3704 Central Ave. Suite 1,
Charlotte
704-392-3266

8446 N. Tryon St.,
Charlotte
704-547-5786

201-A W. Arrowood Road,
Charlotte 704-527-2562

6016 Brookshire Blvd.,
Charlotte
704-392-3266

2192 Kannapolis Hwy.,
Concord
704-782-7214

905 Carolina Ave. North,
Statesville
704-878-4220

533 Patterson Ave. Suite 100,
Mooresville
704-664-3344

3122 U.S. 74 West,
Monroe
704-283-4264

2560 W. Franklin Ave.,
Gastonia
704-853-5372

785 W. Charlotte Ave.
Unit 2 Mount Holly
704-827-9486

South Carolina
Newcomers who plan to operate motor vehicles must obtain an S.C. driver’s license within 90 days of becoming a permanent resident. Most newcomers, unless they drive commercial vehicles, will need a class D license, which allows the operation of passenger cars and small trucks.

If you hold a commercial license, you must obtain an S.C. commercial license within 30 days. If you operate a motorcycle, you’ll also need a motorcycle endorsement. Additionally, newcomers who operate motorcycles or mopeds exclusively may obtain licenses covering only those vehicles. A conditional license allows residents 15 years old to drive alone during daylight hours or at night under adult supervision until they reach the age of 16.

For more information, call the Motor Vehicle Services Division of the state Department of Public Safety’s toll-free line, 800-442-1368, or check the Web site at www.scdps.org.

Driver’s License Offices
305 Hands Mill Road
Rock Hill
803-329-6332

1070 Heckle Blvd. Suite 100
Rock Hill
803-909-7161

Motor Vehicle Registration
North Carolina
You must register your vehicle before the reciprocity agreement between North Carolina and your former state expires (usually 30 days). Registration is renewed annually.

To register your vehicle, apply in person at a license plate agency and present your title (unless title is held by a lienholder) and a valid registration card from your former state. If your title is held by a lienholder, you must provide the lienholder’s name and address on a state form for title release. You also must present proof of vehicle liability insurance at or above minimum standards (see driver’s license information for the list of acceptable documents).

Fees due when you receive N.C. registration include title fee, $40; registration fee, $15; and highway use tax, which is 3 percent of the value of your vehicle. DMV registration offices accept checks.

You also must get a vehicle safety inspection within 10 days of receiving your N.C. license plate. This costs $9.10 and can be done at any state-authorized inspection station. Inspection is required annually. Some counties also require an emissions inspection, which is conducted at the same time as the safety inspection.

Although the state does not levy sales tax on motor vehicles, N.C. counties assess property taxes annually. Your car will be registered when you receive your license plate, and you’ll receive a bill in about three months.

Motor Vehicle Registration Offices
6016 Brookshire Blvd.
Charlotte
704-399-8306

6058 E. Independence Blvd.
Charlotte
704-535-2525

4200-H South Blvd.
Charlotte
704-525-3832

759 Church St. N.
Concord
704-788-1404

4612 Hwy. 49 S.
Harrisburg
704-455-9517

121 W. Water St.
Statesville
704-873-3185

1509 Dale Earnhardt Blvd.
Kannapolis
704-932-3146

125-3 N. Main St.
Mooresville
704-663-5472

622-E W. Roosevelt Blvd.
Monroe
704-283-4113

401 Cox Road
Gastonia
704-864-4856

South Carolina
You can register your motor vehicles at any of the driver’s license offices listed in the Driver’s License section.

You must register your car or truck within 45 days of moving to South Carolina. To obtain a license plate, you will need your vehicle’s title or current registration and proof that you have liability insurance. Additionally, you will have to pay the property taxes on your vehicle and furnish the registration office with a receipt issued by the tax office in the county where you live. After this initial registration, the county auditor will mail you a tax notice each year about a month before your registration expires.

The registration fee is $24 ($20 if you are 65 or older or if you are disabled). The fee covers two years, but validation stickers for your license plate must be obtained each year.

South Carolina has no mandatory annual vehicle safety inspection law. However, the state still has minimum standards for safety-related equipment, such as tires, lights and glazing, and these standards are enforced by state troopers.

Rules of the Road
North Carolina
• Speed limits range from 55 mph to 70 mph on interstates and from 55 mph to 65 mph on open
highways; the limit is 35 mph inside municipal corporate limits unless otherwise posted.
• Motorcyclists must wear helmets and drive with lights on at all times.

• Seat belt use is mandatory for driver and front-seat passengers. Approved child-restraint systems are required for children 8 years and younger or under 80 lbs; all children 16 and younger must be buckled up no matter where they sit in the vehicle.

