South Carolina Licensing Threshold & Scope
South Carolina licenses commercial contractors through the CLB and defines when a license is needed and what it authorizes. This chapter covers the licensing threshold and the scope of a commercial license.
The $10,000 threshold
The South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (CLB), within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, licenses commercial general and mechanical contractors under S.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 11. After Act H.4115 of 2023, a commercial license is required when the cost of the work exceeds $10,000, raised from the former $5,000 threshold.
Scope of a commercial license
A CLB commercial license also authorizes the holder to perform residential building work, so a commercially licensed general contractor need not obtain a separate residential builder's license. The reverse is not true - a residential-only credential does not authorize commercial work.