The SC State plate is the South Carolina State University design, listed by SCDMV as class CUD1 at seventy dollars every two years on top of the standard registration charge. Forty dollars of that special fee is forwarded to the university for academic scholarships, while the remaining thirty dollars goes to the state highway fund.
The name causes confusion, because SC State can sound like a reference to the state’s own standard tag. It is not. This page describes what the CUD1 plate is, how it differs from the Palmetto design and from the other USC plates, what the fee includes, and how the plate is kept valid through renewal, repair, transfer and the day the owner decides to give it up.
What the SC State Plate Is
The plate carries the name of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, one of the state’s public institutions and a separate school from the University of South Carolina system. SCDMV’s catalogue calls the design SC State University and files it with the other collegiate plates rather than with the standard issues.
Plate Class CUD1
SCDMV assigns the design to plate class CUD1, and that code is what appears on the registration record. The class decides the special fee, the vehicle types allowed and the renewal pattern, all of which follow the collegiate rules rather than the rules for organizational plates. A clerk searching for SC State will find the class before the school name, so quoting CUD1 on an application removes any doubt about which product is meant.
Not the Standard Palmetto Plate
The state’s standard passenger plate is issued to every registered car and carries no special fee beyond registration. The SC State design is an optional replacement for that plate, ordered and paid for separately. A driver who asks for the state plate at a counter may be handed the standard tag by mistake, which is why the word university belongs in the request. The two products share a size and a mounting position and nothing else.
Not USC or USC Upstate
The University of South Carolina in Columbia holds class CUU1, and USC Upstate holds a class of its own, each with a separate scholarship account. South Carolina State University is a third institution with a third account. Money paid for one design does not reach another, and an exchange between them is a new order rather than a correction. The school name has to be written in full on the form for that reason.
The Name on the Form
Form MV-95 has a school field for collegiate requests, and the entry there decides where the order goes. Writing SC State is usually understood, but South Carolina State University is unambiguous and matches the catalogue. A driver ordering online should read the confirmation before paying, because the product name shown there is the last chance to catch a wrong selection. The receipt repeats the class, which is worth checking against CUD1.
Fee and What It Supports
The amount on the receipt combines two separate charges: the state registration for the vehicle and the special plate fee for the design. Only the second belongs to the university programme, and only part of it reaches the school. The table separates the lines so the total is not mistaken for a single charge.
| Line | Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Special plate fee, class CUD1 | $70 | Charged every two years, not once |
| Scholarship share to the university | $40 | Restricted to academic scholarships |
| State highway fund share | $30 | Paid to the road fund, not the school |
| Passenger car registration | $40 | Two years, separate from the special fee |
| Typical first-issue total, car | $110 | Special fee plus registration |
| Personalization surcharge | $30 | Added when text is requested |
| Replacement plate | $6 | State charge for a duplicate or exchange |
The Seventy Dollar Fee
Seventy dollars is the special plate fee, and it is charged for each two-year registration period rather than as a one-time purchase. That is the figure SCDMV lists for the design in its catalogue and in the specialty application. The fee is non-refundable once the order is processed, so a driver who changes his mind after the plate is produced does not recover it. The amount applies to the design regardless of which qualifying vehicle carries it.
The Forty Dollar Share
State law sends forty dollars of each collegiate plate fee to the school for academic scholarships, and the university administers the resulting fund. South Carolina State University receives that share for every CUD1 plate sold, which is why the design functions as a small ongoing donation as well as a tag. The university, not SCDMV, decides how awards are made from the fund. A donor who wants a record of the contribution should ask the school rather than the branch.
Registration Alongside It
The registration charge is set by vehicle class rather than by the design. A passenger car pays the standard two-year rate, a light truck pays by gross vehicle weight, and a driver aged sixty-four or sixty-five may qualify for the reduced senior rate on the registration only. The senior discount does not touch the seventy-dollar special fee. Both amounts appear on the same receipt, and the county’s property tax obligation sits behind them.
The Personalized Listing
SCDMV’s personalized application lists South Carolina State University among the designs that accept chosen text at the seventy-dollar special rate, with the thirty-dollar personalization charge added on top. The Clemson license plate is described on its own page. Text on a specialty plate is limited to six characters including spaces, and the ampersand is permitted. The personalized request travels on Form MV-96 by mail rather than on the specialty form. A driver should confirm the current wording limit before submitting.
