South Carolina § 56-1-175 - Issuance of conditional driver's license.

§ 56-1-175. Issuance of conditional driver's license.

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue a conditional driver's license to a person who is at least fifteen years of age and less than sixteen years of age, who has:

(1) held a beginner's permit for at least one hundred eighty days;

(2) passed a driver's education course as defined in subsection (D);

(3) completed at least forty hours of driving practice, including at least ten hours of driving practice during darkness, supervised by any licensed individual listed in Section 56-1-100(A)(1-7);

(4) passed successfully the road tests or other requirements the department may prescribe; and

(5) satisfied the school attendance requirement contained in Section 56-1-176.

(B) A conditional driver's license is valid only in the operation of vehicles during daylight hours. The holder of a conditional license must be accompanied by a licensed adult twenty-one years of age or older after six o'clock p.m. or eight o'clock p.m. during daylight saving time. A conditional driver's license holder may not drive between midnight and six o'clock a.m. unless accompanied by any licensed individual listed in Section 56-1-100(A)(1-7). The accompanying driver must:

(1) occupy a seat beside the conditional license holder when the conditional license holder is operating a motor vehicle; or

(2) be within a safe viewing distance of the conditional license holder when the conditional license holder is operating a motorcycle or a moped.

(C) A conditional driver's license holder may not transport more than two passengers who are under twenty-one years of age unless accompanied by a licensed adult who is twenty-one years of age or older. This restriction does not apply when the conditional driver's license holder is transporting family members, or students to or from school.

(D) A driver training course, as used in this section, means a driver's training course administered by a driver's training school or a private, parochial, or public high school conducted by a person holding a valid driver's instructor permit contained in Section 56-23-85.

(E) For purposes of issuing a conditional driver's license pursuant to this section, the department must accept a certificate of completion for a student who attends or is attending an out-of-state high school and passed a qualified driver's training course or program that is equivalent to an approved course or program in this State. The department must establish procedures for approving qualified driver's training courses or programs for out-of-state students.

HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 258, SECTION 3; 2002 Act No. 181, SECTION 2; 2017 Act No. 89 (H.3247), SECTION 4, eff November 19, 2018; 2018 Act No. 259 (H.4676), SECTION 3, eff November 19, 2018.

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 89, SECTION 4, amended the section, deleting the provision that allows a licensee to operate a motor scooter and the provision that defined the term "daylight hours", and providing the location that an accompanying driver must be seated when the licensee is operating a motor vehicle.

2018 Act No. 259, SECTION 3, in (A), in (3), substituted "any licensed individual listed in Section 56-1-100(A)(1-7)" for "the person's licensed parent or guardian"; and in (B), in the third sentence, substituted "any licensed individual listed in Section 56-1-100(A)(1-7)" for "the holder's licensed parent or guardian".