South Carolina LLC status check
What keeps a South Carolina LLC or corporation in good standing, what happens if a filing is missed, and how to check your status yourself. Taken from the official rules published by South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings.
Check your South Carolina status
On the state’s own site: open the official business search (South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings). Search your exact registered name and read the status field.
The way a lender sees it: a lender’s system doesn’t just read your status — it matches your exact legal name, your filing, your domain and your email against each other. Run the same checks below.
Free check: what a lender’s system sees
Standing in South Carolina, exact legal-name match, time in business, domain age, website and business email. No account, no card, under a minute.
What South Carolina requires to stay in good standing
| LLC | Corporation | |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | None required | Annual Report (filed with the SC Department of Revenue as part of the income tax return) |
| How often | - | Annual |
| When it’s due | No annual report for LLCs taxed as partnerships or disregarded entities. An LLC taxed as a corporation files the corporate annual report with the SC Department of Revenue. | Filed with the SC Department of Revenue, not the Secretary of State, by the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends (statute). The SCDOR says S corporations file Form SC1120S by the 15th day of the 3rd month. |
| State fee | Not published | No separate SOS fee; the annual license fee is paid to SCDOR |
| Annual tax tied to standing | None, unless the LLC is taxed as a corporation (then the corporate license fee applies). | Annual corporate license fee paid to SCDOR: $15 plus $1 per $1,000 (0.1%) of capital stock and paid-in surplus, minimum $25. |
Missed it? What happens, and how to fix it
If a filing is missed
SCDOR charges 5% of unpaid tax per month on late returns (max 25%) and 0.5% per month on a late license fee (max 25%). If returns stay unfiled, the SOS can forfeit the corporation. An LLC that leaves a fee, tax or penalty unpaid 60+ days after it is due can be dissolved after 60 days' notice.
Getting back in good standing
Application for Reinstatement following administrative dissolution — state fee $25 (corporations, S.C. Code 33-1-220); LLC fee not confirmed. Requires an SCDOR Certificate of Tax Compliance if dissolved over taxes. Corporations can reinstate at any time; LLCs must apply within 2 years of dissolution.
Why lenders check this before anyone reads your application
An automated know-your-business check compares what you put on an application against the state’s record. A status that isn’t active and in good standing, or a legal name that differs from your filing by a comma or a suffix, is a common silent reason for a decline.
Fixing your status costs nothing beyond the state’s own fees; you don’t need to pay anyone to do it for you.
Common questions
Does a South Carolina LLC have to file an annual report?
No annual report is required for LLCs in South Carolina according to South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings. Corporate annual reports go to the Department of Revenue, not the Secretary of State. Most LLCs file nothing yearly with the state.
How do I reinstate a South Carolina LLC?
South Carolina calls it Application for Reinstatement following administrative dissolution. The state fee is $25 (corporations, S.C. Code 33-1-220); LLC fee not confirmed. Requires an SCDOR Certificate of Tax Compliance if dissolved over taxes. Corporations can reinstate at any time; LLCs must apply within 2 years of dissolution.
What happens if I miss the South Carolina filing deadline?
SCDOR charges 5% of unpaid tax per month on late returns (max 25%) and 0.5% per month on a late license fee (max 25%). If returns stay unfiled, the SOS can forfeit the corporation. An LLC that leaves a fee, tax or penalty unpaid 60+ days after it is due can be dissolved after 60 days' notice.
How do I check if my South Carolina LLC is in good standing?
Search your exact registered name on South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings's business entity search (https://businessfilings.sc.gov/businessfiling) and read the status field. To see what a lender's verification system sees - status, exact legal-name match, domain and business email - run Peak Discounters' free fundability check.
Sources
Fees and deadlines change. Always confirm on South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings’s own site before you file. Last reviewed October 16, 2026.
- https://sos.sc.gov/faqs-about-business-entities
- https://sos.sc.gov/online-filings/business-entities
- https://sos.sc.gov/online-filings/business-entities/file-and-search-online
- https://dor.sc.gov/index.php/tax-index/business-income-taxes/corporate/corporate-faqs
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c020.php
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c001.php
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
See something wrong or out of date? Email info@peakdiscounters.com and we’ll correct it and re-date the page.
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