South Carolina License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

South Carolina has no license plate reader statute that we could find. The state's main plate reader database, run by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), rests on general SLED statutes and an agency policy, and a trial court upheld that arrangement in 2025, most recently in an amended order of November 12, 2025. The ruling is on appeal.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the South Carolina entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our South Carolina surveillance camera laws guide.

Does South Carolina have a license plate reader law?

We found no South Carolina statute that regulates plate readers. We downloaded every chapter listed on the 63 official title index pages of the South Carolina Code of Laws, 1,308 chapter files, and searched them on September 30, 2026. The online Code is current through the 2025 session, so we also reviewed the list of 2026 acts, and none concerns plate readers. The phrases plate reader, plate recognition, automatic or automated license plate, and vehicle location returned no hits.

The phrase "license plate" does appear in 23 chapters, and we read the hits near camera, scan or database words. They concern registration, plate issuance, insurance suspension, a temporary-plate database in Title 56, undercover use of out-of-state plates in S.C. Code 23-1-170, metal purchase records, livestock market identification and ride-hailing driver badges. None sets rules for plate reader data.

The search does not cover agency policies, local ordinances or contracts, so it says nothing about what any agency does in practice.

What authorizes the SLED plate reader database?

General SLED statutes, according to the trial court. S.C. Code 23-3-15(A)(4) gives SLED authority over "operation and maintenance of a central, statewide criminal justice data base and data communication system," and (A)(9) covers "other activities not inconsistent with the mission of the division or otherwise proscribed by law." Section 23-3-110 separately establishes a statewide criminal information and communication system. The statute text does not mention plate readers.

Facts recited in the court order, which we read as a copy hosted by the plaintiffs' counsel, the Policing Project, include the following:

• Reads in the SLED database are stored for one year from capture.
• As of February 7, 2025, the database held 141,818,757 reads.
• More than 40 law enforcement entities contribute through about 125 plate reader systems, six of them operated by SLED.
• Credentialed users search the database for criminal investigations and public safety emergencies under SLED Policy 13.40.
• Access is limited to state and local law enforcement and certain federal entities, which the order names as including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The only private entity with access is the vendor that provides technical support.

The retention figure is the one to treat with care. The plaintiffs' appellate brief says SLED stored each read for three years when the suit began and changed its policy to one year during the litigation. No statute fixes the period.

What is SLED Policy 13.40?

Policy 13.40, titled Automated License Plate Recognition, is the SLED policy that governs the database. The court described it as binding SLED employees who operate the database and other officers with access to it, and the order says Myrtle Beach police acknowledged being bound. We did not locate the policy on an official SLED page, so what we know of it comes from the court order and the plaintiffs' brief.

What did the South Carolina court decide?

In South Carolina Public Interest Foundation v. SLED (C/A No. 2023-CP-40-01850), Judge Thomas W. McGee III of the Richland County Court of Common Pleas ruled on cross-motions for summary judgment in an order of May 13, 2025, and issued an amended order on November 12, 2025, after the plaintiffs moved to alter or amend. The court found the database authorized by S.C. Code 23-3-15(A)(4), (A)(9) and 23-3-110, found no non-delegation violation, and found that Policy 13.40 is not a regulation under the state Administrative Procedures Act. Summary judgment went to SLED.

The order notes that the plaintiffs did not bring a Fourth Amendment or South Carolina Constitution article I, section 10 claim. In its analysis the court observed, without deciding the point, that courts evaluating plate readers have held their uses are not Fourth Amendment searches, citing a 2025 federal district court decision from Illinois. We found no South Carolina appellate opinion on plate readers under either constitution.

The case is on appeal to the South Carolina Court of Appeals as Appellate Case No. 2025-002437. The Policing Project's case page, maintained by the plaintiffs' counsel, lists the appellants' initial brief on May 1, 2026 and their reply brief on July 28, 2026. We found no argument date or decision. We did not open the docket on the state court site, so check it before relying on this status.

Are South Carolina plate reader records public?

There is no plate reader exemption in the state Freedom of Information Act (Title 30). We found no plate reader text there. Law enforcement records fall under the general exemption in S.C. Code 30-4-40(a)(3), which covers records compiled for law enforcement purposes "but only to the extent that the production" of them would, for example, interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding or "constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy."

