South Carolina § 56-1-1720 Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.

South Carolina Statutes

§ 56-1-1720 — Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.

South Carolina § 56-1-1720

Title 56MOTOR VEHICLES

Ch. 1DRIVER'S LICENSE

This text of South Carolina § 56-1-1720 (Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-1720 (2026).

Text

(A)To operate a moped on public highways, a person must possess a valid driver's license issued under Article 1 of this chapter or a valid moped operator's license issued under this article. The department may issue a moped operator's license to a person who is fifteen years of age or older.

(B)A person younger than sixteen years of age with a moped operator's license may operate a moped:

(1)alone during daylight hours only; and (2) during nighttime hours when accompanied by a licensed driver twenty-one years of age or older who has had at least one year of driving experience. The accompanying driver must be a passenger or within a safe viewing distance of the operator when the operator is operating a moped.

(C)A person sixteen years of age or older with a moped license may drive a mop

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(A) To operate a moped on public highways, a person must possess a valid driver's license issued under Article 1 of this chapter or a valid moped operator's license issued under this article. The department may issue a moped operator's license to a person who is fifteen years of age or older. (B) A person younger than sixteen years of age with a moped operator's license may operate a moped: (1) alone during daylight hours only; and (2) during nighttime hours when accompanied by a licensed driver twenty-one years of age or older who has had at least one year of driving experience. The accompanying driver must be a passenger or within a safe viewing distance of the operator when the operator is operating a moped. (C) A person sixteen years of age or older with a moped license may drive a moped alone any time. (D) A person who operates a moped in violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction of a first offense, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars and, upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 528, SECTION 1; 2017 Act No. 89 (H.3247), SECTION 7, eff November 19, 2018. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 89, SECTION 7, amended the section, revising the form of licensure a person must possess to operate a moped, and deleting the provision that prohibits the Department from issuing a beginner's permit or a special restricted license to certain persons convicted of a moped violation for a certain period of time.