Licenses and permits in South Carolina

The Secretary of State filing is not a license to do the work. What you need depends on the activity and the city or county. Start with the local government, then the agency that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in South Carolina

• No statewide business license. Not all 46 counties require one. Ask the city or county where you work¹.
• Contractors are split by the kind of building. Commercial work over $10,000³ is one board. Residential work, when the job exceeds five thousand dollars⁵, is another.
• Some home food needs no agriculture permit. The Department of Agriculture will issue an ID number if you ask. Sales can be to a person or to a retail store in South Carolina.
• Alcohol licenses come from the Department of Revenue, not a separate alcohol board. Expect about six to eight weeks, including a SLED inspection of the location⁸.

Do this

1. Ask the city or county where you will actually work. Read the Business One Stop licenses page. There is no statewide business license. Cities, towns, and counties issue their own. Not all 46 counties require one. Ask the city or county where you work. Home-based and online businesses are generally required to have the local license where they are located. A business in two places can need two licenses. The examples on that page include a Columbia business that also works in Irmo, and a food truck or contractor that needs both the county and the city. Contact the local government where the business operates to find out whether a license is required and what it costs¹. The state page does not print a fee or a due date.* This page does not guess them. A foreign business with no physical presence and no substantial nexus may not need the local license. The page does not define substantial nexus.* Ask the local office if you have no South Carolina location.
2. Do not ask the Secretary of State for the license. The Secretary of State does not issue a retail license, a professional license, or a local business license².
3. Apply for a contractor license if the job size requires one. Commercial construction over $10,000³, in a classification the Contractor’s Licensing Board regulates, needs a general or mechanical license. The initial fee is $350. General contractor licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years. Mechanical contractor licenses expire October 31 of odd-numbered years. Renew through the board by the applicable expiration date for the $135⁴ on-time fee. The board lists late renewal fees and reinstatement rules for missed deadlines.
4. Residential building is the other license. A residential builder, for a residential building not over three floors, and not more than sixteen units in one apartment building, needs the Residential Builders Commission license when the job exceeds five thousand dollars. The application fee is $135 and the license fee is $220⁵. Work above that residential definition can fall back to the commercial license. Read the residential builder page before you apply to the wrong board.
5. Selling food from home? Read the home-based food page and the fact sheet. The Department of Agriculture does not issue a permit, license, certificate, or registration for a home-based food operator. It will give an ID number on request⁶. The fact sheet says the food is prepared for sale directly to consumers or to retail stores, within South Carolina⁷. It also lists foods that are not allowed, including foods that need time and temperature control.* Use the fact sheet’s own list. A restaurant or a retail food store that is not using that exemption still needs a permit. The agriculture page says permitting is required for an operation that prepares or serves food at retail.
6. Selling alcohol? The alcohol license page says South Carolina requires a license or permit. The types are liquor, food, beer and wine, and special event. Apply in MyDORWAY. You need an active retail license for the same address, before the alcohol license. Processing is about six to eight weeks, including a SLED inspection of the location. A 120-day temporary license is only for taking over a location that already has an open license in good standing, and you apply for it with the permanent application⁸. The page does not print one fee that covers every license.* Use the license that matches what you will sell, and check that fee before you pay. A new owner of a bar cannot keep using the seller’s permit. You apply for your own.
7. A licensed profession is separate from the company. The Secretary of State does not issue a retail license, a professional license, or a local business license². Start with Business One Stop, then the board that regulates your work.
8. Selling taxable goods? Apply for a retail license. Get your tax IDs explains the eligibility.

What you get back

A local license where the city or county requires one, a state contractor or residential builder license if the work needs it, a home-food ID number or a food permit, and an alcohol license if you sell alcohol. Each one renews on its own date. The state license page does not pick that date for you. Write down the date the local office gives you.