Can You Get a Dispensary License in South Carolina?

There is no dispensary license in South Carolina for marijuana, because both medical and recreational cannabis remain illegal in the state. What you can apply for is a hemp permit through the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, which authorizes you to grow, process, handle, or sell products derived from hemp that test at or below 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. If your plan is to open a cannabis storefront, no legal path exists right now. If your plan involves hemp-derived products, keep reading.

Why No Marijuana Dispensary License Exists

Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under South Carolina law, and the legislature has not created any medical or recreational dispensary system. Possession of one ounce or less is a misdemeanor carrying up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $100 to $200 for a first offense.¹

Selling is a different order of risk. Trafficking charges begin at ten pounds. Between 10 and 100 pounds, a first offense carries a mandatory one-to-ten-year sentence with no possibility of suspension or probation, plus a $10,000 fine. Above 100 pounds, the mandatory minimum jumps to 25 years.¹ No business structure, permit application, or legal workaround changes that.

The Hemp Permits That Do Exist

The South Carolina Hemp Farming Act, at S.C. Code Ann. § 46-55-10 and following sections, defines hemp as Cannabis sativa L. with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Anything above that line is marijuana.² The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) administers the program and issues all permits.³

There is no single all-purpose hemp license. The SCDA separates the industry by activity, and each location needs its own permit even if operating under the same business name.⁴ The four categories are:

Hemp Farming Permit for cultivating living plants, including clones and seedlings.
Hemp Processing Permit for extraction, manufacturing, and converting raw biomass into finished products. This permit does not authorize growing.⁴
Hemp Handler Permit for storage, transportation, and similar services that don’t involve growing or processing.⁵
Dealer/Handler License for retail and wholesale dealing, including seed dealers and suppliers.

Retail sales of hemp-derived products generally fall under the handler or dealer category. Read the SCDA guidelines for the exact permit type before you apply; the wrong category delays the process.

Who Qualifies

Every applicant clears a fingerprint-based state records check through SLED and a national records check through the FBI. The disqualifier is narrow but firm: a felony conviction related to a controlled substance under state or federal law within the ten years before your application makes you ineligible.² One narrow exception applies to individuals who were lawfully growing hemp under the 2014 Farm Bill before December 20, 2018, and whose conviction also predates that date.⁶

The background check requirement applies to every “key participant” in the business. Under the state plan, that means the sole proprietor, any partner, or a person with executive managerial control such as a CEO, COO, or CFO. Non-executive managers like farm managers or shift supervisors are not included.⁶

Residency matters too. The SCDA requires hemp farming applicants to be South Carolina residents, and the address on the application must be a South Carolina address that matches the background check results.⁷ Every business entity operating in the state must maintain a registered agent with a physical street address; a PO Box will not do.

What to File and What It Costs

Requirements vary slightly by permit type, but a few things are universal. Your business entity has to be registered with the South Carolina Secretary of State,⁸ and you need a Federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS. Cultivation applicants must provide a legal description and GPS coordinates for every field or greenhouse.² Handlers and processors submit the physical address of every location where hemp will be stored, processed, or sold.

Every applicant signs written consent allowing the SCDA, SLED, and local law enforcement to enter any premises where hemp is cultivated, handled, processed, or stored, and to test THC concentration using post-decarboxylation or similar methods.² If you operate on leased property, the state plan requires that the property be owned or leased by the applicant.⁶ Falsifying any material information on the application makes you permanently ineligible for the program.

Fees depend on the permit and the number of locations. A hemp handler permit carries a $100 non-refundable application fee per location, plus a category permit fee: $500 per location for a warehouse, storage, or drying facility, or $250 each for transporters, laboratories, and seed dealers or suppliers.⁵ The statute caps annual licensing fees for cultivators and handlers at $1,000 per registrant, and processor fees are calculated separately based on the cost of administering the processor program.² Fingerprinting adds roughly $40 to $100 depending on the vendor.

Testing, Records, and Retail Licensing

Hemp products intended for human consumption must be tested by an independent laboratory for pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, and microbiological contaminants to confirm they meet U.S. food industry standards. All test results must be retained for at least three years and made available to state law enforcement on request. Processors have to keep test results tied to corresponding batch numbers for the same three years.⁹ Keep them organized from day one; an inspector who asks and gets nothing is a serious problem. Hemp materials that test above 0.3 percent total THC are subject to destruction.⁵

A hemp permit does not cover your tax obligations. Every retailer selling in South Carolina must obtain a Retail License from the South Carolina Department of Revenue before making taxable sales. The fee is $50 per location, non-refundable, and businesses with multiple storefronts need a separate license for each. You apply through the SCDOR’s MyDORWAY portal. Retail licenses do not expire as long as the same taxpayer operates at the same location, though a change in ownership requires a new license.¹⁰ South Carolina currently imposes no special excise tax on hemp products.

Renewal Deadlines

Hemp handler permits renew annually, one year from the date they were issued.⁵ Hemp farming permits carry a firm annual deadline with a one-week grace period from March 1 through March 8, and using the grace period costs a $500 non-refundable late fee on top of normal application costs.¹¹ Miss the grace period and you may lose authorization to operate for the year.

What Could Change

Two bills are worth tracking if you plan to enter this space.

Consumable Hemp Licensing and Regulation Act (H. 3935)

Introduced in February 2025, this bill would build a separate licensing system for hemp-derived consumables such as edibles and THC drinks. Distributors, manufacturers, and retailers would need a state license before selling. Proposed fees are $250 for distributors, manufacturers, and producers, and $100 per location for retailers, capped at $2,500 for businesses with multiple locations.¹²

The bill sets potency limits at no more than 10 milligrams of combined THC per serving for liquids and no more than 100 milligrams per serving for non-liquid products. Sales would be limited to buyers 21 and older with proof of age, and retailers would keep products behind the counter with an exception for hemp beverages. It also proposes a 2 percent excise tax on retail sales.¹² As of early 2026, the bill remains in the House.

Medical Cannabis Legislation

The Compassionate Care Act (S. 0053) has been reintroduced in the South Carolina Senate and referred to the Committee on Medical Affairs. The Senate has previously passed medical cannabis legislation twice, and both times the bill died in the House. The General Assembly adjourned in May 2025 without holding a hearing on any cannabis legislation. If a medical cannabis law does eventually pass, it would likely create a separate licensing framework from the existing hemp program. Treat any future medical dispensary license as speculative until a law actually passes.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 44-53-370 – Prohibited Acts A
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 46-55 – The Hemp Farming Act
3
South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Hemp Farming Program
4
South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Hemp Processor Application
5
South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Hemp Handler Application
6
United States Department of Agriculture. South Carolina Hemp Farming State Plan
7
South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Hemp FAQ
8
SC Secretary of State. Business Entities
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 46-55-40 – Laboratory Testing
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South Carolina Department of Revenue. Licensing – Retail License
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South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Hemp Farmer Application
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South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Consumable Hemp Licensing and Regulation Act