How to Get a Pardon in South Carolina: Eligibility and Hearing

To get a pardon in South Carolina, you apply to the Board of Paroles and Pardons through the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPPS). The package is a completed application, three letters of support from people not related to you, and a $100 non-refundable fee. After the department investigates, you appear at a hearing before the seven-member Board, and at least five members must sign the order for the pardon to be granted.¹ Most applicants wait seven to nine months from the day their application is received until they get a hearing date.²

Whether You’re Eligible Yet

When you can apply depends on how your sentence ended.³

If you were on probation, you can apply any time after being discharged from supervision.
If you were on parole, you can apply after completing five years under supervision. If your maximum parole period was shorter than five years, you become eligible on your discharge date.
If you were incarcerated without parole, you can apply any time after your discharge, whether you served the full sentence or were released without supervision.
If you are currently incarcerated, the Board can consider you before your parole eligibility date only if you show “most extraordinary circumstances.”

One catch surprises people. “Successful completion of supervision” under the statute means you had no new convictions during that period other than minor traffic offenses.⁴ Pick up a new conviction while on supervision and the eligibility clock restarts.

There’s also a firm money rule. You cannot receive a pardon until all court-ordered restitution has been paid in full. If SCDPPPS finds an unpaid balance during the investigation, it will set a deadline to pay. Miss that deadline and the application is denied.⁵

You don’t have to file for yourself. A victim of the original crime, or a family member living in South Carolina, can petition on behalf of someone who has completed supervision or been discharged.³

Putting the Application Together

Three pieces go in the envelope: the application form, three letters of support, and the fee.⁵ The form is on the SCDPPPS website. It asks for your complete criminal history, not just the conviction you want pardoned, and it asks you to explain why you’re requesting a pardon.

Letters of Support

You need exactly three. None of the writers can be related to you by birth or marriage. Each letter must be signed, dated within the past six months, and say plainly that the writer supports your pardon. On the form, list each supporter’s name, address, and phone numbers.⁶ Employers, community leaders, clergy, and longtime friends are common choices. The Board wants people who can speak credibly about who you are now.

Fee and Notarization

The $100 fee is non-refundable and must be a money order or cashier’s check payable to “The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.” Without it, your application is returned.⁷ The form also contains a General Release of Information section that has to be notarized before you send it in. Falsifying any part of the application is an automatic denial.⁵

Where to Send It and What Happens Next

Mail the completed application, all three letters, and the fee to SCDPPPS, P.O. Box 207, Columbia, SC 29202.⁵ Check every field before it goes out. A missing signature or blank section can push your file back.

Once SCDPPPS has your package, staff open an investigation. They verify restitution records, review your criminal history, and confirm your eligibility. The department will send confirmation that it received your application and, later, notice of your hearing date. From submission to hearing usually takes seven to nine months.²

The Hearing

At the hearing you appear before the Board of Paroles and Pardons in person. Members will ask about the original offense, what your life has looked like since, and why you believe a pardon is warranted. You can bring witnesses. Victims of the original crime may also attend and speak.

Showing up matters. The hearing is not technically mandatory, but the Board is weighing whether you’ve earned a second chance, and your presence carries weight. Answer questions directly and honestly. The Board already has the investigative file, so shading facts tends to backfire.

A pardon requires at least two-thirds of the Board’s members to sign the order.¹ With seven members on the Board, that means five.⁸ The decision is typically announced at the end of the hearing.

If You’re Denied

A denial isn’t permanent. You can reapply after one year from the date the Board denied your application, and you’ll pay the $100 fee again.⁷ Use the wait. New employment, deeper community involvement, and stronger letters can all change how a second application reads. Showing real progress between hearings counts.

What a Pardon Restores

Under South Carolina law, a pardon relieves you of all legal consequences of the conviction, direct and indirect.⁴ In practice, that means you regain the following:⁹

The right to register and vote.
Eligibility to serve on a jury.
Eligibility to hold most public offices.
Eligibility for professional licenses your conviction had blocked.
Protection against use of the conviction to attack your credibility as a witness in certain proceedings.

One office is treated differently. If you were convicted of embezzlement of public funds, a pardon alone does not lift the bar on holding office. Only the General Assembly can remove it, and only after you repay the full amount embezzled with interest.¹⁰

What a Pardon Does Not Do

A pardon is not a clean slate. Your conviction stays on your criminal record. If an employer or licensing board asks whether you’ve ever been convicted, the answer is still yes, though you can note the pardon. The record reflects the pardon; the underlying conviction stays visible.

Sex Offender Registry

A standard pardon does not remove you from the sex offender registry. State law was amended in 2008 so that removal happens only when a pardon is explicitly based on a finding of not guilty. That outcome is exceptionally rare, so for most people convicted of a registerable offense, the registration obligation survives a pardon.

Firearms

This is where applicants most often get tripped up. Federal law generally treats a pardoned felon as no longer “convicted” for firearms purposes, unless the state where the conviction occurred expressly prohibits the pardoned person from possessing firearms.¹¹ South Carolina does exactly that. State law prohibits anyone convicted of a violent crime from purchasing or possessing a handgun, and the South Carolina Attorney General’s office has taken the position that a pardon does not override that prohibition.¹² If your conviction was for a violent offense, a pardon most likely does not restore firearm rights under either state or federal law. Talk to an attorney before you assume otherwise.

Pardon vs. Expungement

These are two different things. A pardon forgives the conviction and restores your civil rights. An expungement removes the arrest or conviction from your record entirely, as if it never happened, and after an expungement you generally do not have to disclose the offense at all.

South Carolina has separate expungement statutes for specific situations, including first-offense drug possession, certain youthful offender convictions, and charges that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal. The eligibility rules for expungement are distinct from the pardon rules. A pardon does not automatically make you eligible for expungement, and many offenses that qualify for expungement don’t require a pardon first. If your goal is to have the conviction removed rather than forgiven, look into expungement eligibility for your specific offense as its own step.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 24, Chapter 21 – Section 24-21-930
2
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Frequently Asked Questions
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 24, Chapter 21 – Section 24-21-950
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 24, Chapter 21 – Section 24-21-940
5
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Pardon Application
6
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Pardon Application
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 24, Chapter 21 – Section 24-21-960
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 24 Chapter 21 Section 24-21-10
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 24 Chapter 21 Section 24-21-990
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 16, Chapter 13 – Section 16-13-210
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers
12
South Carolina Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Opinion Regarding Firearms and Pardons