Concealed Carry in South Carolina: Permitless Rules and CWP Benefits

Concealed carry in South Carolina no longer requires a permit. Since the Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act took effect on March 7, 2024, any South Carolina resident or qualifying non-resident who is at least 18 and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm can carry a handgun openly or concealed.¹ The state still issues Concealed Weapons Permits through SLED, and the same location restrictions and legal duties apply whether you carry with a permit or without one.

Who Can Carry Without a Permit

Permitless carry is open to anyone who meets the same eligibility standards that applied to CWP holders before the law changed. You must be at least 18, legally present in South Carolina as a resident or qualifying non-resident, and not disqualified from firearm possession under state or federal law.

Disqualifying factors include felony convictions, certain misdemeanors, domestic violence restraining orders, adjudication as mentally incompetent, and a history of drug or alcohol abuse that would indicate a risk to public safety.² If any of those apply to you, carrying without a permit does not make it legal. The 2024 law lowered the minimum age for both permitless carry and the CWP from 21 to 18.

Where You Cannot Carry

Section 16-23-20 lists the places where carrying a handgun is unlawful regardless of permit status:³

Law enforcement and correctional facilities, including jails, prisons, and police stations.
Courthouses and courtrooms during any time court is in session.
Polling places on election days.
Offices and business meetings of county, municipal, school board, or special-purpose district governing bodies.
School and college athletic events, unless the event itself involves firearms.
Daycare and preschool facilities.
Federal buildings where federal law bans 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.
Someone else’s home, without the owner’s express permission.
Any premises posted with a compliant “No Concealable Weapons Allowed” sign.

Schools Are Treated More Strictly

Bringing a firearm onto elementary or secondary school property is a felony on the first offense, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.⁴ If you need a firearm in your vehicle on school property, the vehicle must be locked and the firearm stored in a closed glove compartment, console, trunk, or closed container in the luggage area.

Private Property Signs

A property owner can ban concealed carry by posting a sign, but the sign has to meet statutory specifications: specific dimensions, lettering size, a defined handgun silhouette, placement at every entrance, and precise mounting height.⁵ A handwritten “No Guns” note on a window does not qualify, and carrying past a non-compliant sign is not a violation of Section 16-23-20. The owner can still ask you to leave, however, and refusing creates a separate trespassing problem.

Restaurants and Bars

You can carry a concealed firearm into a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol, with one firm condition: you cannot drink while armed. Consuming any alcoholic beverage on the premises while carrying is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,000 in fines, up to two years in prison, or both.⁶ For CWP holders, a conviction also triggers a five-year revocation of the permit.

This permission disappears if the establishment has posted a compliant “No Concealable Weapons Allowed” sign, or if the owner or operator asks you to leave or remove the firearm. Refusing after being asked is itself a violation.

Vehicles and Workplaces

Anyone who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm can store one anywhere in a personal vehicle, occupied or not. No permit is required. The 2024 law explicitly confirmed that permitless transport in a vehicle is lawful.

Some locations impose storage rules on top of that general freedom. On school property, the locked-vehicle-and-closed-container rule applies. 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 stay in a locked vehicle in a location not readily accessible to any person.

Employers have broad authority to ban firearms on company premises, in company vehicles, and on company equipment, and the ban can apply to employees and visitors alike.⁷ The statute does not carve out an exception for a firearm locked inside an employee’s personal car in the company lot, so an employer’s written policy will control that question.

Telling Police You Are Armed

If a law enforcement officer stops you, identifies themselves, and requests identification or a driver’s license, you must inform them that you are carrying a handgun. This duty applies whether you carry with a permit or without one.

CWP holders have an added obligation to present the permit card during the interaction. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor carrying a $25 fine.⁸ The dollar amount is small, but skipping the disclosure is a reliable way to turn a routine stop into something worse.

Using Force in Self-Defense

South Carolina’s Protection of Persons and Property Act, known as the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground law, sets out when you can use force, including deadly force, while armed.

Inside your home, residence, or occupied vehicle, the law presumes you have a reasonable fear of death or serious injury if someone unlawfully and forcibly enters, or attempts to remove someone against their will. In practice, that presumption means you do not have to prove you were afraid; the law assumes you were.⁹

The presumption does not apply when:

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

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, you can stand your ground. Someone who uses force within the act is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits, with the narrow exception of force used against an identified law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity.

Penalties for Carrying Where You Shouldn’t

Carrying a handgun into a prohibited location under Section 16-23-20 brings escalating penalties:

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.¹⁰

The jump to a felony on the third offense is where people most often underestimate the risk. A felony conviction permanently strips firearm rights under state and federal law, so repeatedly ignoring restricted-location signs can cost you your gun rights entirely.

One useful distinction: if you carry past a posted “No Concealable Weapons Allowed” sign, you can only be charged under the trespassing statute, Section 16-11-620, not under the full penalty structure of Section 16-23-20.³ Trespassing carries lighter consequences than unlawful carrying.

Why Still Get a CWP

With permitless carry now legal in state, the main reason to get a CWP is reciprocity. A South Carolina permit is honored by roughly 35 other states. Without one, your right to carry stops at the state line. If you travel out of state with any regularity, the permit earns its keep quickly.

South Carolina uses conditional reciprocity, meaning it recognizes permits from states that recognize South Carolina’s. SLED maintains the current list, which changes as agreements are added or dropped.¹¹ When you carry in another state under reciprocity, that state’s laws govern where and how you can carry, so check before you cross the border. Non-residents carrying in South Carolina under a reciprocal permit must have both the home-state permit and a valid government-issued photo ID on them at all times.

Applying for a CWP

SLED cannot charge a fee for a CWP under the current statute. To qualify you must be at least 18, be a South Carolina resident or qualified non-resident (someone who owns real property in the state, or military personnel on permanent change-of-station orders),¹² and not prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The application asks for personal information, proof of residency, completion of an approved firearms training course, a recent photograph, and a full set of fingerprints taken by an authorized agency. SLED runs a background check covering criminal records, mental health history, and other disqualifying factors. Applications can be submitted online or by mail, and SLED has 90 days to either issue the permit or provide written reasons for denial.² The training course covers firearm safety, self-defense law, and handling, with live-fire exercises under a certified instructor. SLED itself offers free CWP classes.¹³

Renewal

A CWP is valid for five years. SLED recommends submitting a renewal application 90 to 120 days before expiration. Renewal does not require new fingerprints or new training. If your permit has already expired, you can renew online for up to 18 months past expiration, or by mail if it has been expired longer.¹³ You do not need to retake the training course to renew an expired permit.

SLED can revoke a permit if you become prohibited from possessing a firearm, are charged with a disqualifying offense, or violate concealed carry laws. If you are charged but found not guilty, the permit must be reinstated at no charge.

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 23-31-215 – Issuance of Permits
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 6 – Protection of Persons and Property Act
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