South Carolina registration

Mayor West

Goblin Guru
Yeah, I see that now... BUT the serial number paperwork (SCDMV 401-A) says that if the car has a number attached to it, that's ok. The lady at the desk said that's not a VIN, like you said...

OOPS.

I'm mailing in all my stuff and I'll have to redo my paperwork with the new VIN should they be nice enough to grant me the goods.

Edited to remove this information, as the DMV called and said the Form-401A was not necessary to receive a title.
 
Last edited:

Kenny123

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I see that now... BUT the serial number paperwork (SCDMV 401-A) says that if the car has a number attached to it, that's ok. The lady at the desk said that's not a VIN, like you said...

OOPS.

I'm mailing in all my stuff and I'll have to redo my paperwork with the new VIN should they be nice enough to grant me the goods.
I really expected SC to just say "yah I'm sure its good enough"
 

Mayor West

Goblin Guru
OKAY, so the main DMV office just called me and said the local DMV office was incorrect, I do not need a Form 401-A to request a serial number because (as I expected) the car has a serial number from DF. She told me to mail her the MCO, Form-400, and $15 for a new title and she'd handle it. She already had my receipts from my previous mail to them, so that's that.

Should have a title in a few days :D After that I can register it.
 

Mayor West

Goblin Guru
Yes, according to the lady at the main office I do not need to request a new VIN to place on the car in addition to the DFGB#### serial.

To Title
  • Form-400
  • MCO from DF
  • 15$ for new title
  • Receipts for the kit (Some form of receipt, IE DF's invoice(s) and receipts from donor purchase are all I provided)
  • Picture of the DF Serial# & of the kit itself (May not be necessary?)
  • Mailed to SC main office in Blythewood, SC
    • This is required as the kit has an MCO and you need a title to register it.
    • Do not go to the DMV office before you receive an SC title.
To Register:
  • Paid property tax receipt
  • Title
  • 40$ for registration/tag
Your mileage may vary, but:
  • I did not need the title from the donor.
  • I did not need a safety inspection, only pictures confirming it had a serial# attached to it
  • I did need receipts from what I bought, but I only supplied the DF Kit receipt & the auction receipt showing the VIN and what I paid for it - not 100% sure that was needed. I did not have to prove value or worth, so I did not include receipts for performance parts, repairs, labor, etc.
This puts my beliefs back in state that SC will register just about anything hassle-free, you just gotta figure out the right person to send your info to because local DMV office people are basically troglodytes.
 
Last edited:

Corgithulhu

Well-Known Member
Hey @Mayor West I have read through your registration process a couple times since I'm also going to register in SC, and a technicality question came up. At any point, did it seem like you needed the pictures to indicate the car was fully built and road legal? If they're more concerned with pictures of where the serial is located, do you think it may be possible for me to get a head start on registering before it's built? That way the time spent processing at the DMV can be concurrent with the build itself? I don't have the kit itself yet, but the idea popped into my mind.
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
The biggest reason to not attempt early registration is that if you were to get it wrong, you can get late registration fees 45 days after the date on the MCO (the reason the kit doesn't come with the MCO to begin with). Not to characterize Mr. Mayor's words but he and I and everyone else I've talked to are convinced he slipped through the cracks without the SC Form 4038. That's the one a DMV agent has to sign, but they're only checking that the serial number on the MCO matches the tag on the chassis and your paperwork. I will give you his number (privately) if and when you want it. They may be able to confirm they won't sign off if the car isn't built. They also recommended I send in pictures of my car completed with all of my paperwork, so that would be discouraging unless you wanted to make an attempt anyway.

My summary from May 7:
  1. Get insurance
  2. Pay property taxes on MCO/invoice
  3. Get DMV agent signature on Form 4038
  4. Complete Form 400
  5. Complete MV96 (if you want a personalized plate)
  6. Send in the forms, checks, MCO, invoice, pictures of the car, and copies of insurance and paid property tax receipt
Full disclaimer though, they haven't cashed my checks yet or called me or anything like that.
 

Corgithulhu

Well-Known Member
Ah makes sense, I do recall you mentioning the 4038. So if everyone else had to do that 4038 form, it's likely I will too, and they won't sign off on a pile of parts and my thumbs up that I'll do a great job building it.

Having a DMV agent to talk to directly that is familiar with this sort of thing would be a big help. Once it gets time for me to register, I'll shoot you a DM for that. I didn't recall you mentioning pictures of your completed car being sent in, but it makes sense. Oh well, I thought I could be slick and get a head start.
 

