Selling a catalytic converter in South Carolina

Who may sell a detached converter

The buyer's permit comes from the sheriff. A secondary metals recycler has to obtain a permit to purchase nonferrous metals, from the sheriff of each county where its fixed sites are located, and the sheriff may issue it where the recycler has a fixed site in that county, has not been convicted of violating § 16-11-523 or § 16-17-680, and declares on the sheriff's application that it is informed of and will comply with the section (§ 16-17-680(B)(1), (2)). The permit costs up to two hundred dollars, lasts twenty-four months, and may be denied, suspended, or revoked where an application proves inaccurate or the recycler fails to comply (§ 16-17-680(B)(6), (8), (9)). Nonferrous metals expressly include catalytic converters (§ 16-17-680(A)(3)).

The seller needs a permit too. A person or entity wanting to transport or sell nonferrous metals to a secondary metals recycler has to obtain a permit to transport and sell them, from the sheriff of the county of residence or location, or from any sheriff where the seller is out of state (§ 16-17-680(C)(1), (2), (3)). There is no fee, only a ten dollar replacement charge, and the permit is valid statewide, expiring on the individual's birth date in the second calendar year after issuance (§ 16-17-680(C)(6), (8)). It is unlawful to purchase nonferrous metals in any amount for recycling unless the purchaser holds the purchase permit and the seller holds the transport and sell permit, although a recycler may hold a seller's metal while the seller obtains one (§ 16-17-680(D)(1)). A seller of converters is subject to that permit requirement, except that an automotive repair service may instead produce a record or receipt showing the repair order number where applicable, the date of repair or removal with the identity of whoever removed the converter, and the donor vehicle's identification number (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(c)).

Converters carry their own gate on both sides. It is unlawful for any individual or entity other than a permitted secondary metals recycler to purchase or attempt to purchase a used, detached converter or any nonferrous part of one (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(a)), and, except as § 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(iii)(aa), (bb), and (cc) otherwise provide for the businesses named in § 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(ii), unlawful for anyone to possess, obtain, acquire, transport, or sell one without a permit and without providing the name of the person or company that removed it, the name of the person for whom the work was completed, the make and model of the donor vehicle, that vehicle's identification number, the part or other identifying number of the converter, and the certificate of title or registration showing the seller's ownership interest in the vehicle (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(b)(i) to (vi)). None of that reaches a converter tested, certified, and labeled for reuse under applicable federal Clean Air Act regulations (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(f)).

What the buyer must record

The transaction record is prescribed in one long sentence. It contains, at a minimum, the date of purchase; the seller's name and address; a photocopy of the seller's identification; a photocopy of the seller's permit to transport and sell nonferrous metals where applicable; the license plate number of the seller's motor vehicle if available; the seller's photograph; the weight and size or other description of the metals purchased; the amount paid; and a signed statement from the seller that the seller is the rightful owner or is entitled to sell the metals (§ 16-17-680(D)(2)). A photograph on file may be referenced rather than retaken, provided it is updated annually, and a video may be used instead if kept at least one hundred twenty days (§ 16-17-680(D)(2)).

Identification is a closed list. The only acceptable identification is a valid South Carolina driver license or identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, a driver license from another state bearing the licensee's picture on its face, or a military identification card (§ 16-17-680(H)). Records may be kept in an electronic database provided the information is legible and accessible to law enforcement on request, all purchased metals and all required records stay open for inspection by law enforcement or state and local agencies during regular business hours, and the records are maintained for one year from the date of purchase (§ 16-17-680(D)(2), (3)).

Converters add a verification step and a marking note. Before each purchase or acquisition of a used, detached converter the recycler, including an agent or employee, has to verify with the applicable documentation that the person selling it acquired it legally and has the right to sell it, and retain a record of that verification along with the § 16-17-680(D)(2) information, noting any obvious marking on the unit such as paint, labels, or engravings that would aid identification (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(b)(i), (ii)). A recycler who obtains all the required documentation is exempt from prosecution under that subsection unless it knew or had reason to believe the documentation was false, fraudulent, altered, or counterfeit, or that the converter was stolen (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(d)). The fixed site also displays a twenty-inch by thirty-inch sign reciting the permit rule (§ 16-17-680(D)(5)).

How you are paid

Cash exists but barely. A secondary metals recycler may not enter into a cash transaction in payment for the purchase of copper, catalytic converters, or beer kegs totaling twenty-five dollars or more, and any such purchase at or above twenty-five dollars must be paid by check alone, issued and made payable to the seller (§ 16-17-680(D)(4)). The recycler may neither cash that check nor use an automated teller machine or other cash card system in lieu of a check, and may not enter into more than one cash transaction per day per seller for copper, converters, or beer kegs (§ 16-17-680(D)(4)).

