South Carolina § 56-19-370 - Procedures for voluntary transfer; dealer purchasing vehicle for resale.

§ 56-19-370. Procedures for voluntary transfer; dealer purchasing vehicle for resale.

(A) If a dealer buys a vehicle and holds it for resale and procures the certificate of title from the owner within forty-five days after delivery to him of the vehicle, he need not send the certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles, but, upon transferring the vehicle to another person other than by the creation of a security interest, promptly shall execute the assignment and warranty of title by a dealer, showing the names and addresses of the transferee and of any lienholder holding a security interest created or reserved at the time of the resale and the date of his security agreement, in the spaces provided on the certificate or as the department prescribes, and mail or deliver the certificate to the department with the transferee's application for a new certificate.

(B)(1) The dealer must properly title and, if applicable, register the vehicle within forty-five days after the sale. A dealer who receives in a timely manner a title lien release from a financial institution, titling agent, or another state department of motor vehicles, or its equivalent, and who fails to either properly title or, if applicable, register the vehicle the dealer sold within forty-five days after the sale may be assessed points against his dealer record pursuant to Section 56-37-30.

(2) If the department has reason to believe that the dealer knowingly did not properly title, or if applicable, register the vehicle within forty-five days after the sale, the dealer is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined not less than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both, and is further subject to the provisions of Section 56-15-350.

(3) If a title is in suspended status, the department must make the information regarding the reason for suspension available in a timely manner through the third-party provider pursuant to Section 56-3-210.

(4) No dealer may be prosecuted for not properly titling or registering a vehicle within forty-five days if the department has placed the title in suspended status or if a financial institution has not released the lien in a timely manner.

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 46-150.16; 1957 (50) 595; 1995 Act No. 42, SECTION 2; 2023 Act No. 51 (S.549), SECTION 28, eff January 1, 2024.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the reference in (B)(1) to "Section 56-37-370" was changed to "Section 56-37-30" to correct a scrivener's error.

Editor's Note

2023 Act No. 51, SECTION 40(D), provides as follows:

"[SECTION 40.](D) SECTIONS 15 through 28 take effect on January 1, 2024. Any dealership applying for or renewing licenses, or operating on a currently issued license on or after January 1, 2024, is subject to the provisions of SECTIONS 15 through 28."

Effect of Amendment

2023 Act No. 51, SECTION 28, inserted the (A) designator, and added (B).