The Driver's License, Permits, the GDL, Tests, Renewal, Points and Suspensions: License Classes D Through M and the CDLs, Documents for Citizens and International Customers, the Beginner's Permit and Its 180-Day and 30-Day Holding Periods, the 40 Practice Hours, the Conditional and Special Restricted Licenses and the Waiver, Where and How Tests Are Given, the Skills Test Vehicle and Maneuvers, Retest Waiting Periods, Moving In and Out of State, Renewal Online, by Mail and in Person, the Point System, the Defensive Driving Course, Reinstatement, Provisional, Route-Restricted and Temporary Alcohol Licenses, Selective Service, Organ Donation, Littering and Golf Carts
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the South Carolina beginner's permit knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: South Carolina Driver's Manual (SCDMV, AAMVA-based, March 2026 file), Section 1 "The Driver's License" (pages 1-1 to 1-23) and Section 2 "State Laws and Rules of the Road" (pages 2-1 to 2-3).
License classes
South Carolina issues a license as proof that you passed an examination for a particular kind of vehicle, chosen by gross vehicle weight. Class D covers non-commercial passenger vehicles up to 26,000 pounds and also a moped or a three-wheel vehicle (but not a two-wheel motorcycle with a detachable sidecar). Class E covers non-commercial single-unit vehicles over 26,000 pounds, such as large trucks and motor homes, and Class F covers non-commercial combinations over 26,000 pounds, such as a motor home towing a vehicle; both are described in the Large Non-Commercial and Recreational Vehicles manual. Class G is a moped license, minimum age 15, requiring only the vision and knowledge tests, and not needed if you hold any other class. Class M covers two-wheel motorcycles, motorcycles with a sidecar and three-wheel vehicles. The commercial classes are A (combinations rated 26,001 pounds or more with a towed unit over 10,000 pounds), B (a single vehicle rated 26,001 or more, towing no more than 10,000) and C (smaller vehicles built for 16 or more passengers or placarded for hazardous materials). Each driver holds only one license, endorsed for one or more classes; holding more than one valid license is illegal. When driving you must carry a valid license, registration and insurance card for the vehicle's class or face a fine.
Documents and the beginner's permit
A US citizen applying for a first permit, license or ID brings original documents proving citizenship, identity, date and place of birth, Social Security number and South Carolina address, listed on the US Citizen's Checklist (form MV-93); non-citizens use the International Customers' Checklist (MV-94) at the branches that serve international customers. A first-time driver starts with a beginner's permit: be at least 15, pass the vision and knowledge tests, drive between 6 a.m. and midnight only with a licensed driver at least 21 with at least one year of experience in the front seat, and after midnight only with a supervisor listed in the statute. At 17 or under you hold the permit at least 180 days and may apply on the 181st day; at 18 or older you hold it at least 30 days. A 15- or 16-year-old must log 40 hours of practice including ten at night with a parent, legal guardian, custodian, a person approved by Social Services, someone standing in loco parentis for at least 60 days, or a responsible adult with notarized permission from one of those.
A 15- or 16-year-old's first license also requires a driver education course of eight classroom hours and six driving hours, enrollment in school with satisfactory attendance (not suspended or expelled), the 40 practice hours, and the school attendance, driver education and practice certification form (PDLA) issued by the driver education program.
The graduated driver's license program
The GDL program covers ages 15 to 17 and lifts its night and passenger limits over time. A conditional license is available at 15½ but under 16 after meeting the requirements and passing the vision and skills tests; full privileges come after one year with no traffic offenses and no at-fault collisions. Its restrictions: no more than two passengers under 21 unless a licensed adult at least 21 rides along, except when carrying family members or students to and from school; driving alone only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (8 p.m. during daylight saving time); driving with a licensed driver at least 21 from 6 p.m. (8 p.m. in daylight saving time) to midnight; and after midnight only with a listed supervisor. A driver under 17 who gets six or more points before holding the license a year is suspended for six months. A special restricted license for 16-year-olds (under 17) carries the same restrictions. A special restricted license with a waiver lets a 16-year-old drive alone until midnight, never after, for work or certain extracurricular activities, with the application, a Consent for Minor form signed before an SCDMV employee, letters from the school, church, employer or activity and from the parent, a vision test and $25. Full privileges arrive at 17, or after a year on a conditional or special restricted license with no offenses or at-fault collisions, without a branch visit: the SCDMV mails a sleeve to wrap around the license, which must stay on it to prove full privileges.
