Terms Used In South Carolina Code 56-1-146

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • identifying code: means a symbol, number, or letter of the alphabet developed by the department to identify a person convicted of or pleading guilty or nolo contendere to a crime of violence as defined in § 16-23-10(3) on or after July 1, 2011. See South Carolina Code 56-1-148
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
When a person is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a crime of violence as defined in § 16-23-10(3) on or after July 1, 2011, in this State, the clerk of court must notify by mail, electronic mail, or facsimile the Department of Motor Vehicles within thirty days of the conviction of guilt or nolo contendere plea. The Department of Motor Vehicles must then notify the person who was convicted of the crime of violence as defined in § 16-23-10(3) that he must surrender his driver’s license or special identification card to the Department of Motor Vehicles by mail or in person, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue to the person by mail or in person a driver’s license or special identification card with the identifying code as referenced in § 56-1-148. If the person convicted of a crime of violence as defined in § 16-23-10(3) fails to surrender his driver’s license or special identification card to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the driver’s license or special identification card is considered canceled.