Permits and licensing · South Carolina
Renovation permits and contractor licences in South Carolina
South Carolina licenses residential work through the Residential Builders Commission and larger commercial and mechanical work through the Contractor's Licensing Board, both inside the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. A residential builder licence is required once the cost of the undertaking passes the level set in law, and the trades below that are covered by a specialty contractor registration. The Building Codes Council adopts the codes; your city or county issues the permits.
Regulators and licensing bodies in South Carolina
These official bodies license contractors, oversee safety or issue permits in South Carolina.
South Carolina Residential Builders Commission
Licenses or registers people qualified by experience to do residential building, residential specialty contracting and home inspecting, on residential buildings not over three floors in height and with no more than sixteen units in any single apartment building. It issues residential builder licences, residential specialty contractor registrations, home inspector licences and certificates of authorisation for firms.
South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board
Regulates the licence, certification or registration of general and mechanical contractors, construction managers, burglar alarm and fire alarm contractors and fire sprinkler contractors, and runs the boiler safety program. This is the board for larger and commercial work, as opposed to the residential side.
South Carolina Building Codes Council
Adopts or modifies the model building codes for South Carolina, and regulates the registration of building codes officers and special inspectors and the modular building program. A local modification the Council authorises applies only in the stated jurisdictions, and only once that jurisdiction adopts it by ordinance.
South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
The umbrella agency that houses both contractor boards and the Building Codes Council. It describes itself as licensing, among many others, the person who built your home, and it runs one public search covering the professions it licenses.
Trades that need a licence in South Carolina
General contracting and renovation
A residential builder licence covers anyone who constructs, superintends, or offers to construct or superintend the construction, repair, improvement or reimprovement of a residential building not over three floors and with no more than sixteen units in a single apartment building, once the cost of the undertaking exceeds the level set in law. Anyone who engages or offers to engage in that undertaking is treated as being in the business of residential building, so the offer alone is enough to need the licence.
Sources:South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential builder(opens in a new tab)
Certified trades
Below the builder licence sits the residential specialty contractor registration, which is limited to three trade classifications at a time. A contractor who needs to practice more than three at once has to apply to become a residential builder instead. No examination is required to become a registered specialty contractor, which is worth knowing when you compare two quotes.
Electrical work
Residential electrician is one of the specialty trades the Residential Builders Commission licenses in its own right, alongside the registered trades such as roofing, masonry and carpentry. Ask which classification the electrician holds, and check it on the Commission's side of the agency rather than the commercial board's.
Sources:South Carolina Residential Builders Commission(opens in a new tab)South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential specialty contractor(opens in a new tab)
Plumbing
Residential plumber and HVAC installer and repairer are also licensed specialty trades under the Residential Builders Commission. Larger mechanical work falls to the Contractor's Licensing Board instead, so on a bigger job confirm which of the two boards licensed the firm.
Sources:South Carolina Residential Builders Commission(opens in a new tab)South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board(opens in a new tab)
Consumer protection
Everything above sits inside one agency, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which runs a single public licence lookup. Check the licence before the deposit, not after, and note whether the record shows a licence or only a registration, because they mean different things in South Carolina.
Sources:South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation(opens in a new tab)
Building and renovation permits in South Carolina
Permits are issued locally, against the South Carolina codes the Building Codes Council adopts; local modifications only apply once the jurisdiction adopts them by ordinance. In North Charleston, anyone who erects, constructs, adds to, alters, demolishes, excavates around, alters the grading of or moves any structure without first obtaining the proper permits is in violation, and a permit expires if no inspection happens within the period the city sets. Charleston runs a Permit Center covering residential, commercial and multi-family construction, demolition, roofing, fencing, solar and the plumbing and fuel gas trades. Columbia's rule is short: all regulated work performed in the city must have a permit.
Sources:South Carolina Building Codes Council – Building code adoption(opens in a new tab)North Charleston – Permits(opens in a new tab)Columbia – Residential projects and permits(opens in a new tab)
Permit information from large municipalities
Before you hire a contractor in South Carolina
Practical checks you can do yourself, using official tools where they exist.
Work out first whether your job is above or below the residential builder threshold, because it decides which licence the firm needs.
Official lookup: South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential builder(opens in a new tab)
If the firm holds only a specialty contractor registration, check that your work falls inside its three trade classifications.
Official lookup: South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential specialty contractor(opens in a new tab)
For larger or commercial work, check the Contractor's Licensing Board rather than the residential commission.
Official lookup: South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board(opens in a new tab)
Look the firm up in the state licence search and note whether the record is a licence or a registration.
Official lookup: South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation(opens in a new tab)
Ask your city or county permit office which permits the job needs and confirm one is pulled before work begins.
Official lookup: Charleston – Permit Center(opens in a new tab)
Sources for renovation permits and licences in South Carolina
Every fact on this page comes from these official sources.
- South Carolina Residential Builders Commission(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential builder(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Building Codes Council(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Building Codes Council – Building code adoption(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation(opens in a new tab)
- South Carolina Residential Builders Commission – Residential specialty contractor(opens in a new tab)
- North Charleston – Permits(opens in a new tab)
- Columbia – Residential projects and permits(opens in a new tab)
Find licensed pros
Compare local pros for the regulated trades in this guide, then confirm their licence with the regulator before you hire.
Renovation permits in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Planning a renovation?
Describe your project once and hear from local pros. Ask each one for their licence and permit details before you hire.