SC SLP License: Paths, Application, and Renewal

To work as a speech-language pathologist in South Carolina, you need an active license from the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, administered through the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The South Carolina SLP license requirements come down to three things: qualifying through one of three statutory paths, submitting a notarized application with the $200 fee and supporting documents, and renewing every two years with 16 hours of continuing education.¹

Three Paths to Licensure

State law gives you three independent routes. You only have to satisfy one.²

Earn a post-graduate degree from a program the Board considers equivalent to those accredited by ASHA’s Council on Academic Accreditation, pass a board-approved national exam, and complete Supervised Professional Employment.
Show that you meet ASHA’s Standards for the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) in effect when you apply, even if you don’t yet hold the certificate.
Present a current ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence.

The third route is the fastest. Current CCC-SLP holders skip the transcript, clinical practicum verification, and supervised employment steps entirely, submitting only the application, ASHA verification, and any out-of-state license verifications.

Education and the Praxis Exam

Under the first path, your degree must be a post-graduate degree (typically a master’s) in speech-language pathology from a regionally accredited institution whose program the Board deems equivalent to CAA-accredited programs.² Graduating from a CAA-accredited program meets this requirement without additional review.

The board-approved exam is the Praxis Speech-Language Pathology test, code 5331. South Carolina requires a minimum passing score of 162, and the exam costs $146.³ ETS must send your score directly to the Board. Self-reported scores and photocopies are not accepted.

You also need written verification of at least 350 clock hours of supervised, direct clinical experience completed within your graduate program or at a cooperating site.⁴

Supervised Professional Employment

South Carolina uses its own supervised employment standard rather than adopting ASHA’s Clinical Fellowship framework. Supervised Professional Employment (SPE) means a minimum of 30 hours per week of professional work in speech-language pathology for at least nine months, under a licensed speech-language pathologist who has at least three years of full-time experience.⁵ The SPE can be paid or unpaid.

If you also plan to earn the ASHA CCC, the nine-month, 30-hour-per-week SPE will generally satisfy the ASHA Clinical Fellowship requirement of 1,260 hours over at least 36 weeks, but track both sets of requirements independently to avoid a gap.⁶

The Intern License

If you hold your degree but haven’t yet passed the Praxis or completed SPE, you qualify for an intern license, which lets you practice while you finish those steps.² The intern license is valid for one year and can be renewed once for an additional twelve months to finish SPE.⁷ The intern application fee is $100.¹

Interns may only practice under the direct supervision of a speech-language pathologist licensed in South Carolina with at least three years of full-time work experience.⁵ If the two-year intern window closes before you complete SPE and the Praxis, you have to start a new application from scratch under whatever requirements are in effect at that point.

Documents, Fees, and How to Apply

The application fee is $200 for a full SLP license or $100 for an intern license.¹ The application itself must be notarized; unsigned or un-notarized submissions are not processed. Current CCC-SLP holders submit only the application, ASHA verification, and out-of-state license verifications. Everyone else must also provide:⁴

Sealed official transcripts mailed by your institution directly to the Board, showing the degree awarded.
Written verification of 350 hours of supervised direct clinical experience from your graduate program.
Written verification from your employer or supervisor documenting completion of nine months of full-time Supervised Professional Employment.

All applicants also complete a criminal background check with fingerprints for state and federal records, and submit a Verification of Lawful Presence form with a copy of government-issued photo identification.

Applications go through the LLR online portal. Documents requiring institutional seals or direct mailing (transcripts, ASHA verification, out-of-state verifications) must come straight from the issuing organization to the Board’s Columbia office. One timing detail: any license application received after December 31 is automatically valid for the next licensure period rather than the current one, so applying late in the calendar year gives you a longer initial license period.²

Renewal and Continuing Education

South Carolina SLP licenses expire March 31 and renew biennially.⁷ The biennial renewal fee is $140.¹

You must complete 16 hours of board-approved continuing education during each two-year cycle. At least eight of those hours must relate to clinical practice in speech-language pathology. No more than two hours can come from independent study, and independent study plans require board approval at least 60 days before you start them.⁸ Online courses count. Keep your CE records for four years. The Board audits licensees and will ask for course dates, sponsoring organizations, and completion evidence.

Acceptable providers include ASHA and AAA continuing education sponsors, the South Carolina Speech-Language-Hearing Association, state or federal agency courses within the scope of practice, and graduate-level courses at accredited universities, where one semester hour equals 15 CE hours.⁸ Submitting false CE records is a separate violation and grounds for immediate revocation.

If You Miss the Renewal Deadline

Missing March 31 makes your license invalid immediately. You have a short grace period. If the Board receives your renewal postmarked before May 1, you can reinstate by paying the $140 renewal fee plus a $50 reinstatement fee, totaling $190.⁷¹

After May 1, you must submit an entirely new application under current licensure requirements, pay $210, and meet all current educational and professional standards.⁷ If your license has been inactive, you must also show 16 hours of approved continuing education for each two-year period of inactivity.⁹

Practicing Without a License or Violating Board Rules

Practicing speech-language pathology in South Carolina without a license is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. The same penalty applies to submitting false information to the Board to obtain a license.¹⁰

For licensed practitioners, the Board can suspend, revoke, or fine (up to $1,000) a license for conduct including practicing while impaired, billing fraud, misrepresenting credentials, negligent practice, and helping an unlicensed person provide SLP services. A felony conviction or discipline from another state’s licensing board can also trigger action in South Carolina, even if the underlying conduct occurred elsewhere.¹¹

Practicing Across State Lines

South Carolina has enacted the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC), joining 36 other states and one U.S. territory.¹² Once fully operational, the compact will let SLPs licensed in good standing in a member state obtain a compact privilege to practice in other member states without a separate license in each one.

The rollout is still underway. As of early 2026, compact privilege registration is open only for practitioners in Louisiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, with other states onboarding as they meet the compact’s operational requirements. For South Carolina licensees, compact privilege is not yet available. When you treat a patient located in another state (including by telehealth), you generally need to be licensed in that state until the compact becomes operational for South Carolina.

1
South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Fee Schedule – Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 40-67-220 – Period of Licensure; Qualifications for Licensure; Submittal of Documented Evidence; Inactive Licensure
3
ETS. South Carolina Required Tests
4
South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Application for Speech-Language Pathologist License Instructions
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 67 – Section 40-67-20 Definitions
6
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. A Guide to the ASHA Clinical Fellowship Experience
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 40-67-270 – Renewal Periods; Renewal Fee; Evidence of Continuing Education; Reinstatement of License
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Regulations Chapter 115 – Section 115-6 Continuing Education
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 67 – Section 40-67-280 Activation of Inactive License
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 67 – Section 40-67-200
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40 Chapter 67 – Section 40-67-110 Actions Warranting Disciplinary Action
12
ASLPCompact. ASLPCompact