If you’re looking for the South Carolina UCE-120 form, the SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) forms page doesn’t list a standalone form by that number. It does list a related variant, UCE-120-C, used to correct employer tax account information.1South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Forms For the task most people associate with that number, reporting a business sale, merger, acquisition, or other change to an unemployment insurance (UI) tax account, DEW currently uses two forms: Form ETS-700 (Notification of Business Acquisition/Merger or Purchase/Sale) and Form UCE 101S (Employer Report of Change to Account).2South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Notification of Business Acquisition/Merger or Purchase/Sale
Which one you file (and whether you file both) depends on what changed.
Which Form You Actually Need
Match the form to the event.
- UCE-120-C is the correction form for employer tax account information already on file with DEW. Use it when the account details themselves are wrong and need to be fixed.1South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Forms
- Form UCE 101S is a broader change-of-account form. File it to report a sale or change in FEIN, a change in legal entity, adding or removing owners and officers, or discontinuing business operations in South Carolina entirely. It collects the successor’s business name, FEIN, and the date of transfer.3South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Employer Report of Change to Account
- Form ETS-700 is the succession form under SC Regulation 47-17. File it when one employer takes over another’s business, in whole or in part. This is the document DEW uses to decide whether and how to transfer the predecessor’s experience-rating history to the successor.2South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Notification of Business Acquisition/Merger or Purchase/Sale
If you’re closing a business with no successor, UCE 101S by itself handles it. Provide your final payroll date. If you’re selling or merging, expect to file both UCE 101S (to update account status) and ETS-700 (to notify DEW of the succession for experience-rating purposes).
When a Succession Triggers Reporting
South Carolina recognizes two kinds of business succession. A total acquisition happens when you acquire 95 percent or more of another employer’s business through purchase, merger, inheritance, or any other means and continue to operate it. You become the predecessor’s successor by law, inherit the entire employment benefit experience record, and become an employer on the acquisition date if you weren’t already.4South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 41-31-100 – Successor by Purchase, Merger of Entire Business as Employer; Notice
A partial acquisition happens when you acquire a distinct, identifiable segment of an employer’s business and keep running it. The predecessor’s experience tied to that segment transfers to you, but only if both the predecessor and the successor request the transfer, and you must either already be an employer at the time of the acquisition or become one within the same quarter.5South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 41 Chapter 31 – Contributions and Payments to the Unemployment Trust Fund
Common triggering events include outright sales, corporate mergers, converting entity types (such as a sole proprietorship incorporating), foreclosures, and leases of an entire operation.
Information to Gather Before You File
Missing information is the fastest way to trigger a request for additional details from DEW, which slows everything down. Collect this material first:
- Federal Employer Identification Numbers for both the predecessor and the successor.
- The predecessor’s existing SC DEW unemployment insurance account number, and the successor’s SC UI account number if one already exists.
- Legal business names and addresses for both entities, matching what the IRS and DEW have on file.
- The exact date the acquisition, sale, or entity change became effective.
- Whether the transfer is total (95 percent or more) or partial.
- For partial transfers only: which departments, locations, or employee groups moved, with enough detail for DEW to calculate the portion of experience history that should transfer.
Form ETS-700 instructs filers to “provide as many details as possible to avoid unnecessary requests for additional information.”2South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Notification of Business Acquisition/Merger or Purchase/Sale Include more rather than less.
How to Submit
The fastest route is the SUITS (State Unemployment Insurance Tax System) self-service portal at uitax.dew.sc.gov, where you can make changes to your UI tax account online.6South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. SUITS Setting up access requires your FEIN and SC DEW account number.
For paper filing, sign and date the completed form and send it to DEW by any of the following:3South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Employer Report of Change to Account
- Mail: SCDEW Document Control, P.O. Box 995, Columbia, SC 29202
- Fax: 803-737-2659
- Email: documentcontrol@dew.sc.gov
The person signing must be on file with DEW as a business owner, officer, partner, or authorized agent. Third-party preparers and accountants should confirm their authorization is on record before submitting; DEW will reject forms signed by someone not authorized to act for the employer.3South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Employer Report of Change to Account
What Transfers With the Account
The reason this reporting matters financially is the experience rating. DEW assigns each employer a tax rate class based on the history of unemployment claims paid to former employees. For 2026, experience-rated employers pay anywhere from 0.060 percent (Rate Class 1) to 5.460 percent (Rate Class 20) on the first $14,000 of each employee’s wages. New employers without any history start at 1.060 percent.7South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Tax Rate Information
When you acquire an entire business, you inherit its full experience record, favorable or not. For partial acquisitions, DEW calculates the slice of the experience record attributable to the acquired segment and transfers only that piece.8South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 41-31-120 – Successor by Merger, Purchase of Part of Established Business
One condition stops any transfer cold. No experience-rating transfer, whole or partial, goes through if the predecessor has unpaid unemployment taxes. The acquiring employer must either wait for the predecessor to pay or agree to assume those outstanding taxes within 60 days of DEW’s notification that the transfer is blocked.9South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 41-31-140 – Transfer of Experience Rating Account Verify the predecessor’s UI tax status during due diligence; finding unpaid taxes after closing creates problems you don’t want.
If You Disagree With the Assigned Rate
If DEW assigns a tax rate after the transfer that you believe is wrong, whether because the experience record was miscalculated or because the transfer picked up claims it shouldn’t have, file a formal appeal using Form APP-100 (Request for Appeal). The deadline is 30 days from the date DEW issues its administrative determination.10South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. The Appeals Process Miss that window and the assigned rate stands for the tax year.
Still Not Sure Which Form Applies?
If you can’t find the form that matches your situation on the DEW website, or you’re not sure whether UCE-120-C, UCE 101S, or ETS-700 is the right document, call DEW at 803-737-2400 or visit the Columbia office at 1550 Gadsden Street, Columbia, SC 29202. Straightforward ownership updates usually move faster through the SUITS portal. Complex partial acquisitions, or situations involving unpaid predecessor taxes, are worth a phone call before you send anything in.