Do you need a business license in South Carolina? Not a state one.
South Carolina has no general state business licence. A company run from abroad with no office or staff in South Carolina needs no South Carolina licence unless what it does is regulated.
Checked by the BaseAcross team.
South Carolina at a glance
- General licence
- NoneCities and counties license
- Run from abroad
- Not neededNo state licence exists
- Sales tax
- YesRetail licence
- Federal licence
- NoneOnly regulated activities
Business licences in South Carolina
What South Carolina asks of a business, and what that means for one run from abroad.
No general state licence. South Carolina leaves general licensing to its cities and counties, and licenses regulated activities by activity.
If you run it from abroad. No South Carolina licence, unless what you do is regulated.
Sales tax. Retail licence, from the South Carolina Department of Revenue, once you have to collect South Carolina's sales tax. Register.
Cities and counties. South Carolina cities and counties issue business licences to businesses operating in them.
Regulated work. Alcohol, food, health, finance, transport and the licensed professions bring their own federal or state licences, wherever you're based. The lookup below lists them.
What does your company need?
Set to a company formed in South Carolina and run from abroad. Change any answer.
Your answer
Nothing to apply for right now.
Based on your answers, no licence is needed today. Below is what would change that, and what you can stop worrying about.
You'll need later, if this happens· 1
A licence in a state you sell into a lot
Only Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, West Virginia reach a seller with no presence. Every other state doesn't.
Alaska: Alaska expects a licence if any part of your business happens in Alaska, so check before you sell there regularly. Hawaii: You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there. Washington: You need one once you have more than $100,000 a year of sales to Washington customers, even with no presence there. West Virginia: You need one once you have to collect West Virginia's sales tax, which for a remote seller starts at its sales threshold.
You don't need· 5
A South Carolina state business licence
South Carolina has no general state business licence. Licences there come from cities and counties where you operate, and from regulators for specific activities.
A city licence where you have no office
City and county licences are for businesses located there. A company run from abroad isn't located in a US city.
A seller's permit before you have to collect sales tax
A seller's permit is a sales tax registration, not a licence to sell. You need one in a state once you have to collect its tax.
A licence to form your company
Forming an LLC or corporation is a filing, not a licence. Your EIN is a tax number, not a licence either.
A general federal business licence
There isn't one. The US licenses specific activities, such as alcohol, firearms and broadcasting, not businesses in general.
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No. South Carolina has no general state business licence. Licences there come from cities and counties where a business is located, and from regulators for specific activities.
Not from the state. With no office or staff in South Carolina, it needs no city or county licence either, unless what it does is regulated.
Only once you have to collect South Carolina's sales tax: when you have an office, staff or stock there, or your sales into South Carolina pass its threshold. It's called a retail licence, from the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
South Carolina cities and counties issue business licences to businesses operating in them. A company with no office or staff in South Carolina isn't located in any of them.
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