Concealed Carry in South Carolina: Permitless Rules and CWPs

Concealed carry in South Carolina no longer requires a permit. Since the Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act took effect on March 7, 2024, anyone who is at least 18, a South Carolina resident or qualifying non-resident, and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm can carry a handgun openly or concealed.¹ The state still issues Concealed Weapon Permits (CWPs) through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and one is still worth having if you travel. The location restrictions, self-defense rules, and duty to tell police you are armed apply the same way whether you carry with a permit or without one.

Who Can Carry Without a Permit

The 2024 law states that the availability of a CWP “must not be construed to prohibit the permitless transport or carrying of a firearm in a vehicle or on or about one’s person, whether openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded, in a manner not prohibited by law.”¹ It also lowered the minimum age for both carrying and getting a CWP from 21 to 18.

You still have to be legally allowed to have a gun in the first place. Disqualifying factors include felony convictions, certain misdemeanors, domestic violence restraining orders, adjudication as mentally incompetent, and a history of drug or alcohol abuse that indicates a risk to public safety.² Permitless carry does not override any of that.

Where You Still Cannot Carry

Section 16-23-20 lists the places a handgun is off limits regardless of whether you hold a CWP:³

Law enforcement and correctional facilities, including jails, prisons, and police stations.
Courthouses and courtrooms during the time court is in session.
Polling places on election days.
Offices or business meetings of county, municipal, school board, or special-purpose district governing bodies.
School and college athletic events, unless the event is specifically related to firearms.
Daycare and preschool facilities.
Federal buildings where federal law prohibits firearms, such as federal courthouses, post offices, and VA facilities.
Churches and religious sanctuaries, unless the church official or governing body gives express permission.
Hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices, unless the facility expressly authorizes it.
Another person’s home without the express permission of the owner or person in legal control.
Any premises posted with a compliant “No Concealable Weapons Allowed” sign.

Schools are the strictest of these. Bringing a firearm onto elementary or secondary school property is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, even on a first offense.⁴ Law enforcement and personnel authorized by school officials are exempt. If you have a firearm in a vehicle on school property, it must be in a locked vehicle and stored in a closed glove compartment, console, trunk, or closed container in the luggage area.

What Counts as a Valid “No Weapons” Sign

A private business can ban concealed carry by posting a sign, but the sign has to meet strict statutory specs to carry criminal weight. For a building with doors, the sign must be eight inches wide by twelve inches tall, posted at every entrance between 40 and 60 inches from the ground, and clearly visible from outside. It has to show a black silhouette of a handgun inside a seven-inch-diameter circle with a diagonal line running from lower left to upper right, and the words “NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED” in black, one-inch-tall uppercase letters at the bottom.⁵ Outdoor sites without doors require a much larger version.

A handwritten “No Guns” note on a door does not meet the requirements, and carrying past a non-compliant sign is not a violation of Section 16-23-20. The property owner can still ask you to leave, though, and refusing to leave after being asked creates a separate trespassing problem.

Guns in Restaurants, Bars, and Workplaces

You can carry a concealed handgun into a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol, but you cannot drink while carrying. Consuming any alcoholic beverage while armed on the premises is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,000 in fines, up to two years in prison, or both.⁶ If you hold a CWP, a conviction also revokes your permit for five years. The exception disappears entirely if the establishment posts a compliant sign or if the owner or operator asks you to leave or remove your weapon.

Employers have broad authority to prohibit firearms at work. State law lets an employer ban employees and visitors from carrying a handgun anywhere on company property and in any company-owned vehicles or equipment.⁷ The statute does not carve out a protection for guns stored in a locked personal vehicle in the company parking lot, so that question depends on the employer’s own policy.

Firearms in Your Vehicle

Anyone not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm can store one anywhere in a vehicle, occupied or not, and no permit is required.¹ Three locations have their own storage rules. On school property, a firearm has to stay in a locked vehicle in a closed glove compartment, console, trunk, or closed container in the luggage area. On state park land, firearms belonging to licensed hunters must be unloaded and stored in a case or the trunk. On capitol grounds, firearms must remain in a locked vehicle in a location not readily accessible to any person.

When You Can Use Your Gun in Self-Defense

South Carolina’s Protection of Persons and Property Act (the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground law) governs when force, including deadly force, is legally justified.