The tests
A vision, knowledge and skills test are required for an original license or an upgrade to another class; the first two can be taken at any branch, with no manuals or aids, and you fail the knowledge test if you leave the room, talk to anyone, or bring written material or any electronic device such as a phone, laptop or tablet into the test area. One Stop driver training programs (third-party testers) may give the knowledge and skills tests for a first Class D permit or license or a Class M license, and the SCDMV may randomly select you to pass the skills test again before issuing the license. Every first license needs all three tests except the moped license, which has no skills test. For the skills test you supply a safe vehicle with working headlights, brakes, mirrors, wipers, safety belts, turn signals, speedometer, defroster and horn, a valid plate, registration and insurance card; an unsafe vehicle postpones the test, and not using your seat belt fails it automatically. Bring your old license or permit, a licensed driver, and liability insurance from a company licensed in South Carolina. Only you and the examiner may be in or around the vehicle. You may be asked to work the headlights, wipers, signals and four-way flashers, test the brake lights, change lanes, turn right and left, identify signs, parallel park, back 100 feet in a straight line, park on a hill, perform reverse and forward two-point turnabouts and a three-point turnabout, and drive on the interstate. After a first failure you wait two business days, after a second seven calendar days, and after a third or later 30 calendar days.
Moving, visiting and renewal
A new permanent resident with another state's license or ID applies within 45 days unless active-duty military or a US government employee, surrenders the old card, and if it has been expired more than nine months takes all three tests. Temporary residents such as military members and students keep their valid out-of-state license. Moving away, you surrender your South Carolina license to the new state, which notifies the SCDMV; return your plate before canceling South Carolina insurance or owe up to $400 in fees. Visitors drive on their valid home license, and international visitors are urged to carry an International Driving Permit, a translation rather than a license. First-time applicants with a credential from a country holding a reciprocity agreement, expired no more than nine months, skip the knowledge and skills tests.
Renewal requires a vision test, free at any branch, or a Certificate of Vision Examination dated within 36 months; since May 18, 2024 active-duty members are exempt with a Leave and Earnings Statement dated within 31 days and a military ID. US citizens may renew online or by mail for an eight-year license if they hold a regular license, no CDL, not expired more than nine months, with a Social Security record match, no more than five points in the last two years, no suspension, no mail or online renewal last time, no violent-offender flag, no conditional or special restricted license, and an electronically filed vision certificate; the card arrives in seven to ten business days. Mail renewal uses the application form and a $25 check, sent at least three weeks before expiry; in-branch renewal needs the vision test, your insurance company's name and $25. Never drive on an expired license: expired nine months or less, renew at a branch without testing; longer, and you take the vision, knowledge and skills tests and show proof of address and identity.
