South Carolina § 56-15-340 - Records.

§ 56-15-340. Records.

(A) Every dealer or wholesaler shall keep complete records of each transaction under which a motor vehicle is transferred for a period of not less than four years from the date of the transaction. The records must show the true name and correct address of the person or persons from whom the motor vehicle was acquired and the date of the transaction; a correct description of the vehicle, when transferred; the true name and correct address of the person to whom the motor vehicle was transferred; and the date of the transaction. The description of the motor vehicle must include the vehicle identification number, make, model, type of body, and the odometer readings at the time the motor vehicle was transferred to and from the dealer or wholesaler. These records must be open at all reasonable times for inspection and copying by the Department of Motor Vehicles or any of its duly authorized agents.

(B) The records kept by the dealer or wholesaler must be maintained in a reasonably organized and orderly fashion with all entries being legible to the ordinary person upon inspection. Any records which are illegible or incapable of accurate interpretation by either the recordkeeper or the department's inspector or agent are not in compliance with this section.

(C) If any dealer or wholesaler fails to keep the required records or fails to make them available to the department or its duly authorized agents immediately upon a reasonable request, the dealer or wholesaler is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for up to thirty days. The failure to keep or to make available to the department or its duly authorized agents complete records on each separate motor vehicle constitutes a separate offense.

HISTORY: 1983 Act No. 118 SECTION 12; 1996 Act No. 459, SECTION 226.