South Carolina
South Carolina licenses private investigation businesses, and registers the investigators they employ, through the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). No law or rule changed investigator licensing from 2023 through October 2026; the one amendment to the licensing chapter concerned school security. Bills on investigator confidentiality and unlawful tracking died in committee.
At a glance
- Authority
- South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Regulatory Services
- Statute
- S.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 18 (Private Security and Private Investigation Business Licensing Act)
- Rules
- S.C. Code Regs. 73-400 to 73-422, unchanged since 2006
- Who is licensed
- A private investigation business holds a license (40-18-70). Each person it employs to perform investigator work must apply for registration within 30 days of employment; a registration ends with the employment (40-18-80(B)).
- Qualifications
- Business license: at least 21, a high school diploma, a U.S. citizen, good moral character, no felony or crime of moral turpitude, and 3 years of investigative experience, which SLED counts as 6,000 hours (40-18-70(E)); education can count toward part of the experience (Reg. 73-400). Employee registration: at least 18, a high school diploma, a U.S. citizen, and the same conviction and character standards, with no experience requirement (40-18-80(B)). Fingerprints and a sworn application. Holders of law enforcement commissions and administrative employees of public law enforcement agencies cannot hold a license or registration (Reg. 73-409). No exam.
- Renewal
- Every year. $350 for a business license and $350 for each employee registration (Reg. 73-408).
- Continuing education
- Six hours a year, or 12 every 24 months, in SLED-approved courses (Reg. 73-422; SLED renewal requirements).
- Bond or insurance
- A $10,000 surety bond for a business license (40-18-70(B)). No insurance requirement.
- Practice rules
- A licensee must have a SLED-approved client contract or signed waiver before starting work, give a written report unless waived, keep contracts and reports for 3 years, report discovered criminal activity to SLED, and report a custodial arrest within 72 hours (40-18-70(F)-(J)).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
School security amendments; investigator provisions unchanged
Lets public school districts use armed security personnel if the district obtains a proprietary security license, adds security officer rules for schools (40-18-60(A)(3), 40-18-80(A)(3)), and removes school districts from the government-employee exception in 40-18-140(1). It did not amend 40-18-70 or 40-18-80(B) to (D), the investigator license and registration provisions.
For licensees: No investigator license, registration, fee, or continuing education requirement changed.
Checked and unchanged
- SLED’s investigator regulations (Regs. 73-400 to 73-422) were not amended; no notice appeared in the State Register from January 2023 through September 2026.
- The stalking and harassment law, S.C. Code 16-3-1700, whose definitions do not apply to a licensed private investigator performing services or an investigation as described in detail in a contract signed by the client and the investigator under 40-18-70 (16-3-1700(G)), has not changed since 2013.
- Bills that would have added investigator confidentiality rules (H.3328, H.3269), military experience for licensure (H.4141), or an unlawful tracking offense (H.3036, H.3059, S.773) were not enacted.
- South Carolina has no data broker or comprehensive consumer privacy law.
Last updated October 18, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “South Carolina private investigator licensing: Licensing Law Tracker,” uscli.org/licensing-tracker/south-carolina (last updated October 18, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.