Points, suspensions and special licenses
Traffic convictions in any state and military court-martial convictions add points to your record, and points drop by half one year after the violation date. At 15 or 16 the SCDMV writes to you at two and four points; at 17 or older it writes at six and suspends at 12 or more. A beginner's permit, conditional or special restricted license holder with six or more points is suspended for excessive points, and a defensive driving course does not lift that suspension. Some violations, such as DUI, bring mandatory suspensions outside the point system. The National Safety Council defensive driving course or equivalent can cut points if taken in South Carolina, in a classroom (not online) for eight hours, after the violation date, only once in three years, and before a pending suspension begins. Reinstatement fees can be paid online, with a payment plan for those who qualify. A provisional license for a first DUI or driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration was available for six months with ADSAP enrollment, a BAC of 0.14 percent or less for violations since October 2014 and $100, but not for offenses on or after May 19, 2024. A route-restricted license (US citizens or permanent residents only) allows driving to and from work, college or home, ADSAP and court-ordered drug programs with the approved route carried, lasts the suspension, costs $100, and is granted once in a lifetime for suspensions such as accident judgment, alcohol violation, controlled substance, failure to stop for a blue light, false insurance certification and misrepresentation of identity, though more than once for child support or driving under suspension. A temporary alcohol license, also $100, covers implied consent, under-21 implied consent, BAC of 0.15 percent and under-21 BAC of 0.02 suspensions while an administrative hearing requested within 30 days is pending.
State laws
Male citizens and immigrants under 26 complete a Selective Service supplement, and the SCDMV sends their data to Selective Service at 18 unless they surrender the card first. You may register as an organ and tissue donor, adding a red heart to the card and entering a legally binding agreement under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act; for donors under 18 the parent or guardian makes the final decision, and changes are made at Donate Life SC. Littering is illegal, punishable by arrest, fines and supervised roadside cleanup, and cigarette butts count. A golf cart requires a driver at least 16 with a valid license and an SCDMV permit decal, and may be driven in daylight within four miles of the registered address or a gated community's gate, only on secondary roads posted 35 mph or less.
Practise this with South Carolina Driver License questions
More of this guide
The 20/40 vision standard and lens restriction, when vision is screened, sleep and the 100-mile rule, distractions and the Hands-Free Act with its $100 and $200 fines, aggressive behaviors, alcohol in 40 percent of fatal crashes, zero tolerance under 21, how alcohol impairs, DUI, DUAC, 0.15 and implied consent, drugs, emotions and the self-check for older drivers.
Monthly tire pressure and the penny test, sitting 10 inches from the wheel, setting the mirrors, the primary safety belt law, wearing the belt, air bags as supplements, child seats from rear-facing to 57 inches, children seven and younger in back, securing a load, driver assistance features and their limits, hand-to-hand and hand-over-hand steering and backing up.
Who you yield to and the first-car and same-time rules, green, yellow, red and flashing signals and turning on red, warning signs, railroad signs and the blue emergency sign, work zone signs and flaggers, regulatory signs, stop and yield, the shared center lane, guide, route, secondary and evacuation route signs, yellow and white lines, crosswalks and stop lines.
Right and left turn positions, two-point and three-point turnabouts, left-right-left at intersections, never trusting a turn signal, the diverging diamond and the RCUT, roundabouts, when you must stop for a school bus and when you need not, disability spaces, 18 inches from the curb, angle, perpendicular and parallel parking, hills, ramps, passing steps and bans, being passed and the zipper merge.
Looking 20 to 30 seconds ahead, slowing before curves, hydroplaning, flooded roads and the six-inch and two-foot rules, perception, reaction and braking distance, the four-second following distance and when to add more, space to the side and behind, headlights, the horn, signaling 100 feet, braking with ABS, steering and accelerating out of trouble, skids, drop-offs and vehicle malfunctions.
Yielding to pedestrians even outside crosswalks, stopping for white canes and guide dogs, bicyclists' rights, bike lanes and hand signals, a full lane and four seconds for motorcycles, the side, front and rear No Zones, 335 feet to stop a truck, wide right turns, what to do when police stop you, weapons and tickets, the Move-Over law and the orange triangle under 25 mph.
High beams that see twice as far, dimming at 500 feet and within 200 feet, low beams in fog, adding seconds at night, work zone injuries and slowing even with no workers, gravel, narrow roads, single-lane bridges, steel gratings and blind corners, bridges that freeze first, chains, rocking out of snow, ABS versus standard brakes, loading a trailer 60/40, sway, 55 mph and backing a trailer.