• Right turn on red is permitted after complete stop unless otherwise posted. Left turn on red is not permitted.

• Drunken-driving rules are strict. A motorist is guilty of driving while impaired (DWI) if his blood alcohol level meets or exceeds 0.08 percent or if he is under the influence of or affected by alcohol and/or other drugs. Penalties can include fines, imprisonment and license revocation. The best rule: Don’t drink and drive.

South Carolina
• Speed limits are 55 mph on interstate highways, though many stretches of interstate in South Carolina are posted at 65 mph or 60 mph. The maximum speed limit on other rural highways is 55 mph, and the highest unposted limit in urban areas is 30 mph. However, many streets and highways in urban areas are posted for both higher and lower speeds. Always check speed limit signs when you drive.

• All front-seat passengers must wear seat belts. In the rear seat, passengers up to 4 years old must be restrained by a lap belt or approved safety seat. An approved safety seat is required for children under
1 year of age regardless of the child’s position in the vehicle and for children between 1 and 5 who are riding in the front seat.

• Motorcyclists and motorcycle passengers under 21 must wear approved safety helmets and either goggles or face shields attached to their helmets. Motorcyclists must burn their headlights at all times when on public streets or highways. Motorcycles with 5 horsepower or less are not allowed on interstate highways.

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs can result in prison time, heavy fines, suspended driver’s licenses and much higher insurance rates. South Carolina has an implied consent law, meaning that by driving on public streets and highways, you give your permission for law enforcement officers to administer tests for intoxication. You will be considered intoxicated if your blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent or higher. If you drink, don’t drive.

Property Taxes
North Carolina
Rates for fiscal 2006-07 (end June 30, 2007). All rates per $100 assessed valuation.

Mecklenburg County v$0.8189
Cabarrus County - $0.6289
Cleveland County - $0.73
Gaston County - $0.88
Iredell County - $0.465
Lincoln County - $0.61
Rowan County - $0.63
Union County - $0.6367
Belmont - $0.495
Bessemer City - $0.41
Charlotte - $0.4586
Cherryville - $0.44
Concord - $0.4475
Cornelius - $0.275
Cramerton - $0.425
Dallas - $0.38
Davidson - $0.345
Gastonia - $0.54
Harrisburg - $0.135
Hemby Bridge - $0.03
High Shoals - $0.43
Huntersville - $0.29
Indian Trail - $0.10
Kannapolis - $.497
Kings Mountain - $0.40
Lake Park - $0.23
Lincolnton  - $0.56
Lowell - $0.40
Marvin - $0.05
Matthews - $0.3075
McAdenville - $0.30
Mineral Springs - $0.027
Mint Hill - $0.275
Monroe - $0.53
Mooresville - $0.55
Mount Holly - $0.54
Mount Pleasant - $0.44
Pineville - $0.30
Ranlo - $0.37
Salisbury - $0.625
Shelby - $0.42
Spencer Mountain - $0.26
Stallings - $0.25
Stanley - $0.54
Statesville - $0.38
Troutman - $0.43
Unionville - $0.02
Waxhaw - $0.34
Weddington - $0.03
Wesley Chapel - $0.02
 
South Carolina
Millage rates for fiscal year 2005; 2006 rates unavailable at time of publication.
Rates include city and county levy.

Clover - 366.8
Fort Mill - 363.3
Rock Hill - 373.1
Tega Cay - 379.3
York - 383.7

Rates are established in May or June of each year in conjunction with annual budget preparation. Depending on where you live, you may owe taxes to a combination of governments – for example, both Mecklenburg County and the city where you live. The list above doesn’t include some extra taxes and fees you may have to pay, such as fire districts, special development districts and solid-waste fees. So your total tax rate may be higher than the figures listed above.

Local property taxes are assessed annually on real property, including homes, cars and boats. Bills for homes, land and the like are mailed in September and payable without penalty by the date specified in early January. Cars are handled differently. The state generates a list of motorists who receive motor vehicle licenses and forwards that information to the county, which generates property tax bills on the vehicles a few weeks later.

For further tax information, call the tax office in your county:

Mecklenburg - 704-336-4600

Cabarrus - 704-920-2166

Cleveland - 704-484-4911

Gaston - 704-866-3158

Iredell - 704-878-3000

Lincoln - 704-736-8670

Rowan - 704-633-3871

Union - 704-283-3746

York - 803-684-8526

Voter Registration
To be eligible to vote in either North Carolina or South Carolina, you must be 18 or older, a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the state and county where you register, and a resident of your precinct for at least 30 days prior to the election you wish to vote in.

To register to vote, pick up a registration form from the offices listed below, fill it out completely and mail it to the address on the form.

