South Carolina replaces vehicle sales tax with an Infrastructure Maintenance Fee, and gates the whole transaction behind a county tax payment. Get the sequence right and it’s a single same-day visit.
Just moved to South Carolina? You pay a flat $250 IMF rather than 5%, and SCDMV puts the typical total at $305including the title and registration fees. Start with getting a South Carolina license.
The short version
- Pay your county property tax before the SCDMV visit. The branch won’t process the transfer without a paid receipt.
- No notarization required. South Carolina doesn’t need a notary for a title transfer — don’t pay for one.
- The Infrastructure Maintenance Fee is capped at $500, so an expensive car costs no more than a cheap one.
South Carolina Title Transfer Deadlines: 45 Days and 30 Days
| Deadline | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| 45 days | Buyer | Title and register at an SCDMV branch |
| 30 days | Seller | File a Notice of Vehicle Sold (Form 416) |
Miss the buyer’s 45 days and late penalties apply under S.C. Code § 56-3-840, generally ranging from $10 to $75depending on how long it’s been.
The seller’s 30 days is the one that protects you. Until the Notice of Vehicle Sold is filed, you remain liable for traffic citations incurred by the new owner. It’s an online form and it takes minutes.
Pay Your County Property Tax First
This is the step that stops everything else, and it surprises people who’ve bought cars elsewhere.
The vehicle property tax must be assessed and paid to your county treasurer or auditor before the SCDMV will complete the transfer. You bring the original paid receipt to the branch.
Most counties accept online payment. Where yours doesn’t, that’s a separate in-person trip before the DMV one — so start here rather than discovering it at the counter.
Does a South Carolina Title Need to Be Notarized?
No. South Carolina does not require a notary for a vehicle title transfer, and the bill of sale doesn’t need one either.
Worth saying plainly because several template sites quote mobile notary minimums of $60 to $85 alongside South Carolina paperwork. For a standard transfer here, that’s money spent on nothing.
How to Transfer a South Carolina Car Title Step by Step
Step 1: What the Seller Does
- Sign the Seller’s Assignment section on the back of the title.
- Print the buyer’s name and address legibly.
- Record the odometer reading at the point of sale. Federal disclosure applies to most vehicles under 20 model years old.
- Complete and sign a bill of sale showing the agreed purchase price.
- Remove your license plates. They belong to you in South Carolina — keep them for your next vehicle or surrender them at an SCDMV branch.
- File the Notice of Vehicle Sold (Form 416) within 30 days, online.
Step 2: What the Buyer Brings
- The signed-over title
- The bill of sale, signed and dated by the seller, showing the purchase price
- Form 400 — Application for Certificate of Title and Registration
- The original paid county property tax receipt
- Proof of South Carolina liability insurance meeting 25/50/25 minimums
- Driver’s license or SC ID for every new owner named on the title
- Lien information, if the vehicle is financed
- Payment
If the vehicle is leased, Section E of Form 400 must be completed by the leasing company, and a Power of Attorney is needed if the lessee signs on the title holder’s behalf.
Step 3: Visit an SCDMV Branch
The branch verifies the VIN, calculates the IMF, collects the fees and issues your plate the same day. No appointment is needed for most services.
If a permanent plate isn’t issued immediately, you’ll get a temporary one to cover you.
The metal title itself is mailed, arriving in about 7 to 10 business days.
Do You Need a Bill of Sale in South Carolina?
Technically it depends, practically yes.
SCDMV doesn’t strictly require one if the back of the title already records the purchase price and odometer reading. But branches commonly ask for it, and it’s the document that establishes the price your IMF is calculated from.
Since the IMF is 5% of the purchase price, the bill of sale is doing real work — it’s not a formality. It also fixes the sale date that starts both the buyer’s 45 days and the seller’s 30.
Include both parties’ full legal names and addresses, the VIN, year, make and model, the odometer reading, the sale price and the date. Both sign. No notarization.
For a gift, state on the bill of sale that the vehicle is a gift and tick the “Bonafide Gift” box on the transfer documents.
South Carolina Title Transfer Fees and the IMF
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Title fee | $15 |
| Infrastructure Maintenance Fee | 5% of purchase price, capped at $500 |
| IMF for vehicles brought from another state | Flat $250 |
| Registration | $40 |
| Lien recording | $15 |
| Plate transfer from another vehicle | $10 |
| Late penalty | $10 – $75 |
| County property tax | Varies — usually the largest line |
The IMF cap is South Carolina’s defining feature. There’s no ordinary vehicle sales tax here. A $10,000 car owes $500; a $100,000 car also owes $500. The effective rate collapses as the price rises, which makes the state dramatically cheaper than most for expensive vehicles.
Paid once per vehicle — it isn’t charged again at renewal. Your registration renewal runs on a separate two-year cycle with its own annual property tax requirement.
Gifts between immediate family are IMF-exempt — spouse, parent, child, grandparent or grandchild. Other relationships don’t qualify.
South Carolina Car Title Transfer FAQs
No. South Carolina plates belong to the seller, who removes them and either transfers them to another vehicle for $10 or surrenders them at a branch.
No. South Carolina has neither. The only check is a VIN verification, and only on vehicles coming from another state.
The lienholder holds the title. Provide their name and address on Form 400 and SCDMV can request the title directly. A lien recording fee of $15 applies if you’re financing the purchase.
It depends on how the title was held. If the names are joined by “or” — joint tenancy with right of survivorship — the surviving owner can transfer it with a death certificate. Other arrangements need probate documentation.
The plate is issued the same day at the branch. The metal title is mailed and typically arrives within 7 to 10 business days.
Two things account for most failed South Carolina transfers: arriving at the branch without the paid property tax receipt, and sellers who skip the 30-day notice and keep receiving someone else’s citations.
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