South Carolina § 56-3-2330 - Manufacturer license plates.

§ 56-3-2330. Manufacturer license plates.

(A) Upon application and payment of the required fee, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue not more than five hundred manufacturer license plates to a motor vehicle manufacturer. The license plates must be used exclusively on motor vehicles, including motorcycles, owned or in the possession of a manufacturer. Manufacturer license plates must not be used to operate wreckers in use by the manufacturer nor to operate vehicles leased or rented to the public by the manufacturer.

(B) A motor vehicle manufacturer shall apply for manufacturer license plates on a form prescribed by the department and shall provide proof the applicant is a bona fide motor vehicle manufacturer. The cost of each manufacturer plate issued is two hundred dollars, of which one hundred sixty dollars must be remitted by the department to the county in which the principal facility of the manufacturer is located. Forty dollars of the fee must be placed by the Comptroller General into the State Highway Fund as established by Section 57-11-20, to be distributed as provided in Section 11-43-167. Each plate is valid for two years.

(C) Vehicles with manufacturer plates, not to exceed one licensed vehicle for each household, may be operated by persons authorized by the manufacturer on vehicles of that manufacturer's brand on state streets and highways for testing, distribution, evaluation, and promotion of vehicles. Vehicles with manufacturer plates may be used no more than twenty consecutive days in connection with civic events and sporting events.

(D) A manufacturer who violates the provisions regarding use of motor vehicles is subject to the imposition of any administrative penalty permitted by law.

(E) For the purpose of this section only, "motor vehicle manufacturer" is defined as a person in the business of manufacturing or assembling new and unused vehicles in this State.

HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 497, SECTION 70A; 2006 Act No. 261, SECTION 1, eff April 8, 2006; 2010 Act No. 188, SECTION 1, eff May 28, 2010; 2016 Act No. 275 (S.1258), SECTION 33, eff July 1, 2016.