We found no Attorney General opinion, court ruling or open-records decision on disclosure of plate reader data, though that was a search and not proof that none exists.

Toll data is different. Under S.C. Code 57-5-1495(L)(4)-(5), information collected to establish and monitor electronic toll accounts is not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, and the photographs and recorded images prepared under that section are for the exclusive use of the department or its authorized agent. That covers toll-violation images only, not plate readers in general. The separate photographic traffic-evidence chapter, Title 56 chapter 7, has an exception for toll collection.

Do other South Carolina laws reach plate data?

Two general areas came up in our search, and neither mentions plates.

• Immigration. S.C. Code 17-13-170 concerns immigration status checks and a data-collection form on stops. S.C. Code 6-1-170 bars political subdivisions from ordinances or policies that limit officers or employees from communicating with federal or state officials about a person's immigration status. Neither mentions plate data, and we found no source applying either to plate reader sharing.
• Consumer privacy. We found no comprehensive consumer privacy act or data broker statute in the code text. Title 30 chapter 2 on privacy of personal information references the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.

Mobile tracking devices require a judge's order on probable cause under S.C. Code 17-30-140, but we found no source applying that provision to plate readers.

Is South Carolina considering a plate reader bill?

Four bills from the 2025-2026 session concern plate readers or related surveillance. None passed either chamber before the regular session adjourned on May 14, 2026, and this is a status as of September 30, 2026.

• S. 447 would add S.C. Code 23-1-235 making plate reader use unlawful except for listed purposes: law enforcement, parking, secured-area access, public safety in coordination with law enforcement, and Department of Public Safety or Department of Transportation tolls. It would require written agency policies, access logs and visual confirmation before stops, bar sale of data, and provide that data "shall not be preserved for more than ninety days unless it is part of an ongoing investigation." It received a favorable report from Senate Judiciary on April 9, 2026 and is listed as residing in the Senate.
• H. 4013 has the same 23-1-235 concept and the same Department of Transportation camera permitting provision found in S. 447 and has been in House Education and Public Works since February 13, 2025.
• H. 3155 has been in House Judiciary since January 14, 2025.
• H. 4675, the South Carolina Community Data Protection and Responsible Surveillance Act, is aimed at third-party-server surveillance networks and has been in House Judiciary since January 13, 2026.

Have South Carolina localities acted?

Our deployment records list one South Carolina local action. WRDW reported on September 18, 2026 that Oconee County Council voted to ban Flock cameras and that the county sent a notice of termination for its Flock system. We did not open council minutes, so treat this as a news report. The list is not complete, and other South Carolina agencies operate or have considered plate readers that this page does not cover.

How can I check my local system?

Because no state statute sets rules, the governing documents are the agency's own. Ask the operating agency for its written plate reader policy, retention setting, who may search the data and its vendor contract. A request under the Freedom of Information Act would be decided under the exemption described above. For how the technology works, see What are Flock cameras?.

Last updated: September 30, 2026. This page reflects the statutes and records described above as we reviewed them; it is general legal information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to use a license plate reader in South Carolina?

We found no South Carolina statute that prohibits or regulates plate readers, after searching every chapter of the Code of Laws on September 30, 2026. SLED operates a statewide database, and a trial court held in 2025, in an order amended on November 12, 2025, that general SLED statutes authorize it. That ruling is on appeal.

How long does South Carolina keep license plate reader data?

No statute sets a period. The court order in the SLED case records that reads in the SLED database are stored for one year from capture. We did not review the retention settings of local agencies.

What is SLED Policy 13.40?

It is the SLED policy governing its plate reader database, described in the court order as binding SLED employees and officers with database access. We did not locate the policy on an official SLED page.

Can I request South Carolina plate reader records?

The Freedom of Information Act applies, with no plate reader exemption. Law enforcement records may be withheld only to the extent production would cause a listed harm, and toll photo-monitoring images are exempt by statute. We found no ruling on plate reader data specifically.

Is there a pending South Carolina plate reader bill?

Several were filed, but none passed before the regular session adjourned on May 14, 2026. S. 447 cleared Senate Judiciary on April 9, 2026 and would limit uses and cap law enforcement retention at 90 days unless the data is part of an ongoing investigation. H. 4013, H. 3155 and H. 4675 never left House committees. None is law.