South Carolina Liquor Regulations: Licenses, Hours, and Penalties

South Carolina liquor laws split the alcohol business into three tiers, tie every sale to a state-issued license, cap the hours and days you can sell, and back the rules with both criminal charges and license penalties. The South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) issues the licenses; the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigates criminal violations. A single incident can cost you a fine, a suspension, and a criminal record at the same time.

The Three-Tier System and the License You Need

State law separates alcohol commerce into manufacturers and importers, wholesalers and distributors, and retailers. A business on one tier generally cannot hold a financial interest in a business on another.¹

Which license you need depends on what you sell and how. A store selling sealed liquor and wine for off-premises consumption needs a Retail Liquor Store License (PRL). A restaurant or bar serving drinks on-site needs a Liquor-by-the-Drink (LBD) license. Wholesalers, manufacturers, and micro-distilleries each fall into their own permit categories.

Who Can Hold a License

Every applicant and every individual principal must be at least 21. SCDOR will revoke any license issued to a business with a principal under that age. Wholesale beer and wine applicants also have to be legal U.S. residents who have kept their principal home in South Carolina for at least 30 days before applying.² Any misstatement or concealment on the application is grounds for denial, and the process includes background checks, fingerprinting, and in some cases public notice.

Businesses that manufacture, import, or distribute across state lines also need a federal basic permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Federal eligibility bars anyone convicted of a felony in the past five years or a federal liquor-related misdemeanor in the past three.³ Retailers selling only to in-state consumers generally don’t need one.

Fees

The PRL costs $1,400 every two years, plus a $200 non-refundable filing fee at the time of application.⁴ The standard LBD license for a food service establishment or place of lodging costs $1,500 biennially.⁵ Let a license lapse and you may have to start the application over and pay every fee again.

Hours You Can Sell

Retail liquor stores may sell sealed liquor and wine from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday only. Sunday sales are prohibited without exception, and every sale must be complete by 7:00 p.m.⁴

Bars and restaurants with an LBD license may serve from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following morning, Monday through Saturday.⁵ Sunday liquor-by-the-drink sales are prohibited unless the establishment holds a temporary permit for that specific Sunday.⁶ Selling alcoholic liquors on Christmas Day is banned outright, regardless of license type. Grocery and convenience stores selling beer and wine follow separate rules, and local governments have some control over their hours.

Who Can Serve, Who Can Buy

Employees who serve or deliver liquor by the drink must be at least 18. That does not mean an 18-year-old can bartend. Servers can bring drinks to tables at 18, but mixing and pouring behind the bar requires 21.⁷ Build the distinction into your hiring process.

Selling beer, wine, or liquor to anyone under 21 is a criminal offense at both retail stores and on-premises establishments. Failing to check identification at all is prima facie evidence of a violation, meaning the missing ID check can itself prove the offense.⁸ Acceptable ID includes a valid driver’s license, state-issued ID card, military ID, or passport. Student IDs don’t count.

It is also illegal to transfer or give alcoholic liquors to someone under 21. The narrow exception covers law enforcement compliance checks where the underage person has been recruited and authorized by the agency conducting the test.⁹ Electronic ID scanners help, but staff still need to look for tampering, expiration, and mismatched photos, and to refuse service whenever an ID looks off.

Advertising Rules

Licensed retailers cannot use advertising language or imagery intended to encourage people under 21 to purchase or drink alcohol. Billboard advertising along public highways is held to the same standard.⁵ Advertising or promoting a drinking contest or drinking game is also illegal.

Liquor Liability Insurance

South Carolina requires businesses that serve alcohol after 5:00 p.m. to carry at least $1 million in aggregate liquor liability insurance. Premiums vary by establishment type; bars and nightclubs pay more than restaurants because of higher sales volume and longer hours, and a clean claims history plus trained servers generally lower the rate.

The state does not currently have a statutory dram shop law that expressly creates a private right of action against businesses that serve visibly intoxicated patrons. A bill to create one was introduced in the 2023-2024 legislative session but had not been enacted as of this writing. Serving an intoxicated customer still violates retail dealer restrictions and can trigger license penalties.¹⁰

Penalties for Violations

Enforcement runs on two tracks. SCDOR handles administrative penalties against the license. SLED handles criminal investigations. They can stack.

Selling or Giving Alcohol to a Minor

A first conviction for selling beer or wine to someone under 21 carries a fine of $200 to $300, up to 30 days in jail, or both. A second or subsequent offense raises the fine range to $400 to $500, with the same maximum jail time.⁸ Penalties for transferring or giving liquor to a minor follow the same structure.⁵ Purchasing liquor on licensed premises and handing it to someone who cannot legally be served there carries identical penalties.¹¹

Hours and Retail Restrictions

Selling liquor on Sunday without authorization, on Christmas Day, or during any period the Governor has restricted by proclamation is a misdemeanor. Penalties escalate with repeat offenses:

First offense: $200 fine or up to 60 days in jail
Second offense: $1,000 fine or up to one year in jail
Third or subsequent offense: $2,000 fine or up to two years in jail

These are criminal penalties.⁵ Other retail dealer violations, such as selling after 7:00 p.m. or allowing on-premises consumption at a retail liquor store, carry a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail for a first offense, rising to $1,000 or up to six months for a second or subsequent offense.¹²

Administrative Penalties Against the License

SCDOR imposes its own fines against the license, separate from any criminal case. The baseline first-offense administrative fine is $500 for an LBD violation and $1,000 for a retail liquor store or wholesale violation. Hindering or delaying an inspection adds a $200 fine plus a 30-day license suspension on top of whatever else applies.¹³ SCDOR uses a three-year lookback period to decide whether a violation counts as a first, second, or third offense. Every violation inside that window counts toward the progression, whether or not the earlier ones involved the same type of infraction.

Federal Taxes for Manufacturers and Importers

If you manufacture or import distilled spirits, TTB collects federal excise tax. The general rate is $13.50 per proof gallon. Reduced rates apply to smaller producers and importers: $2.70 per proof gallon on the first 100,000 proof gallons, and $13.34 per proof gallon on volumes between 100,000 and 22,230,000 proof gallons.¹⁴ These reduced rates were made permanent by Congress in recent years.

Local Ordinances Can Add Rules

South Carolina lets counties and municipalities layer additional restrictions on top of state law through ordinances and referendums. Charleston’s rules can look nothing like a rural county’s. The variations usually involve Sunday sales permissions, zoning setbacks from schools, churches, and residential neighborhoods, and whether late-night service is allowed at all.

Compliance in one city doesn’t cover you in the next. Local law enforcement runs its own compliance checks and responds to complaints on its own timetable. Before opening a new location or expanding, check with both SCDOR and the local municipality. Local penalties can include permit revocation, and in some areas zoning restrictions rule out entire commercial districts.

1
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Alcohol Beverage Licensing (ABL)
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-2-100 – Persons Entitled to Be Licensees or Permittees
3
eCFR. Part 1 Basic Permit Requirements Under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act
4
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Retail Liquor Store License (PRL)
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 61 Chapter 6
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-6-1610 – Food Service Establishments or Places of Lodging; Sunday and Other Time Restrictions
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-6-2200 – Age of Server
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 61 Chapter 4
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-4-90 – Transfer of Beer or Wine for Underage Person’s Consumption
10
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Liquor Licensing
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-6-4075 – Purchase of Alcoholic Beverage for Minor; Penalty
12
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 61-6-1500 – Restrictions Upon Retail Dealers
13
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Penalty Guidelines for ABL Violations (ABC Laws)
14
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Tax Rates