Eligibility and Vehicle Fit
Nothing in the SCDMV description of the CUD1 plate asks for a membership card, an alumni number or a letter from the university. The test is the vehicle and the registration record rather than the driver’s connection to the school.
No Membership Paperwork
The plate is open to any South Carolina resident who registers a qualifying vehicle, which places it with the open collegiate designs rather than with the proof-based ones. That distinction matters because a proof-based plate can be held for weeks while a document is verified, and a returned application can lose its place in the production queue. Here the form moves as soon as the record is clean and the payment clears.
Weight Limits That Decide the Answer
Specialty plates go on private passenger vehicles and light trucks with an empty weight of nine thousand pounds or less and a gross vehicle weight of eleven thousand pounds or less. A heavier truck, a commercial vehicle or a motor home falls outside the programme regardless of the owner’s preference. The weight is printed on the title and on the registration, so the answer is available before the form is completed. A dealer can confirm it on a vehicle that has not yet been titled in the state.
Motorcycles and the Shorter Limit
A motorcycle cannot carry a passenger car plate, and the collegiate designs are issued for cars and light trucks. A separate page describes the USC license plate. Motorcycle registrations follow a separate process with a six-character personalization limit and a smaller plate face. A rider who wants the university colours on a bike should ask the branch whether any motorcycle version exists rather than assume the car design can be cut down. Producing a plate in the wrong size is not something a branch can correct at the window.
Newly Bought and Newly Titled Cars
A vehicle bought within the past few weeks may still be moving through the title process, and a specialty order cannot be written against a record that is not yet complete. The title application, the registration and the specialty request are three stages that have to happen in order. A driver trading in an old car should complete the new registration first, then order the plate, so the plate number and the vehicle identification number agree on the record.
Ordering the First Plate
The order is placed on Form MV-95, which is also used for the other collegiate designs. What changes between plates is the school entry and the class, not the form itself, so a driver who has ordered a specialty plate before will recognise the layout.
At a Branch Counter
A counter visit is the most reliable route when the vehicle record has recently changed, because the clerk can correct an address or a name in the same transaction. The branch can also confirm that the design is in production and that no block sits on the registration. Payment is taken at the window and a receipt is issued. The plate itself is not printed there and arrives later by post.
Sending the Form by Mail
A mailed application goes to the Specialty Plates address in Blythewood with the form, the payment and any supporting paper. The Coastal Carolina plate is described on its own page. Collegiate orders for this design need no eligibility document, which makes the mailed route simpler than it is for a membership plate. The plate returns to the mailing address written on the form, so a driver who is moving should use an address that will still be current in a month. Keeping a copy of the packet is the only way to answer a question about what was sent.
Checking the Online Status
SCDMV’s plate gallery marks which designs can be bought through its online service, and that marking can differ from one collegiate plate to the next. A driver who prefers the online route should check the current entry for the SC State design rather than assume it matches the Clemson or USC listing. If the design is not offered online, the branch or the mail route remains open. The gallery entry also shows the current amount, which is the number to compare with the receipt.
What the Receipt Should Show
The receipt should name the design, the class, the vehicle and the amount paid, with the special fee separated from the registration. A driver who sees only a total cannot tell later whether the special fee was collected. The class is the detail worth checking, because a similar collegiate plate entered by mistake produces a correct-looking receipt for the wrong product. Any discrepancy is easier to fix before production than after the plate has been stamped.
Renewal: Keeping the Plate Valid
Registration in South Carolina runs for two years and expires at the end of the month in which it was issued, so the renewal date is personal rather than fixed to a calendar day. The special fee returns with each renewal, and the county’s tax receipt has to be in order before the renewal can be completed.
The Two-Year Registration Term
The plate is validated for the same two-year period as the registration it belongs to, and the sticker issued at renewal is the only thing that changes on the face. The design itself is not reprinted each time, so the plate number and the artwork stay with the car across cycles. A driver who pays the renewal on time keeps the same plate for as long as the registration continues.
Property Tax Before the Sticker
County property tax on the vehicle has to be paid before the registration can be renewed, and the county issues the notice that starts the process. A small unpaid balance will hold the renewal even when the driver has the registration money ready. Paying the tax as soon as the notice arrives leaves room for a mail delay. The specialty fee is collected with the renewal rather than as a separate bill.
