S.C. Code Ann. § 56-10-240 – Requirement that upon loss of insurance, insured obtain new insurance or surrender registration and plates; written notice by insurer; suspension of registration and plates; appeal of suspension; enforcement; penalties

(A) If, during the period for which it is licensed, a motor vehicle is or becomes an uninsured motor vehicle, then the vehicle owner immediately shall obtain insurance on the vehicle or within five days after the effective date of cancellation or expiration of his liability insurance policy surrender the motor vehicle license plates and registration certificates issued for the motor vehicle. If five working days after the last day to pay an automobile liability insurance premium, whether it is the premium due date or a grace period that is granted customarily or contractually a motor vehicle is an uninsured motor vehicle, the insurer shall give written notice, or notice by magnetic or electronic media in a manner considered satisfactory to the department, within ten days after the five-day period ends, in addition to that notice previously given in accordance with law, by delivery under United States Post Office bulk certified mail, return receipt requested, to the department of the cancellation or refusal to renew under the following circumstances:
1. (1) the lapse or termination of such insurance or security occurs within three months of issuance, provided that this subsection only applies to new policies, and not renewal or replacement policies; or
2. (2) the lapse or termination occurs after three months for a resident who fails one or more of the objective standards prescribed in Section 38-73-455.
(B) The department, in its discretion, may authorize insurers to utilize alternative methods of providing notice of cancellation of or refusal to renew to the department. The department may not reissue registration certificates and license plates for that vehicle until satisfactory evidence has been filed by the owner or by the insurer who gave the cancellation or refusal to renew notice to the department that the vehicle is insured. Upon receiving information to the effect that a policy is canceled or otherwise terminated on a motor vehicle registered in South Carolina, the department shall suspend the license plates and registration certificate and shall initiate action as required within fifteen days of the notice of cancellation to pick up the license plates and registration certificate. A person who has had his license plates and registration certificate suspended by the department, but who at the time of suspension possesses liability insurance coverage sufficient to meet the financial responsibility requirements as set forth in this chapter, has the right to appeal the suspension immediately to the Director of the Department of Insurance. If the Director of the Department of Insurance determines that the person has sufficient liability insurance coverage, he shall notify the department, and the suspension is voided immediately. The department shall give notice by first class mail of the cancellation or suspension of registration privileges to the vehicle owner at his last known address. However, when license plates are surrendered pursuant to this section, they must be forwarded to the Department of Revenue office in the county where the person who surrenders the plates resides.
(C) If the vehicle owner unlawfully refuses to surrender the suspended items as required in this article, the department through its designated agents or by request to a county or municipal law enforcement agency may take possession of the suspended license plates and registration certificate and may not reissue the registration until proper proof of liability insurance coverage is provided and until the owner has paid a reinstatement fee of two hundred dollars. A person who voluntarily surrenders his license plates and registration certificate before their suspension shall only be charged a reinstatement fee of five dollars.
(D) A person wilfully failing to return his motor vehicle license plates and registration certificates as required in this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished as follows:
1. (1) for a first offense, fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for thirty days;
2. (2) for a second offense, fined two hundred dollars or imprisoned for thirty days, or both;
3. (3) for a third and subsequent offense, imprisoned for not less than forty-five days nor more than six months.
(E) Only convictions which occurred within ten years including and immediately preceding the date of the last conviction constitute prior convictions within the meaning of this section.