The South Carolina Secretary of State keeps the register of business entities and runs Business Entities Online, the system for searching records and filing documents. New LLCs, corporations and nonprofits start there, and so do amendments and certificates.
The yearly side is what surprises people. A South Carolina LLC that is not taxed as a corporation files no annual report with the Secretary of State. Corporations do file one, but they send it to the Department of Revenue rather than to the Secretary of State.
Searching South Carolina business records
Business Entities Online has two public search pages. The entity search finds a company by its name. The agent search lists the companies that use a given registered agent, which helps if you act as agent for several businesses.
| Official business search | businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Search (businessfilings.sc.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| You can search by | business name, registered agent (businessfilings.sc.gov, checked ) |
If you plan to use a name, check it in the entity search first. State law says a new name must be distinguishable from the names already on file, and the record is where those names live.
South Carolina filing fees
Formation fees in South Carolina are set partly in statute. For a corporation, the law sets a $10 filing fee plus a $100 fee that the office collects before filing, plus a minimum license fee. LLCs, nonprofits and foreign companies have their own amounts.
| Form a corporation | $110 (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
|---|
Rather not file it yourself? Ask our private filing service about forming or reporting in South Carolina. State fees are separate.
The figures in this table come from a fee table the Secretary of State published, and that table is not new. Check the current fee page on the office's website before you pay. Our LLC filing fees by state page is useful for comparing.
South Carolina annual reports and the Department of Revenue
Most South Carolina LLCs have nothing to file each year with the Secretary of State. The exception is an LLC that has chosen to be taxed as a corporation. Corporations file their yearly report with the Department of Revenue, under the tax code rather than the business entity laws.
| Where to file | businessfilings.sc.gov/businessfiling (businessfilings.sc.gov, checked ) |
|---|
If you also run companies in other states, our annual report guide explains how the filing usually works where one is required.
Business name rules in South Carolina
South Carolina's LLC statute lists the allowed endings: limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C. or LC, with Ltd. and Co. allowed as short forms. Corporations use corporation, company or limited, or a short form such as Inc., Corp. or Co.
| LLC name must include | limited liability company, limited company, L.L.C., LLC, L.C., LC (Limited may be Ltd., company may be Co.) (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Corporation name must include | corporation, incorporated, company, limited, or the abbreviations corp., inc., co., ltd. (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
| How different a name must be | LLC name 'must be distinguishable' from corporations, partnerships and companies on the SOS records, reserved names and approved fictitious names. SOS may allow a non-distinguishable name with the current user's consent and an undertaking to change its name, or on a court judgment. S.C. Code 33-44-105(b),(c). Corporations: 33-4-101. (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
| Reservation lasts | 120 days, nonrenewable (transferable) (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
A name that clashes with one on file can still be approved in two cases: the current holder consents and promises to change its own name, or a court judgment gives you the right to it. A name reservation lasts 120 days and cannot be renewed, though you may transfer it.
Registered agent in South Carolina
An LLC and a foreign LLC must keep in SC an office (need not be a place of business) and an agent with a street address. The agent must be an individual SC resident, a domestic corporation or LLC, or a foreign corporation or company authorized in SC. (scstatehouse.gov, checked )
Every LLC, and every foreign LLC working in the state, must keep both an office and an agent in South Carolina. To swap your agent, our page on how to change registered agent covers the filing.
South Carolina Certificate of Existence
The state calls its proof of standing a Certificate of Existence. You may also see it called a Certificate of Status or a Fact of Existence.
| What the state calls it | Certificate of Existence (also called Certificate of Status / Fact of Existence) (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
|---|
State law and the office's fee table give different amounts for this certificate, so confirm the price on the Secretary of State's current fee page before ordering. For background on why lenders ask for it, see our certificate of good standing guide.
Contacting the South Carolina Secretary of State
| Office | South Carolina Secretary of State (sos.sc.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Officeholder | Mark Hammond (scstatehouse.gov, checked ) |
We do not list a phone number, address or officeholder for the South Carolina office yet, because we could not confirm them on the state's own pages. Use the contact page on the Secretary of State's website, and have the company's exact name ready when you get in touch.
Sources
- sos.sc.gov/: office name. Checked .
- www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/sj26/20260515.htm: officeholder. Checked .
- businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Search: business search. Checked .
- businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/AgentSearch: search fields. Checked .
- www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php: LLC name endings, name rule, name reservation term, registered agent rule. Checked .
- www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c004.php: corporation name endings. Checked .
- www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c001.php: corporation filing fee. Checked .
- businessfilings.sc.gov/businessfiling: online filing. Checked .
- www.scstatehouse.gov/CommitteeInfo/HouseLegislativeOversightCommittee/AgencyWebpages/SecretaryofState/Business%20filings%20and%20fees%20-%20common%20types%20in%20Southeastern%20states.pdf: good standing certificate. Checked .