Where the sale may happen is also fixed. It is unlawful for a recycler to purchase a used, detached converter unless it has a sheriff's permit and the sale occurs at the recycler's fixed site, or at the seller's fixed site where the seller is a licensed automotive repair service, a licensed demolisher, a licensed secondary metals recycler, or a licensed motor vehicle dealer and the buyer is a permitted recycler maintaining a fixed site in the state (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)). The statute then sets out four alternative documentation routes, any one of which satisfies it: the converter came in as part of a vehicle (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(i)); it came from a secondary metals recycler, a new or used motor vehicle dealer, an automotive repair service, a motor vehicle manufacturer, a vehicle demolisher, or a converter distributor, and a copy of that seller's valid business license is received and kept at the time of the transaction (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(ii)); the selling business supplies a record or receipt with the repair order number where applicable, the date of repair or removal with the identity of whoever removed the unit, and the donor vehicle's identification number (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(iii)); or the individual seller supplies the six items described above (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(a)(iv)).

South Carolina imposes no standing waiting period on a converter. The hold is officer-triggered: where a law enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe an item of nonferrous metal in a recycler's possession has been stolen, the officer may issue a written hold notice identifying the items, after which the recycler may not process or remove them from the fixed site for fifteen calendar days unless released earlier (§ 16-17-680(F)(1)). No later than the expiration of that period an officer may issue an extended hold notice adding thirty calendar days (§ 16-17-680(F)(2)), and at the expiration of the hold or extended hold the hold is automatically released and the recycler may dispose of the metal unless a court has ordered otherwise (§ 16-17-680(F)(3)).

Penalties

Both permits are lost on conviction. A purchaser who violates the records and payment subsection faces a misdemeanor with a fine of two hundred to three hundred dollars or up to thirty days for a first offense, four hundred to five hundred dollars or up to a year for a second, and up to a thousand dollars or up to three years for a third or subsequent offense within ten years, and any purchase permit must be revoked (§ 16-17-680(D)(6)). Selling nonferrous metals without both permits in place is a misdemeanor on a first and second offense and a felony punishable by a fine of not less than a thousand dollars or up to five years on a third, with the seller's permit revoked (§ 16-17-680(E)(1)(b)).

Converter offenses are graded separately and count per unit. An individual or entity violating the converter possession and documentation rules is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine in the court's discretion or up to three years for a first offense, and a felony punishable by a fine or up to five years for a second (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(d)). Each unlawfully obtained, possessed, or transported converter is a separate violation and a separate charge, the court may order restitution for the value of repair and replacement, and a person holding a used, detached converter without identifying documentation is presumed to be in possession of contraband subject to forfeiture (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(e)). Providing false, fraudulent, altered, or counterfeit documentation is itself unlawful (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(c)).

Transport and vandalism carry their own grades. Transporting nonferrous metals in a vehicle or having them in one's possession is unlawful unless the person can present a valid transport and sell permit or a valid bill of sale, and a knowing transport of stolen metal is a felony punishable by a fine in the court's discretion or up to ten years, with the permit revoked (§ 16-17-680(G)(1), (2), (5)). Willfully and maliciously cutting, mutilating, defacing, or otherwise injuring property to obtain nonferrous metals is a misdemeanor below five thousand dollars of injury or loss and a felony at or above it, rising to fifteen years where great bodily injury results and thirty years where death results, and a conviction revokes any § 16-17-680 permit (§ 16-11-523(B), (C), (D), (F)). The section preempts local ordinances and regulations governing the purchase, sale, or transportation of nonferrous metals except as to zoning or business license fees (§ 16-17-680(K)).

What this means when you sell to us

Get your sheriff's permit to transport and sell nonferrous metals first, because South Carolina makes the sale unlawful for both of us without it, and it is free and valid statewide (§ 16-17-680(C), (D)(1)). Bring one of the four accepted IDs: a South Carolina license or DMV identification card, an out-of-state license with your picture on its face, or a military ID (§ 16-17-680(H)). For the converters, bring the six items the statute lists, including the donor vehicle's make, model, and identification number and the title or registration showing your ownership interest (§ 16-17-680(I)(2)(b)). Automotive repair services can substitute a repair record or receipt for the permit (§ 16-17-680(I)(3)(c)). Cash is capped below twenty-five dollars and at one cash transaction a day; at twenty-five dollars or more South Carolina requires a check made payable to you, which we cannot cash for you (§ 16-17-680(D)(4)).