South Carolina contractor licenses: which trades need what, and at what dollar line

South Carolina does not leave small jobs alone. A handyman who replaces a $600 water heater is over the state line. This page sorts the state's trades by agency and dollar threshold so you can tell where your work falls. It covers state rules only. Your city or county can add its own, and we say where. Rules and fees change, so confirm with the agency before you act.

Two LLR boards, two dollar lines

The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) runs both boards that matter to home-service companies.

• Residential Builders Commission. A residential builder license applies when a job on a home of up to three floors (or an apartment building of up to sixteen units) costs more than $5,000. Residential specialty contractors need a state credential when a job exceeds $500. Both thresholds are in S.C. Code 40-59-20. The specialty line was raised from $200 to $500 by 2022 Act No. 186.
• Contractor's Licensing Board. It licenses general and mechanical contractors when the total cost of construction is greater than $10,000, per S.C. Code 40-11-30. Before 2023 Act No. 69 that figure was $5,000.

Work between $500 and $10,000 on a house is the Residential Builders Commission's territory. Commercial work and larger jobs fall to the Contractor's Licensing Board. The residential commission's pages for plumbers and HVAC say the same split in plain terms: residential work over $500, commercial work over $10,000 with the other board.

What each trade needs

The statute lists plumbers, electricians, and heating and air conditioning installers and repairers as licensed after examination. It lists vinyl and aluminum siding installers, masons, drywall installers, carpenters, stucco installers, painters and wallpaper hangers, and solar panel installers as registered. Roofers appear in the list without a stated status, but the commission's registration page names Roofers as one of its classifications, covering the watertight surface of roofs and decks, flashing, valleys and gravel stops.

How registration differs from a license

Registration is the low-friction route. The commission's specialty contractor page states that no examination is required, lists a $100 application fee and a $100 renewal, and caps a registrant at three classifications at a time. Classifications change only at renewal. If you want to work in more than three trades, you apply as a residential builder instead.

A registrant cannot build additions without supervision by a residential builder or another appropriately licensed person, and cannot work outside the registered scope even by subcontracting it. That matters for a painter who also hangs drywall and does some framing: the classes on your registration are the work you may sell.

Specialty contractors also need a bond when a job for an individual owner exceeds $5,000 (S.C. Code 40-59-220(D)). A residential builder license needs a bond of at least $15,000 or proof of financial responsibility the commission accepts.

The exam route for plumbing and HVAC

Plumbers and HVAC installers apply first, get their experience verified, and only then become eligible for the exam. The commission lists the same fees for both: $135 to apply, $220 for the license, $220 to renew and $50 late, with $480 to reinstate (as listed in October 2026). A license lapsed under three years can be reinstated. After three years you apply as a new applicant and sit the exam again.

The technical exam can be waived in some cases, but the business management and law portion cannot. For plumbing, the commission lists an active SC Mechanical Contractor license with the plumbing classification held for a year, or a license obtained by exam in Mississippi or North Carolina. For HVAC, the list is an SC mechanical license with an air conditioning or packaged equipment classification, or a license obtained by exam in Alabama, Mississippi or North Carolina. Grandfathered licenses do not qualify in either case.

Where the Contractor's Licensing Board takes over

Chapter 11 defines mechanical construction as plumbing, heating, air conditioning, process piping, refrigeration, lightning protection and electrical work, and leaves out burglar alarm work. General contractors are classed as building, highway, public utility or specialty, with roofing and masonry as subclassifications of building. Mechanical classes include air conditioning, heating, electrical, plumbing and refrigeration.

Qualifying parties must score 70 percent or better on the technical exam where one is required and on the South Carolina contracting law exam. The primary qualifying party needs at least two years of full-time experience in the classification within the previous five. The board may license applicants from another state if that state's requirements are equal or greater and an exam waiver agreement exists (S.C. Code 40-11-290). Group limits apply too: Group 1 general contractors can bid up to $100,000 per job with $20,000 net worth or $10,000 working capital.

The board's page says its Nonstructural Renovation classification requires a technical exam through PSI as of January 1, 2025, and that 2026 to 2028 general contractor renewals are open.

Chapter 11 has a few display rules. Marketing, site signs and contracts must use your exact licensed name, though vehicle lettering can use an abbreviated version that is not misleading. Using the term "licensed contractor" without a license is unlawful.

Pesticides, septic and home inspection

Pesticides. You need a commercial applicator license from Clemson if you apply restricted-use pesticides, or any pesticide in categories 3, 5, 6, 7a, 7b or 8, to another person's property for pay. You pass the Core exam and a category exam. The new license fee is $50, and a Pesticide Business License for category 7A businesses is $150. South Carolina has reciprocal agreements with 13 states. Our national pest control license guide covers the usual path.

Septic. The Department of Environmental Services licenses septic system installers in three tiers and licenses pumper-haulers, whose requirements and fees are authorized under Regulation 61-56. Both exams require a score of 80 percent or better. Installers need continuing education every two years, and pumper-haulers renew annually. Pumpers must list their disposal facilities and have each truck inspected.

Home inspection. Inspectors are licensed by the Residential Builders Commission. The commission lists an $80 application, $160 renewal and $360 reinstatement. Home inspectors must put their license number in advertisements (S.C. Code 40-59-570).

Locksmiths, alarm installers and other trades not covered here may have rules we did not check, so ask LLR before you assume a trade is unregulated.

Trades the state does not name

Lawn care, house cleaning, junk removal and pressure washing are not named in either board's list. The Department of Revenue says a retail license is not needed if your service is not one of the specifically taxed services, so check its list before you assume (see our sales tax guide by state). Mowing alone needs no pesticide license. Spraying weed killer on a customer's lawn for pay puts you under Clemson.

What you still need is a business license from each city or county you work in. Under S.C. Code 6-1-400, local licenses run May 1 to April 30 and are computed on prior-year gross income. Residential specialty contractors are not exempt from county and municipal business license ordinances (S.C. Code 40-59-240), and a locality cannot make you take a second exam if you passed the commission's.

Painting older homes brings a federal rule: EPA's renovation, repair and painting rule covers pre-1978 homes, and anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces there must be certified, sole proprietors included. It sits on top of any state registration.

What happens if you work without a credential

Under S.C. Code 40-59-30, doing the business without a license or registration is a misdemeanor, with a fine of not less than $500 or more than $10,000 and imprisonment of not less than thirty days. An unlicensed person may not file a mechanic's lien or sue to enforce the contract. Building officials must refuse permits unless the applicant shows a license, registration or exemption (S.C. Code 40-59-280). Chapter 11 adds its own penalty: unlicensed practice there is a misdemeanor with up to one year in prison or a fine up to $5,000 (S.C. Code 40-11-200), and an unlicensed entity cannot sue to enforce a contract.

There is an owner-builder exemption for an owner improving a home for their own or family occupancy, not for sale or rent, but the owner may not hire unlicensed persons to do the work. One more rule applies to roofers: roofing contractors may not advertise or promise to rebate an insurance deductible (S.C. Code 40-59-25(E)).

Putting your credential where customers look

Customers check license status before they call. Put your state credential, your classification and your local license on your site, and keep the name identical to your LLR record, since Chapter 11 requires the exact licensed name in marketing. Our guide to contractor website content covers where trust details go, and our South Carolina setup page covers LLC filing, workers' comp and taxes. This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm every requirement with the agencies linked above.

Frequently asked questions