How to become a general contractor in South Carolina

The path in South Carolina, step by step

South Carolina licenses general contractor work at the state level through the South Carolina LLR, Residential Builders Commission. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Build one year of hands on experience under licensed contractors and collect W2s or 1099s.
2. Send the Residential Builder application with the $135 fee and a full credit report.
3. Your past supervisors return the experience affidavit.
4. Once approved, pass the Residential Builders and Business Management and Law exams with PSI.
5. Send PSI results, the $220 license fee and a $15,000 surety bond.
6. For commercial work over $10,000, apply to the Contractor's Licensing Board separately.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: general contractor license in South Carolina.

Finding an apprenticeship in South Carolina

South Carolina has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the South Carolina Apprenticeship Office as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. New construction managers are usually hired as assistants and work under an experienced manager for up to a year, sometimes longer.

License levels and exams in South Carolina

The license to aim for: Residential Builder license (or General Contractor license for commercial work).

Trade exam. Yes. Residential Builders exam through PSI (NASCLA accepted). Commercial classifications have PSI technical exams.

Business exam. Yes. The SC Business Management and Law exam through PSI.

Keeping it. Residential Builder license renews every two years by June 30 of even years. Commercial general contractor licenses expire October 31 of even years.

Coming from another state. Residential: technical exam waiver for licenses held at least one year from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi or North Carolina, or a NASCLA exam. You still take the SC business and law exam.

What the South Carolina license costs

The fees the South Carolina LLR, Residential Builders Commission lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What general contractors earn in South Carolina

The median general contractor in South Carolina earned $51.98 an hour in May 2025, 30th of 51 states, with 5,620 on payrolls. The national median was $55.28.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of general contractors in South Carolina earned under $41.56 an hour and a tenth under $34.37. At the top, a quarter earned over $67.10 and a tenth over $92.31.

BLS has no separate wage figure for general contractors. These are its numbers for construction managers, the group BLS files general contractors under. They count managers on a payroll, so owners who run their own contracting business are not in them. Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: general contractor salary in South Carolina.

Jobs ahead in South Carolina

South Carolina's labor market office projects jobs for general contractors growing from 7,100 in 2022 to 7,560 in 2032, a change of 6.5%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 560 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 6.5% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 4.5% projected nationally, ranking 41st of the 49 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group construction managers.

Starting your own general contractor business in South Carolina

To contract on your own in South Carolina, the license is the Residential Builder license (or General Contractor license for commercial work).

Bond. Residential Builder: $15,000 surety bond in your own name. Commercial: net worth proof or a surety bond by group, from $20,000 (Group 1) to $350,000 (Group 5).

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the South Carolina median of $51.98 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $161.87 per billable hour. Try your own in the labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a general contracting business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.