Inside your home, residence, or occupied vehicle, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of death or serious injury if someone unlawfully and forcibly entered or tried to remove someone against their will.⁸ The presumption does not apply if:

The person you used force against had a right to be there, such as a co-owner, lessee, or lawful resident, unless a restraining order was in effect.
The person you sought to remove was a child or grandchild in the lawful custody of the other person.
You were engaged in unlawful activity at the time.
The other person was a law enforcement officer performing official duties and identified as such.

Outside the home, Stand Your Ground removes any duty to retreat. If you are somewhere you have a right to be, are not engaged in unlawful activity, and reasonably believe deadly force is necessary to prevent death, serious injury, or a violent crime, the law says you can stand your ground.⁸ A person who uses force within the act is immune from criminal prosecution and civil suits, with the narrow exception of force used against an identified law enforcement officer acting officially.

What to Do During a Traffic Stop

Anyone carrying a handgun in South Carolina, with or without a permit, must inform an officer they are armed once the officer initiates a stop, identifies themselves as law enforcement, and asks for identification or a driver’s license.

If you hold a CWP, you also have to present the permit ID card during the interaction. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor with a $25 fine.⁹ The fine itself is small, but skipping the disclosure is a reliable way to turn a routine stop into something worse.

Penalties If You Get It Wrong

Carrying into a prohibited location under Section 16-23-20 escalates quickly:¹⁰

First offense: misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both.
Second offense: misdemeanor, up to three years in prison.
Third or subsequent offense: felony, up to five years in prison.

A felony conviction permanently strips your right to possess firearms under both state and federal law, so a pattern of ignoring restricted-location rules can end your carry rights entirely. School property is a felony from the first offense.⁴

One quirk: if you carry past a compliant “No Concealable Weapons Allowed” sign on private property, you can only be charged under the trespassing statute (Section 16-11-620), not under the full prohibited-locations penalty structure.³ Trespassing consequences are lighter, but a violation is still a violation.

Why Still Get a CWP

Since you can carry in South Carolina without one, the main reason to get a CWP is reciprocity. A South Carolina CWP is recognized by roughly 35 other states. Without a permit, your ability to carry ends at the state line.

South Carolina uses conditional reciprocity, meaning it recognizes permits from states that recognize its own. SLED keeps a current list on its website, and the list changes as agreements are added or dropped.¹¹ When you carry in another state under reciprocity, that state’s laws control where and how you can carry, so check before you cross.

Non-residents carrying in South Carolina under a reciprocal permit have to keep both their home-state permit and a valid government-issued photo ID on them at all times.

How to Apply, Renew, or Update a CWP

SLED cannot charge a fee for a CWP under the current statute.² To qualify you must be:

At least 18 years old.
A South Carolina resident, or a qualified non-resident (someone who owns real property in the state, or military personnel on permanent change-of-station orders).¹²
Not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.

The application requires personal information, proof of residency, completion of an approved firearms training course, a recent photograph, and a full set of fingerprints from an authorized agency. The training course covers firearm safety, self-defense laws, and proper handling, including live-fire exercises with a certified instructor. SLED offers free CWP classes.¹³ Applications can be submitted online or by mail. If SLED denies your application, you get a written explanation and the right to appeal.

A CWP is valid for five years. SLED recommends renewing 90 to 120 days before expiration.¹¹ Renewal does not require new fingerprints or additional training, and you can renew online for up to 18 months after your permit has expired, or by mail after that.¹³

SLED can revoke a permit if the holder becomes prohibited from possessing a firearm, is charged with a disqualifying offense, or violates concealed carry laws. A permit revoked on a charge that ends in a not-guilty verdict must be reinstated at no cost.² If you change your permanent address, you have to notify SLED in writing within 10 days and pay a $5 fee for a replacement card. Failing to report the change is a misdemeanor with a $25 fine. A lost or stolen permit must be reported within 48 hours.⁹

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-31-215 – Issuance or Denial of Permit; Appeal; Revocation; Surrender of Permit; Loss or Theft of Permit
3
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Constitutional Carry Guidance
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-23-430
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-31-235 – Sign Requirements
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-23-465 – Additional Penalty for Unlawfully Carrying Pistol or Firearm onto Premises of Business Selling Alcoholic Liquor, Beer or Wine for On-Premises Consumption; Exceptions
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-31-220 – Right to Allow or Permit Concealed Weapons upon Premises; Signs
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 6 – Protection of Persons and Property Act
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-31-215 – Issuance of Permits
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 16-23-50 – Penalties
11
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Concealed Weapons Permit
12
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 23-31-210 – Definitions
13
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. SLED Sponsored CWP Courses