Whether you want to honor disabled veterans or support special causes like breast cancer awareness, South Carolina license plates have customizable options to suit you.

Most typically, the numbers and letters hanging on the back of your car are used to identify your vehicle from others. But thanks to South Carolina’s variety of license plate designs, you can also put a little personality on your plate!

To help you decide between your customization options, we've put together a guide. We’ll go through everything there is to know about South Carolina plates—from how to get them to which designs are available.

MORE:

Compare cheap car insurance quotes in South Carolina

Make safe driving pay

Get rewarded for safe driving. Earn points and unlock benefits. Totally free.

Start earning now

What are South Carolina license plates and why do I need them?

In South Carolina, your license plate acts as an ID tag for your vehicle, allowing law enforcement and other organizations to determine to whom your car is registered. This can be particularly helpful if the vehicle is ever stolen.

South Carolina uses color-coded decals in the lower right corner of the plate to display a vehicle’s registration expiration. And you may see some vehicles driving around with a

paper temporary license plate

, which can be used for 45 days to replace a lost license plate or as a placeholder for a new license plate until a permanent plate can be issued.

Interestingly, South Carolina has historically been a bit lax in its license plate laws compared to the rest of the nation. It was the second-last state to make license plates a legal requirement in 1917—and as of 1974, drivers only need to display a backplate as opposed to both a front and back.

MORE:

Is my license plate frame legal in South Carolina?

What license plates does South Carolina have?

When customizing your license plates in South Carolina, your options generally fall into three categories:

Standard plates

—the white and indigo palmetto tree and crescent plates you’ll most typically see on the road

Special interest plates

—support causes and organizations by displaying special logos and quotes on the banner and donating proceeds

Special plates

—vary in both size and purpose, eg; vintage plates and motorcycle plates

Standard license plates

“While I Breathe, I Hope”—South Carolina’s current standard license plate design was introduced in 2015. In white and indigo, it features the state motto along with the state flag’s palmetto tree and crescent moon.

Sunrise—Introduced in 2008, South Carolina’s previous standard plate is very similar to the modern plate, but with a sunrise as a backdrop. This will eventually go out of circulation starting around 2025, as drivers are required to replace their plates every ten years.

Special interest license plates

You can support a special cause with your license plate in South Carolina or

request

to have your special cause made into a license plate design. The latter requires some hefty documentation and fees—all of which are listed on

SC DMV’s website

Purchasing an existing special interest license plate design, however, is quite simple—and there are lots of options! Here are just a few:

Breast Cancer Awareness—The pink ribbon is displayed over the South Carolina state flag as a logo for this plate. It costs $70 every two years on top of standard registration fees and helps fund breast cancer screening and the

American Cancer Society’

s quality of life programs.

Driver’s for a Cure—Proceeds from this license plate are split between

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

and

Duke Cancer Institute

to help fund cancer research. They cost $30 every two years in addition to registration fees.

Endangered Species—This one features a sea turtle logo and costs an additional $30 every two years on top of regular registration fees. Proceeds go toward a

Nongame Wildlife and Natural Areas Fund

Mothers Against Drunk Driving—This plate displays the yellow “Look Twice Save a Life” logo and costs $20 every two years on top of standard registration fees. Profits support

MADD South Carolina

Reduce Reuse Recycle—This design comes with the classic recycling arrows logo and costs $30 every two years in addition to standard registration fees. Proceeds go toward the

SC Recycling Industry

To order a special interest license plate, fill out

Form MV-95

and send it along with the necessary funds to the enclosed address. You can also hand it in to the nearest DMV branch in person.

MORE:

How to check available custom license plates

Make safe driving pay

Get rewarded for safe driving. Earn points and unlock benefits. Totally free.

Start earning now

Special license plates

Antique Cars

—Vehicles that are at least 25 years old and aren’t used for daily transportation qualify for a special antique plate. You can apply using

Form MV-95B

. Cars older than 30 can also use plates that correspond to the model year. While you must apply (with

Form RG-505A

) to legally use these plates on your car, the SCDMV does not provide or issue them.

Military Members/Veterans

—Qualifying active military members and veterans can receive up to three military license plates (but only one plate per vehicle). Not only do these plates honor military rewards and branches, but some military plates issued after May 6, 2022 can also grant you free metered parking anywhere in the state! To apply, use

Form MV-37

Disability Placard

—If you’re a disabled veteran, you can include

Form RG-007A

with your military plate application to give you closer parking privileges. You can also fill out the same form if you are a person with a disability for the International Symbol of Access to appear on your standard license plate.

Motorcycle Plates

—Motorcycles have almost as many license plate options as vehicles do in the Palmetto State. To apply for an antique motorcycle plate, you’ll need to use a

separate form

from the antique car plate application.

Personalized

—You can always design license plate flair specific to you by completing a

personalized plate form

and paying a $30 additional registration fee. In South Carolina, you are limited to seven characters (six for specialized plates) and can only use the “&” symbol.

College

and

Sports

—You can take a look at SCDMV’s

license plate catalog

to see if your favorite South Carolina college or university has a design for you to rep! Similarly, you can also rock support for your favorite SC sports teams.

MORE:

How to get a South Carolina handicap placard (and who's eligible)

"I’m earning

awesome rewards

every week, just for driving safe!”

How do I get a South Carolina license plate?

Getting license plates in South Carolina is a fairly simple process. Essentially, all you need to do is register your vehicle.

If you purchased your car from a dealer, the dealer will usually take care of this for you. If you purchased your vehicle from a private party, you will need to bring the following to the

nearest SCDMV branch

A completed

Title/Registration Application

The

certificate of title

with the first assignment completed

Paid property tax in the new owner’s name

Title and registration fees

Once you’ve successfully completed your

vehicle registration

, the state will immediately issue your license plates. When replacing lost plates or purchasing a specialized design, you may be issued paper temporary license plates until your permanent plates are ready.

MORE:

Title transfer in South Carolina

How to customize your car insurance for savings in South Carolina

Whether you choose to customize your ride with a special set of plates or stick to the standard indigo and white, you can always customize your car insurance savings—just download

Jerry

The

trustworthy super app

is free to use and instantly shows you the best premiums available to you from top insurers. Found a policy you like? All you have to do is select your new policy through the app and Jerry’s expert brokers will help cancel your old plan and handle the transition calls and paperwork.

The best part: the average Jerry user saves more than $800 a year on

car insurance

. So it’s definitely worth that quick look to save a little (well, a lot) extra!

“I was so intimidated about purchasing insurance for my new car. Instead of talking to agency after agency, I found
Jerry
, which did all the work for me. It was so user-friendly.” —Alice B.

RECOMMENDED

Thousands of customers saved on average $887/year on their car insurance with Jerry

This app is great, but the customer service is even better! Not to mention convenient! My husband and I got the lowest rate (much lower than the rates I was finding online through my own searches), quickly, and pretty much all through text message! Thank you so much for a hassle free experience👍

Gabriella R.

Find insurance savings

4.7/5 Rating on App Store