Kenny123

Well-Known Member
The biggest reason to not attempt early registration is that if you were to get it wrong, you can get late registration fees 45 days after the date on the MCO (the reason the kit doesn't come with the MCO to begin with). Not to characterize Mr. Mayor's words but he and I and everyone else I've talked to are convinced he slipped through the cracks without the SC Form 4038. That's the one a DMV agent has to sign, but they're only checking that the serial number on the MCO matches the tag on the chassis and your paperwork. I will give you his number (privately) if and when you want it. They may be able to confirm they won't sign off if the car isn't built. They also recommended I send in pictures of my car completed with all of my paperwork, so that would be discouraging unless you wanted to make an attempt anyway.

My summary from May 7:
  1. Get insurance
  2. Pay property taxes on MCO/invoice
  3. Get DMV agent signature on Form 4038
  4. Complete Form 400
  5. Complete MV96 (if you want a personalized plate)
  6. Send in the forms, checks, MCO, invoice, pictures of the car, and copies of insurance and paid property tax receipt
Full disclaimer though, they haven't cashed my checks yet or called me or anything like that.
Dude I did mine with Mayor West and still haven't gotten anywhere. It's a waiting game for sure. I have called and they confirmed they recieved it all but haven't processed it.
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
@Kenny123 did you emulate his process exactly? From what I was told, it's technically possible to get your title with just the Form 400 and without the Form 4038 but it would require someone intentionally or inadvertently allowing your DFGB#### to be entered as the VIN on the title, which the system shouldn't allow without a completed Form 4038.

The DMV agent that signed my 4038 stressed this (kit car VIN inspection) is very low on his priority list; his primary job is working with dealerships, and he does these as a favor to the local DMV offices and because he's the only DMV agent around who works mobile. He only had recommendations to offer me on registration and made even more disclaimers than the agents at the actual DMV office did.
 

Kenny123

Well-Known Member
I had a local Charleston Police officer come by my house and sign off on it which is another route you can take. He was super cool. But yes I did the exact same thing as Daniel and even did the attention to the same lady with a note saying I was Mayor west's baby mamma. No luck.
 

Mayor West

Goblin Guru
I don’t think I ended up having to submit it but honestly after talking to you and Kenny I’m pretty sure I got someone on a good day cause it took me 2 weeks and was way too easy.
I may edit my original post to state this.
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
Unfortunately I believe any such person would reside in the Blythewood area, both the Greer and Greenville DMVs quickly came to the conclusion they couldn't do all my paperwork in their office. I tried, despite the only clear instruction from Mayor West being to not go to your local DMV :rolleyes:
 

Kenny123

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately I believe any such person would reside in the Blythewood area, both the Greer and Greenville DMVs quickly came to the conclusion they couldn't do all my paperwork in their office. I tried, despite the only clear instruction from Mayor West being to not go to your local DMV :rolleyes:
Are you done with your kit?
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
Pretty much, I have a 3rd brake light I need to mount but besides that and the license plate I would've driven it to work today.
 

Rauq

Goblin Guru
Looking back I'm not sure doing the title and license plate together via mail is required, but I'm not sure where the line would be drawn if you just wanted to get your title from headquarters and then get your plate from your local DMV. Probably only makes sense if you don't want a personalized plate, or you do *and* you also want to get a temp tag in the meantime. But here's everything I mailed in to the Blythewood SC DMV office to get my SC plate:
  • Form 400, title registration
  • Form 4038, affidavit of a specially constructed vehicle, with DMV agent signature
  • MV96, personalized plate application (optional)
  • $15 check for title fee + $500 check for IMF fee (or 5% of vehicle value, whichever is less)
  • $70 check for tag ($40, + $30 for the personalized plate)
  • MCO
  • Printed invoice from DF (important that the invoice number matches what's on the MCO)
  • Paid property tax receipt
  • Proof of insurance
  • Pictures of the car including a close-up of the serial number tag riveted to the frame, and a zoomed-out view highlighting where the serial number tag is located
Besides my goof in forgetting a check for the $500 IMF, it took about 6 weeks to get a plate in my hands.
 

Mayor West

Goblin Guru
@Kenny123 do you have your plates yet?

I think it's safe to say, SC is questionable in terms of how you get your plates - but AFAIK you definitely can get it without too much hassle.

I like italics.
 
Top