How to Form a Single-Member LLC in South Carolina

To form a single-member LLC in South Carolina, you file Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State and pay a $110 fee.¹ Before and after that filing, there are a handful of smaller steps: choosing a compliant name, lining up a registered agent with a South Carolina street address, getting an EIN, and understanding how the LLC will be taxed. The state does not require an annual report for a default pass-through LLC, so once you are set up, ongoing paperwork is light.

Choose and Clear a Name

Your LLC’s name has to include “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Company,” or one of the standard abbreviations: LLC, L.L.C., LC, or L.C.² “Limited” can be shortened to “Ltd.” and “Company” to “Co.” The name also has to be distinguishable from any corporation, limited partnership, or other LLC already on file with the Secretary of State.

Search the Secretary of State’s online database before you file to confirm the name you want is open. If it is already taken and you still want to use something close, you need written consent from the existing business or a court order establishing your right to the name.²

Appoint a Registered Agent

Every South Carolina LLC must designate and continuously maintain a registered agent with a street address in the state.³ A P.O. box does not qualify. The agent receives legal documents on behalf of the LLC, including lawsuits and official state correspondence.

The agent can be an individual who lives in South Carolina, a domestic corporation, another LLC, or a foreign entity authorized to do business in the state.³ You can serve as your own registered agent if you have a South Carolina street address and are available during business hours. Many owners hire a commercial service instead, usually $100 to $300 per year, for privacy and reliability.

Letting the registered agent lapse can lead to administrative dissolution, which strips the LLC of its authority to operate in the state. If you ever need to change the agent or the agent’s address, you file a Notice of Change with the Secretary of State for a $10 fee.⁴

File the Articles of Organization

You create the LLC by delivering Articles of Organization to the South Carolina Secretary of State.⁵ The document must include:

The LLC’s name
Its principal office address
The name and street address of your registered agent in South Carolina
The organizer’s name and address

You do not have to list the LLC’s members, which gives sole owners some privacy. You can file online through the Business Entities Online system or download the paper form and mail it in.⁶ Either way, the fee is $110.¹ Online filings are generally processed faster than mailed ones.

The LLC becomes effective on the date the Secretary of State processes the filing, or on a later date you specify in the Articles, up to 90 days out. South Carolina does not require you to publish a notice of formation in a newspaper, so there is no extra publication step or cost.

Write an Operating Agreement

South Carolina does not require an LLC to have a written operating agreement. The statute says members “may” enter into one, and it does not even have to be in writing. Where the operating agreement is silent or does not exist, the state’s Uniform Limited Liability Company Act fills the gaps with default rules.⁷

For a single-member LLC, writing one is still worth the time. Banks regularly ask for an operating agreement before opening a business account. It also documents that the LLC is a genuine entity separate from you, which reinforces your liability shield.

The most overlooked reason concerns succession. South Carolina’s dissolution statute lists events that trigger winding up, and the first on the list is “an event specified in the operating agreement.”⁸ Without a written agreement naming a successor or spelling out what happens when the sole member dies or becomes incapacitated, the LLC’s future falls to your estate and whatever a probate court decides. A simple agreement can designate who steps in, authorize operations to continue during estate administration, or direct an orderly wind-up and distribution to your heirs.

Even a short agreement for a single-member LLC should cover:

Confirmation that you are the sole member and own 100% of the LLC
That you manage the LLC and have full authority over daily decisions
What you initially contributed and how future contributions will work
How and when you take distributions
Who takes over if you die, become disabled, or cannot manage the business
Any dissolution terms beyond the statutory defaults

Get an EIN

A single-member LLC with no employees is not technically required to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. You can use your Social Security number on tax filings. Most owners get one anyway. Banks typically require an EIN to open a business account, and using one on vendor forms keeps your Social Security number off documents that pass through other people’s hands. The IRS issues EINs for free through its online application in about five minutes.

Understand How the LLC Will Be Taxed

Federal

By default, the IRS treats a single-member LLC as a “disregarded entity.” The LLC itself does not file a separate federal return. You report business income and expenses on Schedule C of your personal Form 1040.⁹ Profit is taxed at your personal rate.

You also owe self-employment tax on net business earnings, 15.3% total, covering both the employer and employee portions of Social Security (12.4%) and Medicare (2.9%).⁹ For 2026, the Social Security portion applies to the first $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment income. Medicare has no cap. You can deduct the employer-equivalent half of self-employment tax when figuring your adjusted gross income.

If your LLC’s net profit consistently runs above roughly $50,000 to $70,000 per year, electing S corporation tax treatment by filing IRS Form 2553 may reduce your self-employment tax bill. The trade-off is added complexity: payroll, a separate S-corp return on Form 1120-S, and paying yourself a reasonable salary that would hold up to IRS scrutiny.

South Carolina

Starting in 2026, South Carolina uses a two-bracket income tax: the first $30,000 of taxable income is taxed at 1.99%, and income above $30,000 is taxed at 5.21%.¹⁰ A default single-member LLC’s profit passes through to your personal return, so these are the rates you will pay on business income after deductions.

South Carolina does not impose a separate franchise or privilege tax on LLCs. If you sell goods or taxable services, you need to register for a retail license and collect the state’s 6% sales tax, plus local taxes that can push the combined rate as high as 9% in some counties.¹¹ If you hire employees, you will also handle state income tax withholding and unemployment insurance through the Department of Revenue and the Department of Employment and Workforce.

South Carolina does not require a default single-member LLC to file an annual report or pay an annual fee to the Secretary of State. Once your Articles are filed and your registered agent is in place, there is no recurring state filing just to keep the LLC in good standing. If you later elect S-corp or C-corp taxation, that changes, and you would pick up corporate filing obligations with the Department of Revenue.

Keep Your Liability Protection Intact

The core benefit of the LLC is the wall between your personal assets and the business’s debts. Under South Carolina law, the debts and obligations of an LLC belong solely to the company; a member is not personally liable for them simply by being a member or manager.¹² If the LLC gets sued or cannot pay a vendor, your personal bank accounts, home, and other assets are generally off-limits.

South Carolina’s statute goes a step further than corporate law: the failure to observe “usual company formalities” is explicitly not grounds for holding members personally liable.¹² For corporations, skipping board meetings or sloppy record-keeping can give creditors an opening to “pierce the veil.” For South Carolina LLCs, that factor alone will not do it.

Courts can still reach through the LLC in certain situations. The most common triggers are commingling personal and business money (paying your rent from the company account, depositing business revenue into a personal account), using the LLC to commit fraud, or setting up the company so undercapitalized that it was never meant to meet its own obligations. Keeping a separate business bank account and adequate operating capital is the simplest way to preserve your protection.

The protection also has limits that no filing can fix. If you personally guarantee a loan or lease, you are on the hook for that debt regardless of the LLC. Lenders routinely require personal guarantees from single-member LLC owners before extending credit, so read every financing agreement carefully before you sign.

1
South Carolina Secretary of State. Downloadable Paper Forms – Limited Liability Company
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Section 33-44-105 – Name
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Section 33-44-108 – Designated Office and Agent for Service of Process
4
South Carolina Secretary of State. Downloadable Paper Forms – Registered Agent
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Section 33-44-202 – Organization
6
South Carolina Secretary of State. Online Filings
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Section 33-44-103 – Effect of Operating Agreement
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Uniform Limited Liability Company Act of 1996 – Section 33-44-801
9
Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
10
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax
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South Carolina Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Index
12
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 33 Chapter 44 – Section 33-44-303 – Liability of Members and Managers