMV office with documentation, case by case.

How to Get a Tag

If you bought from a dealer, you do nothing. The dealership issues the tag, records the plate number, VIN, issuance date, and expiration date in the SCDMV database, and submits your registration paperwork electronically. You generally never set foot in an SCDMV office for this.²

If you bought from a private seller, you go to an SCDMV branch with:

The title, bill of sale, or lease contract from the seller, showing the VIN, purchase date, and seller information. You are required to keep a copy of the bill of sale or assignment document in the vehicle while driving it.³
A completed Form 45-A, the Application to Issue or Replace 45-Day Temporary Plates.²
A valid driver’s license.

A private seller cannot buy a tag for the buyer. Only the buyer can obtain one, so if you are selling your car, the buyer needs to handle the tag before driving off.

Out-of-state buyers who purchase a vehicle in South Carolina but plan to register it back home can also use a temporary tag. Businesses registering a vehicle under a company name should expect to bring extra paperwork such as a federal employer identification number or business registration documents, since Form 45-A is built around individual applicants.

Insurance Is a Prerequisite

South Carolina will not issue any registration, including a temporary plate, without liability insurance in place. You must declare the vehicle is insured and provide evidence of coverage.⁴ The state minimums are $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage.⁵ If you are financing, your lender will almost certainly require collision and comprehensive coverage too.

What the Tag Does and Doesn’t Do

Each temporary plate is tied to a specific vehicle and owner in the SCDMV’s electronic database. It displays the expiration date, the issuing entity, and a unique plate number, and law enforcement can verify it in real time through the SCDMV system.¹

You cannot transfer a temporary tag to another vehicle or another person. If you sell the vehicle before the tag expires, the next buyer needs their own. Swapping a tag between vehicles can result in fines and criminal charges.

What a Dealer Can Charge

A dealer cannot charge you more than the actual cost of the temporary plate plus standard shipping and handling. A large “tag fee” beyond that is a warning sign. Dealers participating in the electronic registration system also charge a $10 quality assurance fee per vehicle, and third-party tag service providers may add fees of their own, so confirm pricing before agreeing to use one.

Costs to Budget For

The tag itself is cheap. The costs that matter are the ones due when you complete permanent registration.

Infrastructure Maintenance Fee

South Carolina does not charge sales tax on vehicle purchases. Instead you pay an Infrastructure Maintenance Fee of 5% of the purchase price, capped at $500. That applies whether you buy from a dealer or a private seller. If the vehicle was purchased and first titled in another state before you moved it to South Carolina, you pay a flat $250 instead.⁶

The cap matters on expensive vehicles. On a $40,000 car, 5% would be $2,000, but you pay $500. On an $8,000 used car from a private seller, you pay $400.

Personal Property Tax

You must pay county personal property tax on the vehicle before the SCDMV will issue a permanent plate. There is no way around this step. The tax is based on the vehicle’s fair market value in the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle Values Guide, assessed at 6% for personal cars and light trucks. You pay the county, not the SCDMV, and bring the paid receipt to finish registration.²

When a dealership handles registration, property taxes are typically billed 120 days after the plate is first issued rather than upfront. For private-party purchases where you handle registration yourself, you pay the county first, then go to the SCDMV.

Registration Fees

Permanent registration fees vary by vehicle type and weight and are collected at registration.

What Happens if You Miss the Deadline

Delinquency fees are the first hit: $50 if you are 30 to 90 days late, $75 if you are more than 90 days past due.⁷ Once you are more than 30 days past the deadline, you are also driving an unregistered vehicle on public roads, which is a misdemeanor. The general penalty for a registration chapter misdemeanor is a fine of up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail.⁸

Willfully failing to register at all is treated more seriously: a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail, and an obligation to pay double the personal property taxes that would have been owed had the vehicle been properly registered.

Altered or Counterfeit Tags

Changing an expiration date, creating a counterfeit plate, or displaying a tag assigned to a different vehicle is a separate misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $200 or up to 30 days in jail, with each fraudulent plate counted as its own offense. The SCDMV can order all such plates forfeited without refund and suspend or revoke your ability to obtain plates in the future.⁹ If a seller hands you a suspicious paper tag from an unknown source, do not put it on your car. Get a legitimate tag through a licensed dealer or the SCDMV.

If Your Tag Is Lost or Damaged

You can get a replacement if the tag is lost, stolen, or damaged before it expires. Form 45-A doubles as the replacement application. If a dealer issued the original, start there; if the SCDMV issued it, go back to a branch with your ID and proof of purchase. A small administrative fee may apply. A replacement does not restart the 45 days. It carries the original expiration date.

Finishing Permanent Registration

Before the tag expires, you need to close out these items:

Pay personal property tax at your county auditor or treasurer’s office and keep the paid receipt. The SCDMV will not process registration without it.²
Get the title on file. Registration cannot be issued without a title. Dealers usually handle the title application. For private sales, you submit the signed-over title at the SCDMV.
Pay the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee at registration.⁶
Declare insurance and be prepared to show a certificate of insurance from an authorized agent.⁴
Pay registration fees, which vary by vehicle type and weight.

If a dealer is handling everything, most of these steps happen behind the scenes. Don’t assume the job is done because you drove off the lot. Call the dealership before your 45 days are up and confirm that your paperwork was submitted and your permanent plate is on its way.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-210 – Time Period for Procuring Registration and License; Temporary License Plates; Transfer of License Plates
2
SCDMV. Registration
3
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Application to Issue or Replace 45-Day Temporary Plates 45-A
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 56 Chapter 10 – Section 56-10-220
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 38-77-140 – Bodily Injury and Property Damage Limits; General Requirements
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-627 – Infrastructure Maintenance Fee
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-840
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 56 Chapter 3 – Section 56-3-2520
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 56 Chapter 3 – Section 56-3-2970