# South Carolina

South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Training Council (LETC) certifies officers through the Criminal Justice Academy and decides misconduct cases that can deny certification for a set period or permanently. Since 2023, minimum standards for every agency on use of force, the duty to intervene, and body cameras have taken effect, with a Compliance Division to inspect agencies. Officers may now have their home address and cell number kept off public government websites, the Academy may get notice of new charges through retained fingerprints, and continuing education must cover autism.

Source: https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/south-carolina

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council (LETC), with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) and its director. LETC issues certificates, adjudicates misconduct (denying certification for a set period or permanently), sets minimum standards for every agency, and has a Compliance Division that inspects agencies ([S.C. Code 23-23-20, 23-23-30, 23-23-60, 23-23-85, 23-23-150, 23-23-160](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php)).
- **Statute:** S.C. Code 23-23-10 to 23-23-160 (Training Act: certification, minimum agency standards, misconduct adjudication, Compliance Division); 23-23-57 (autism training, 2026, cited from the act because the online Code does not yet show it); 30-2-500 to 30-2-515 (Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act). Rules: [S.C. Code Regs. ch. 37](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2037.pdf).
- **Minimum standards:** Officers must be certified within 1 year of hire and may not use arrest powers until firearms-qualified. Candidates need a sworn application; a high school diploma or equivalent; a medical exam; no conviction carrying 1 year or more or involving moral turpitude; good character, shown by the employer’s background investigation, driving record, credit check, and FBI and SLED fingerprint records; a signed ethical-policing attestation that includes the duty to intervene; age 21, or 18 for detention or corrections candidates other than Department of Juvenile Justice officers; and an approved training course. Since May 22, 2025, SLED may keep fingerprints to notify the Academy of new charges, and SLED and the FBI may keep them for the FBI’s Next Generation Identification program and latent fingerprint searches. Certificates expire after 3 years or when employment ends ([23-23-40, 23-23-60](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php)).
- **Decertification:** Agency heads “must report” suspected misconduct within 15 days of final agency action, and LETC “may,” in its discretion, fine an agency up to $500 a day for wilful failure to report. Misconduct includes felony, more-than-1-year, or moral-turpitude convictions; unlawful drug use; repeated excessive force; physical or psychological abuse; wilful failure to intervene in, or to report, another officer’s abuse; and false statements, false documents, and falsified applications. An officer with a pending allegation may not be employed or exercise officer powers until LETC decides. An officer who does not request a contested hearing within 3 years is deemed to waive it, and LETC enters a final decision denying certification for a set period or permanently. Agencies must report excessive-force findings within 30 days. Records of allegations that end in a finding of not guilty or not at fault are expunged within 30 days ([23-23-150](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php); Regs. 37-025, 37-026).
- **Public decertification list:** None found. Excessive-force findings reported to the Academy are “not a public document” and may go only to law enforcement or prosecution agencies, or out by court order (23-23-150(L)). By rule, notices withdrawing or denying certification are handled “in a confidential and sensitive manner” (Regs. 37-029). The SCCJA posts [LETC orders](https://sccja.sc.gov/letc-orders/) that set policy, not individual decisions.
- **National Decertification Index:** Required by rule. After LETC’s final decision and any appeal, the Academy “shall” enter in the Index each candidate, officer, or operator found to have committed misconduct or who consents to sanctions (Regs. 37-112). S.C. Code 23-23 does not name the Index; only [Regs. ch. 37](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2037.pdf) names the Index.
- **Continuing training:** Class 1 officers must complete 40 hours of Continuing Law Enforcement Education (CLEE) every 3 years to recertify, including at least one legal update and one domestic violence course each year (Regs. 37-010). By statute, CLEE must also cover mental health or addictive disorders (23-23-55) and, since May 15, 2026, autism spectrum disorder, in hours set by LETC (23-23-57).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- May 15, 2026 — **Continuing education in autism spectrum disorder required** — 2026 Act No. 134 (H.3285), sec. 1, adding S.C. Code 23-23-57 · Ratified May 14, 2026; approved May 15, 2026; effective on approval — Every certified officer “is required to complete” CLEE in autism spectrum disorder. LETC sets the number of annual hours. Sec. 2 adds autism courses to emergency medical technician training. — **For officers:** Your continuing education must include autism training, in the hours LETC sets. — [H.3285 (2026 Act No. 134)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/3285.htm)
- Jan 1, 2026 — **Officer privacy law takes effect: home address and cell number kept off public government websites on request** — 2023 Act No. 56 (S.252), adding S.C. Code 30-2-500 and 30-2-510; delayed by 2024 Act No. 220 (H.3865); rewritten by 2025 Act No. 4 (S.126), which also adds 30-2-515 · Act 56 approved May 19, 2023; Act 4 approved April 28, 2025; effective January 1, 2026 — Act 56 would have made certified officers’ personal contact information held by state and local agencies “confidential” on request, from July 1, 2024. Act 220, approved July 2, 2024, delayed it to July 1, 2025, and Act 4 delayed it again to January 1, 2026 and rewrote it before it took effect. As enacted, active or former certified officers and corrections officers may ask that their home address, personal cell number, and tax map number be restricted from display on publicly available government websites. The request uses a form created by the SCCJA and Court Administration and needs a notarized employment affidavit. The data stays in the official record, and records sold or available by account or subscription are not covered. Exceptions include business and UCC filings, later addresses, and disclosure to title insurers, attorneys, surveyors, engineers, and a deceased officer’s personal representative. An officer may petition a court to compel compliance (30-2-515), and state and local government employees and their agents face no liability for claims arising from personal contact information on the public record. — **For officers:** To keep your home address and cell number off public government websites, file the form with a notarized employment affidavit. — [S.126 (2025 Act No. 4)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/126.htm)[S.252 (2023 Act No. 56)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/bills/252.htm)[S.C. Code Title 30, ch. 2](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c002.php)
- May 22, 2025 — **Certification fingerprints may be kept for notice of new charges and the FBI’s Next Generation Identification program** — 2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), sec. 5, adding S.C. Code 23-23-60(E) · Approved May 22, 2025; effective on approval — Fingerprint records were already required for certification. New subsection (E) says anyone seeking LETC certification “shall undergo” a fingerprint-supported SLED state check and FBI national check. SLED “is authorized to retain” the prints to notify the Academy of new criminal charges, and SLED and the FBI “may” keep them for future submission to the FBI’s Next Generation Identification program and for latent fingerprint searches. Results go to the Academy and “cannot be further disseminated.” The subsection also lists certification classes I to IV. — **For officers:** Your certification fingerprints may stay on file, so a new arrest can be reported to the Academy. — [H.3752 (2025 Act No. 66)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/3752.htm)[S.C. Code 23-23-60](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php)
- Jan 1, 2023 — **Minimum standards for every agency: use of force, chokehold ban, duty to intervene, body cameras, no-knock warrants, complaints** — 2022 Act No. 218 (H.3050), sec. 4, adding S.C. Code 23-23-85 · Approved May 23, 2022; sec. 4 effective January 1, 2023 — LETC “shall establish required minimum standards for all law enforcement agencies.” They cover use of force limited to force “objectively reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances,” with chokeholds and carotid restraints prohibited as less-lethal options; vehicle pursuits; the duty to intervene; hiring and firing practices; field training; body-worn cameras; no-knock warrants; and public complaint procedures, including anonymous complaints, with substantiated complaints reported to LETC. Agencies also need early-warning systems for at-risk behavior. LETC may penalize agencies that do not comply, including with civil fines under 23-23-100. The standards LETC adopted were not reviewed. — **For officers:** Your agency’s use-of-force, intervention, and body-camera policies must meet LETC’s statewide minimums. — [H.3050 (2022 Act No. 218)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/3050.htm)[S.C. Code 23-23-85](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php)
- Jan 1, 2023 — **LETC Compliance Division inspects every agency at least every 3 years** — 2022 Act No. 218 (H.3050), sec. 5, adding S.C. Code 23-23-160 · Approved May 23, 2022; sec. 5 effective January 1, 2023 — A Compliance Division under LETC must inspect each agency’s policies at least once every 3 years against the 23-23-85 standards. An agency found out of compliance must start corrective action within 90 days or face penalties under 23-23-100. Agencies accredited by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation Council or CALEA are exempt and deemed compliant. No inspection results were found. — **For officers:** No new duty for officers. — [S.C. Code 23-23-160](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t23c023.php)

