At what project size does South Carolina require a CLB license?

Commercial work over $10,000 falls under the Contractors' Licensing Board. Below that, the CLB does not regulate the work.

What are South Carolina's license groups?

Groups 1 through 5, set by a commercial applicant's financial qualification (statement or bond), which in turn caps the size of project the license covers.

South Carolina contractor license requirements

South Carolina regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what South Carolina requires: the licensing agency, who must be licensed, experience, exams, fees, the financial responsibility mechanism, and reciprocity, every figure sourced and dated below.

Who must be licensed in South Carolina

South Carolina Contractors’ Licensing Board (CLB), under LLR is the licensing authority. Commercial work over $10,000 is regulated by the CLB.

Experience and qualification

2 years of experience in the past 5 for the primary qualifying party.

License classes

General/Mechanical (General or Mechanical classification, with subclassifications and 5 financial groups): Group 1 through 5, set by financial qualification.

Exam

Two sealed exams: SC Business Management and Law (50 questions, 140 minutes, 70% passing) and a PSI SC Trade exam (Building, Highway, Public Utility, or Specialty; 115 questions, 330 minutes, 70% passing).

Fees

License fee: $350
Exam fee, per PSI part: $110

Financial responsibility

South Carolina uses net worth / financial statement as its financial-responsibility mechanism. Commercial applicants file a financial statement or surety bond to set a license group (1 through 5); the specific bond amount varies by classification and group level.

Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam

South Carolina accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for the commercial building classification, confirmed against NASCLA’s own participating-agencies list. If you already hold a NASCLA credential from another participating state, it can satisfy South Carolina’s trade exam requirement (any state-specific business and law exam is still required). See the NASCLA exam explained and contractor license reciprocity for the full picture, and the 50-state comparison for which other states accept it.

Official source

Verify everything at the source: South Carolina Contractors’ Licensing Board (CLB), under LLR, llr.sc.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.

Sources: South Carolina Contractors' Licensing Board (CLB), under LLR (llr.sc.gov, reviewed 2026-07-28); NASCLA participating state agencies list (nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24). Fee, bond, and experience figures are compiled from the agency's published requirements and current industry compliance guides as of 2026-07-28; treat any figure not independently reconfirmed against a fetched primary-source page as reported pending the next freshness review, per this site's standard practice.