The Web site for the N.C. Board of Elections is www.sboe.state.nc.us. In York County, S.C., you can obtain a form online at www.yorkcountygov.com or at www.state.sc.us/scsec.

North Carolina
Mecklenburg County Board of Elections
741 Kenilworth Ave. Suite 202, Charlotte
704-336-2133

Cabarrus County Board of Elections
53 Corban Ave. SE, Concord
704-920-2860

Iredell County Elections Office
233 Stockton St. B-1, Statesville
704-878-3140

Union County Board of Elections
316-B East Windsor St., Monroe
704-283-3809

Gaston County Board of Elections
810 W. Mauney Ave., Gastonia
704-864-4852

Cleveland County Board of Elections
215 Patton Dr., Shelby
704-484-4858

Lincoln County Board of Elections,
115 W. Main St., Lincolnton
704-736-8480

Rowan County Board of Elections
130 W. Innes St., Salisbury
704-216-8140

All DMV offices, libraries and high schools.

South Carolina
York County Board of Elections
E.C. Black Building,
13 S. Congress St., York
803-684-1242.

Lancaster County Board of Elections
101 N. Main St., Lancaster
803-285-2969

Many public libraries, post offices, government social service offices and all driver’s license bureaus.
Online at www.yorkcountygov.com.

Area Code Overlay
Due to incredible growth in the number of telephone lines, the Charlotte area has been assigned a second area code, 980. The area code overlays, or exactly matches, the existing 704 area code. The two area codes mean that you must dial the entire 10-digit number – that is, area code 704 or 980, plus the seven-digit phone number – in order to reach a Charlotte-area number.

Government Information
Cabarrus County
704-920-2000
www.co.cabarrus.nc.us

Concord
704-920-5555
www.ci.concord.nc.us

Harrisburg
704-455-5614
www.harrisburgnc.org

Cleveland County
704-484-4900
www.clevelandcounty.com

Shelby
704-484-6801
www.cityofshelby.com

Gaston County
704-866-3100
www.co.gaston.nc.us

Belmont
704-825-5586
www.ci.belmont.nc.us

Bessemer City
704-629-5542
www.bessemercity.com

Cherryville
704- 435-1700
www.cherryville.com

Cramerton
704-824-4337
www.cramerton.org

Dallas
704-922-3176

Gastonia
704-866-6719
www.cityofgastonia.com

High Shoals
704-735-1651

Kings Mountain
704-734-0333
www.cityofkm.net

Lowell
704-824-3518

McAdenville
704-824-3190

Mount Holly
704-827-3931
www.ci.mount-holly.nc.us

Ranlo
704-824-3461

Spencer Mountain
704-824-3551

Stanley
704-263-4779
www.townofstanley.org

Iredell County
704-878-3000
www.co.iredell.nc.us

Mooresville
704-663-3800
www.ci.mooresville.nc.us

Statesville
704-878-3583
www.ci.statesville.nc.us

Lancaster County
803-285-1565
www.lancastercitysc.com

Kershaw
803-475-6065

Lancaster
803-286-8414

Lincoln County
704-736-8432
www.co.lincoln.nc.us

Lincolnton
704-736-8980
www.ci.lincolnton.nc.us

Charlotte-Mecklenburg
704-336-7600
www.charmeck.org

Cornelius
704-892-6031
www.cornelius.org

Davidson
704-892-7591
www.ci.davidson.nc.us

Huntersville
704-875-6541
www.huntersville.org

Matthews
704-847-4411
www.matthewsnc.com

Mint Hill
704-545-9726
www.minthill.com

Pineville
704-889-2291
www.pinevillenc.net

Rowan County
704-216-8100
www.co.rowan.nc.us

Salisbury
704-638-5270
www.salisburync.gov

Spencer
704-633-2231
www.ci.spencer.nc.us

Union County
704-283-3810
www.co.union.nc.us

Indian Trail
704-821-8114
www.indiantrail.org

Lake Park
704-882-8657
www.lakeparknc.com

Marvin
704-843-1680
www.marvinnc.org

Monroe
704-282-4500
www.monroenc.org

Stallings
704-821-8557
www.stallingsnc.org

Waxhaw
704-843-2195
www.waxhaw.com

Weddington
704-846-2709
www.townofweddington.org

York County
803-684-8599
www.yorkcountygov.com

Rock Hill
803-329-7000
www.cityofrockhill.com

Fort Mill
803-547-2116
www.fortmillsc.org

Tega Cay
803-548-3512
www.tegacaysc.org

Clover
803-222-9495
www.cloversc.info

York
803-684-2341
www.yorkcitysc.com