Agency Relationships in South Carolina
South Carolina requires early disclosure of brokerage relationships and recognizes designated agency within a firm. This chapter explains the disclosure and the recognized relationships, including dual and designated agency.
Brokerage Relationships Disclosure
South Carolina licensees must disclose the available brokerage relationships at the first practical opportunity, before eliciting or receiving confidential information from a consumer. The disclosure explains seller agency, buyer agency, designated agency, and dual agency so the consumer can decide how to proceed. Early disclosure protects consumers by clarifying who, if anyone, represents them.
Single Agency Roles
A seller's agent represents the seller and owes fiduciary duties of loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, disclosure, accounting, and reasonable care to that client; a buyer's agent owes the same duties to the buyer. In every relationship the licensee must deal honestly with the other party and disclose known material adverse facts about the property.
Dual and Designated Agency
Dual agency, where one licensee represents both buyer and seller, is allowed only with the written consent of both parties, and the licensee may not disclose one party's confidential information to the other. South Carolina also recognizes designated agency, in which the broker-in-charge assigns separate affiliated agents to represent the buyer and the seller within the same firm, allowing each client to receive advocacy.
State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- South Carolina Real Estate Commission (LLR)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 90 hours (60-hour Unit I + 30-hour Unit II Advanced Principles)
How many prelicensing hours does South Carolina require to become a real estate agent?
South Carolina requires 90 hours: a 60-hour Unit I salesperson course (required before the exam) plus a 30-hour Unit II Advanced Real Estate Principles course (required before license application).
Who licenses real estate agents in South Carolina?
The South Carolina Real Estate Commission, within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), licenses salespersons and brokers. The Commission uses PSI to deliver the exam.
How is the South Carolina salesperson exam structured?
The South Carolina salesperson exam is delivered by PSI with a national portion and a South Carolina state portion, scored separately; you must pass both. Confirm the current scored-question counts in the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin.
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