How to fill out South Carolina 45-A

Because the plate leaves with the seller, a South Carolina private buyer has nothing to drive home on unless they already own a tag. This is the form that fixes that - a $10.00 temporary plate valid for forty-five days from the date of purchase, and the answer to the question every private buyer asks at the kerb. It also carries the line that stops sellers buying one on the buyer's behalf.

Written against 45-A (11/2024), issued under S.C. Code Ann. 56-3-210 and 56-3-1240(B). The temporary plate is a South Carolina document and the form warns that other states may not recognise it. A buyer driving a car back to Georgia or North Carolina on one should check with their own state before relying on it for the whole journey.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 45-A from the dmv.sc.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank 45-A — Application to Issue or Replace 45-Day Temporary Plates PDF at dmv.sc.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual 45-A, rendered from the PDF the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

South Carolina form 45-A filled in: Curtis N. Ashmore of 3117 Ridgeway Church Rd, Anderson, SC 29625, a South Carolina resident with driver's licence 233741908, applying for an original 45-day temporary plate at ten dollars for a 2017 Honda Pilot, vehicle identification number 5FNYF6H52HB412907, insured with Congaree Mutual, purchased on 12 September 2026, issued the same day and expiring on 27 October 2026. — Filled in by the buyer, because the conditions on this form say a private seller cannot buy one. The replacement fee, the replacement reason and the intrastate commercial block are greyed - each belongs to a different applicant.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The buyer fills this in
Original or replacement
$10.00 for the first plate, $5.00 to replace a defective or lost one.
Watch out: A replacement never runs past the original expiry date. Losing one in week five buys five dollars' worth of a few days.
2
The buyer fills this in
Section A, the purchaser
Name, date of issuance, residence and mailing addresses, resident or out-of-state tick, licence or customer number and phone.
Watch out: An out-of-state buyer can have one - the form has a box for it - but it is still a South Carolina plate and may not be recognised once they cross the line.
3
The buyer fills this in
The vehicle
Year, make, vehicle identification number, gross vehicle weight, and a DOT number if the vehicle carries one.
Watch out: Copy the VIN off the assignment the seller has just signed rather than off the advert. This form and the certificate are read together at the branch.
4
The buyer fills this in
Insurance company and date of sale
The insurer, and the day the vehicle was bought - which is the day the forty-five starts running.
Watch out: Cover has to be in force before the plate is issued, at the state minimum. A policy starting tomorrow is not cover today.
5
The buyer fills this in
Bring the bill of sale
A copy of the bill of sale or the assignment document, attached to the form.
Watch out: The same document then lives in the car. One of the printed conditions is that it must be carried in the vehicle while the temporary plate is in use.
6
The buyer fills this in
Sign the certification
Printed name and signature, under the acknowledgement about refunds and about not fitting the plate before the sale completes.
Watch out: No notary, no witness. Section B underneath is the branch's and is left blank.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The fee block	Two priced boxes at the head: original temporary plate $10.00, replacement temporary plate $5.00, with a date-plate-expires cell beside them.
Conditions	Five printed rules: temporary plates cannot be used to test drive a vehicle or to operate a vehicle until it is sold; the plate and registration are valid for forty-five days from the date the vehicle is purchased; liability insurance must be in force at the state minimum; the bill of sale or title showing the date of purchase must be carried in the vehicle while it is in operation; and temporary plates may not be recognized by other states, individual sellers cannot purchase traceable temporary plates, and individual buyers must purchase plates.
The note	For newly purchased vehicles, a copy of the bill of sale or assignment document must accompany this form.
Section A, purchaser	Purchaser's name with a date of issuance, a residence address and a mailing address, a South Carolina resident or out-of-state resident tick, a customer or driver's licence number and a phone number.
The vehicle row	Year, make, vehicle identification number, gross vehicle weight and a DOT number where one applies.
Insurance and sale	Insurance company and date of sale, with an original-or-replacement tick pair beside them and a replacement reason of defective or lost/stolen.
Intrastate commercial vehicles	A block allowing a large commercial vehicle operating only within South Carolina to use a motorcycle-sized plate displayed inside the front passenger windshield, with a regular-sized or motorcycle-sized choice.
Donate Life and certification	A $5.00 donation line, then a certification that the information is true, an acknowledgement that no refunds are given for plates once purchased and that the plate may not be placed upon the vehicle until the sale is complete, and a printed name and signature of applicant.
Section B	To be completed by SCDMV employees - issued by, and an office number and code.

What gets this one rejected

•Bought by the seller. The conditions say individual sellers cannot purchase traceable temporary plates and individual buyers must purchase plates.
•No bill of sale or assignment attached. The note above Section A requires a copy of one for a newly purchased vehicle.
•Used before the sale completes. Two of the printed conditions say it: the plate cannot be used to operate a vehicle until it is sold, and it may not be placed upon the vehicle until the sale is complete.
•Dated to run past forty-five days from purchase. The expiry is fixed by the purchase date, not by the date the plate is issued.
•No insurance company named. Liability cover at the state minimum is one of the five printed conditions.
•Bought expecting a refund if the deal falls through. The certification says no refunds are given for plates once purchased.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•It is the buyer's errand, not yours. A dealer issues these at the point of sale. A private seller cannot, which is why the buyer needs to plan the journey home before turning up with cash.
•Forty-five days matches the registration deadline. The temporary plate runs for the same forty-five days the buyer has to register the vehicle, so it expires the day the penalty scale starts.

Every line here was read off 45-A (11/2024) itself — the PDF is here — and off the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all South Carolina seller paperwork, or what selling a car in South Carolina involves.

How to fill out South Carolina 45-A

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Original or replacement

Section A, the purchaser

The vehicle

Insurance company and date of sale

Bring the bill of sale

Sign the certification

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

Want the paperwork handled instead?

Or send the details — we'll come to you