Late Renewal and the Extra Charges
A renewal that misses the deadline adds a late charge on a sliding scale: ten dollars for the first fourteen days, twenty-five dollars up to thirty days, fifty dollars up to ninety days and seventy-five dollars beyond that. The special plate fee is not waived because the renewal is late, and the vehicle should not be driven on an expired registration while the payment is sorted out. The county can confirm the exact figure for a particular expiration.
Restoring a Lapsed Registration
A registration that has lapsed far enough may require a new insurance declaration and a fresh tax receipt before the record can be restored. The plate number usually survives the lapse, but the driver should confirm that the design is still in production before paying, because a retired design cannot be reissued. Restoration costs more than an ordinary renewal because the penalties accumulate. The branch can print the current total for the record.
Transfer, Replacement and Retirement
Three events change what happens to the plate rather than to the car: a move to another vehicle, damage or loss, and the decision to stop paying for the design. Each has its own procedure, and confusing them is how drivers end up paying the special fee twice.
Moving the Plate to Another Vehicle
The plate can follow the owner to another qualifying vehicle in the same name, and the remaining registration period moves with it. The special fee is not collected again at the transfer, because the design has already been paid for in that cycle. The new vehicle has to fall inside the weight limits, and the class has to fit the vehicle type. The branch updates the record and issues a revised registration card.
Replacement Through Form 452
A damaged, lost or stolen plate is replaced on Form 452, and the state charge for a replacement or design exchange is six dollars. A stolen plate should also be reported to police, because the number remains active on the record until the report is filed. The replacement is produced to order, so it arrives by post rather than at the counter. A plate that is merely faded usually still has to be replaced rather than repainted.
When the Plate Must Go Back
A plate has to be returned when the registration is cancelled, when the vehicle leaves the state permanently, or when the owner stops qualifying for the design. Surrendering it does not refund the special fee already paid, and the school’s share is not clawed back. Keeping an unregistered plate in a drawer is not a substitute for returning it, because the record continues to show it as issued. The branch takes the plate and updates the record in one stage.
Returning to a Standard Design
A driver who no longer wants the university plate can ask for a standard tag at renewal and stop paying the seventy-dollar fee from the next cycle. The change produces a new plate number, so parking permits, toll accounts and insurance details need updating. A switch made in the middle of a period is handled as a replacement, with the six-dollar charge applying. The registration itself carries on without a break.
Selling the Car With the Plate Still On
A plate belongs to the registration rather than to the vehicle, so a sale does not carry the design to the buyer. Leaving it on the car hands over a tag the seller still holds on paper, and the buyer may then be stopped for displaying a plate that is not registered to the vehicle. The seller should remove the plate before the handover and either transfer it to a replacement car or return it to the branch. A bill of sale that mentions the plate does not change the registration record.
Official SCDMV Sources
The class code, amounts and procedures above follow SCDMV’s plate catalogue, its specialty application and the state statute on collegiate plates. The catalogue entry is the final check on the current design, the class and the amount, since all three can be revised. Last verified: October of this year.
- SCDMV License Plateshttps://dmv.sc.gov/vehicle-owners/registration/license-plates
- SCDMV Specialty Plateshttps://dmv.sc.gov/vehicle-owners/registration/license-plates/specialty-plates
- SCDMV Feeshttps://dmv.sc.gov/fees
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions below cover the identity of the plate, its cost and the events that follow issue.
Is the SC State plate the same as the state’s standard tag?
No. The standard Palmetto plate is issued with registration and carries no extra design fee, while the SC State plate is the South Carolina State University design, class CUD1, ordered separately at seventy dollars every two years plus the normal registration charge.
Do I have to be a graduate to order it?
No. SCDMV’s entry for the design asks for no alumni number, membership card or letter. Any South Carolina resident with a qualifying passenger car or light truck can order it, provided the registration record is current and the vehicle is inside the weight limits.
How much goes to the university?
Forty dollars of each seventy-dollar special fee is forwarded to South Carolina State University for academic scholarships, and thirty dollars goes to the state highway fund. The split is set in statute and applies to every collegiate plate in the state, including this one.
Can the plate be personalized?
Yes. SCDMV’s personalized application lists South Carolina State University among the designs that accept chosen text, adding the thirty-dollar personalization charge to the special fee. Text is limited to six characters including spaces, and the request goes by mail on Form MV-96.
What happens if the plate is damaged?
It is replaced through Form 452, and the state charge for a replacement or design exchange is six dollars. A stolen plate also needs a police report so the number can be flagged. The replacement is produced to order and arrives by post.