S.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-1720: Licensing requirement; minimum age; violations and penalties.

(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.