State service guide

South Carolina driving records: free points summaries, $10 three-year or ten-year records, and automatic certification watermarking

South Carolina does not present driving records as a menu of certified and non-certified price tiers. The current SCDMV driving-record page splits the service more simply: a free online points summary if you only need the current point total, and a $10 full driving record if you need the actual report. For your own record, SCDMV says you may buy a three-year or ten-year driving record online at any time. The same page also says the revised certified watermark is now added automatically to all motor vehicle records, with no extra steps required to print an MVR. For another driver's full report, South Carolina keeps the request behind the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act and requires either the driver's consent or another specific authorized reason.

Open official source View South Carolina services
Free self-check SCDMV offers a free online summary of your driving-record points
Record lengths You may buy your own three-year or ten-year South Carolina driving record online
Fee The full South Carolina driving record costs $10
Certification update SCDMV says all MVRs now receive the revised certified watermark automatically

Overview

What this page helps you verify

A useful South Carolina driving-records page should start by separating the free points tool from the paid record request. SCDMV's current public guidance does not frame the service as a separate certified-copy product with different prices. It frames it as a free points summary plus a paid three-year or ten-year driving record, with the certification watermark now built into all printed records. The other major state-specific detail is privacy: another person's full report is not an ordinary public lookup and requires consent or another Driver's Privacy Protection Act basis.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-18. This page was manually upgraded against service-specific official sources, but requirements can still change quickly.

Usually needed

Documents and information to prepare

  • Your South Carolina license information and online-access details if you are pulling your own free points summary or buying your own driving record online
  • A completed Request for Driver Information form MV-70 if you are requesting a copy by mail
  • A $10 payment made out to the SCDMV if you are mailing MV-70, with the agency warning not to mail cash
  • As much identifying information as possible on MV-70 so SCDMV can locate the correct driver record
  • If the record belongs to someone else, the driver's consent or the specific Driver's Privacy Protection Act reason that authorizes release of the full report

Typical flow

What the process often looks like

  1. Decide first whether you only need the current point total or whether you need the full driving record, because South Carolina gives those tools different treatment.
  2. Use the free online points summary if you only need to see how many points are on your South Carolina record.
  3. If you need the actual record, buy your own three-year or ten-year driving record online or submit MV-70 by mail with the $10 payment.
  4. If you want another driver's full report, confirm the consent or DPPA basis before submitting the request, because SCDMV does not treat that as a routine self-service order.

Start with the right tool

South Carolina splits a free points summary from the paid full driving record

This is the first correction a reviewed page should make.

  • SCDMV says you may get a summary of your driving-record points for free online.
  • That points summary only tells you how many points are on the record, not the full conviction and status history.
  • If you need the actual report, SCDMV says you may buy your own three-year or ten-year driving record online at any time.

Fees and certification

South Carolina's current record pricing is flatter than the benchmark suggests, and certification is now built into the record

The official page is much simpler here than many third-party summaries.

  • SCDMV says the full report costs $10.
  • The same official page says that as of April 12, 2023, motor vehicle records have an updated look and are no longer printed with the old Great Seal watermark.
  • Instead, the revised watermark includes a certified statement that currently bears the agency Executive Director's signature.
  • SCDMV says the revised watermark is automatically added to all MVRs, with no extra steps required to print an MVR.

Mail requests

South Carolina still gives a straightforward paper path through MV-70

This is the stable offline lane users should follow when online access is not the right fit.

  • SCDMV says you may request a copy by mail by completing Request for Driver Information form MV-70.
  • The agency tells users to provide as much information as possible on the form and mail it to the address printed on the form.
  • SCDMV also says to include a $10 payment made out to the SCDMV and specifically warns not to mail cash.

Privacy and other people's records

Another person's South Carolina record is a consent-or-DPPA request, not an open lookup

This is where the state-specific privacy rule matters most.

  • SCDMV says that to get the full report of another driver, you must have the driver's consent or a specific reason allowed under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.
  • The public page lists examples such as government agencies, businesses verifying information, court proceedings, investigations, insurance companies, and commercial-driver uses.
  • The MV-70 form itself also warns that South Carolina and federal law limit when motor-vehicle and driver's-license records may be disclosed.
  • That means another person's record should be framed as a controlled disclosure request rather than as a standard consumer MVR purchase.

Accuracy notes

Where people get tripped up

  • A South Carolina driving-records page should not import the benchmark's separate certified versus non-certified price ladder or its DLR-2 form references without current official support.
  • The clean official split is free points summary versus paid full record, with the full record available in three-year or ten-year versions for the same current $10 fee described on SCDMV's public page.
  • SCDMV's current record page also changes the certification story materially: the agency says the certified watermark is now added automatically to all MVRs, so certification should not be described as a separate extra-step lane unless a newer official page says otherwise.
  • Another person's South Carolina record should stay anchored to consent or DPPA-permissible-use language because the official public page treats that as the threshold rule.

FAQ

Common questions

  • Can I check my South Carolina point total for free?

    Yes. SCDMV says you may get a summary of your driving-record points for free online.

  • What kinds of South Carolina driving records can I buy for myself?

    SCDMV says you may buy your own three-year or ten-year driving record online at any time.

  • How much does a South Carolina driving record cost?

    SCDMV's current driving-record page says the full report costs $10.

  • Do I need a separate certified-copy request for a South Carolina driving record?

    Not under the current public process described by SCDMV. The agency says the revised certified watermark is automatically added to all MVRs and no extra steps are required to print one.

  • Can I request another person's South Carolina driving record?

    Sometimes, but only with the driver's consent or another specific reason allowed under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.

Sources

Official references used for this page

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