## Not yet in force and pending

No enacted change in this area awaits its effective date. These bills of the 126th General Assembly did not pass before its 2026 session ended, so they died: H.4387 (removing agency discretion over some misconduct allegations), H.4682 and H.4678 (driver licenses from any U.S. jurisdiction for certification candidates), S.142 (an LETC model use-of-force policy, with loss of qualified immunity for agencies without one), S.8 (vehicle pursuits), H.3288 (body-camera data requests), and H.3799 and S.120 (fingerprint checks, overtaken by 2025 Act No. 66). No bill on officer masks or identification was found.

The bill-status page and List of Acts give January 26, 2026 as Act 4’s effective date, but the act itself says it “takes effect on January 1, 2026,” and the Code history uses that date. This page follows the act.

## Checked and unchanged

- S.C. Code 23-23-150 (misconduct adjudication) and 23-23-40 (certification requirement): last amended by 2022 Act No. 218, effective May 23, 2022, before this period.
- S.C. Code 23-1-240 (body-worn cameras): no 2023–2026 act in the history notes.
- S.C. Code Regs. ch. 37 (LETC rules): no 2023–2026 amendment in the published chapter.
- Not counted: 2024 Act No. 179 (training for 911 telecommunicators, not officers); Title 23, ch. 3 changes from 2023 to 2025 (SLED units, the sex offender registry, and school safety).