South Carolina Vaccine Laws: Requirements, Exemptions, and Consent

South Carolina vaccine laws require children in daycare through twelfth grade to be immunized against a specific list of diseases before enrollment, allow only two kinds of exemptions (medical and religious), and add separate rules for workplace COVID-19 mandates, minor consent, and vaccine injury compensation. The immunization list itself is set by the state Department of Public Health rather than written into statute, so the exact doses can change from year to year.

Vaccines Required for School and Childcare

State law bars any public or private school and any licensed childcare facility from admitting or keeping a child who cannot show proof of the required immunizations.¹ The statute does not list the vaccines. Instead, it tells the Department of Public Health to publish the schedule, and that schedule carries the force of regulation.²

For the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 school years, students in kindergarten through twelfth grade need vaccinations against:

Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP)
Polio
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
Hepatitis A, two doses, both after the first birthday and at least six months apart
Hepatitis B
Varicella (chickenpox), two doses required by eleventh grade
A Tdap booster before seventh grade, given on or after the child’s tenth birthday

DPH updates this schedule periodically, so specific dose counts can shift.³

One note on the agency name. As of July 1, 2024, the former Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) split in two. Public health functions, including immunization oversight, now sit with the Department of Public Health.⁴ Older paperwork may still say DHEC; DPH is the current authority.

How to Get a Medical or Religious Exemption

South Carolina recognizes only medical and religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements. There is no personal or philosophical belief exemption.⁵

Medical Exemption

A medical exemption is not a separate form. It is a section on the South Carolina Certificate of Immunization that a licensed physician (MD or DO) or the physician’s authorized representative completes, indicating that one or more vaccines are medically contraindicated for the child. The provider marks whether the exemption is temporary or permanent and identifies the specific vaccines. Only a provider licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy, or an authorized representative, can issue it.⁵

Religious Exemption

A religious exemption requires a parent, guardian, or person acting in place of a parent to complete the South Carolina Certificate of Religious Exemption, stating that one or more required immunizations conflict with the family’s religious beliefs.⁶ The statement must be signed in front of a notary public. A notary seal is not required; the notary witnesses the signature, prints their name, and notes when their commission expires.

The form is available on the DPH website or in person at a local health department.⁷ There is no state fee for the form itself. A notary may charge for the signature, but the exemption form is free.

Transfer Students

A student transferring in without immunization records can get a Certificate of Special Exemption signed by the principal or childcare director, valid for 30 calendar days. When it expires, the family must present a valid Certificate of Immunization, a medical exemption, or a religious exemption, or the school cannot keep the child enrolled.⁸ The special exemption can be issued only once per student, so request records from the previous school right away.

What an Exemption Does Not Cover

An exemption gets your child enrolled. It does not guarantee attendance during an outbreak. If a vaccine-preventable disease breaks out at the school or daycare and your child is not vaccinated against that disease, the school may exclude your child until health officials say it is safe to return.⁵

Colleges and Universities

DPH’s immunization regulations reach daycare through twelfth grade only. Colleges and universities in South Carolina set their own policies.⁵ In practice, most require at least the K-12 core vaccines and often add meningococcal vaccine for dormitory residents. The DPH forms and rules described above do not apply on campus; check with the student health office at your school for its list and its exemption process.

Workplace Vaccine Rules

South Carolina enacted Act 142 in April 2022, which targets COVID-19 vaccine mandates specifically and treats public and private employers differently.

Public Employers

The state and its political subdivisions (including school districts, state agencies, and municipal governments) cannot impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on employees, independent contractors, or vendors as a condition of employment or doing business.⁹ The state also cannot terminate or suspend a first responder based on vaccination status.

Private Employers

Private employers may adopt COVID-19 vaccine policies, but Act 142 requires them to honor both medical and religious exemptions. A medical exemption under the Act is broader than a typical ADA accommodation. It includes the presence of antibodies, a prior positive COVID-19 test, or pregnancy. A religious exemption requires only a short written statement that the vaccine conflicts with the person’s deeply held religious convictions.⁹

Private employers with federal contracts or federal regulatory obligations that conflict with the Act can opt out by filing an affidavit with the Department of Employment and Workforce. For vaccines other than COVID-19, private employers keep the general right to set workplace health and safety policies, subject to federal civil rights law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said employers may require vaccinations if they meet the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII, which require reasonable accommodations for medical conditions and sincerely held religious beliefs.¹⁰

Consent for Vaccinating a Minor

South Carolina generally requires a parent or legal guardian to authorize medical treatment for a child. The state’s minor consent law makes one important exception: anyone 16 or older can consent to health services on their own, with no other consent needed.¹¹ The statute reaches “any health services,” which includes vaccinations. The only limitation is that if the service involves an operation, a physician must consider it essential to the child’s health or life.

For children under 16, parental or guardian consent is the norm. A separate statute allows care to be provided to a minor of any age when a provider deems it necessary, but that provision is understood to apply to urgent situations rather than routine vaccination. Clinics and pharmacies typically ask for a parent’s signature for patients younger than 16.

Vaccine Information Statements Before Each Dose

Before any vaccination, federal law requires the provider to give the patient (or the parent, for a child) a Vaccine Information Statement. These are standardized CDC documents that explain the benefits and risks of each vaccine. The requirement comes from the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and applies to all covered vaccines regardless of age, setting, or who is paying.¹² It applies to every dose in a multi-dose series, including boosters. You can decline to keep the paper, but the provider has to offer it.

If a Vaccine Causes Injury

Two federal programs may pay compensation for a serious adverse reaction, and which one applies depends on the vaccine.

National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)

The VICP covers most routine childhood and adult vaccines recommended by the CDC, including every vaccine required for South Carolina school enrollment (DTaP, polio, MMR, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and varicella), plus influenza, HPV, meningococcal, pneumococcal conjugate, and rotavirus.¹³ It does not cover COVID-19 vaccines or the shingles vaccine.

Deadlines are strict. For an injury, the petition must be filed within three years of the first symptom. For a vaccine-related death, the petition must be filed within two years of the death and no more than four years after the first symptom of the injury that caused the death.¹² Claims go to special masters in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, not state court.

Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP)

COVID-19 vaccines fall under a separate and more limited program, the CICP, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The filing window is one year from the date the vaccine was given. The evidentiary standard is demanding: you need compelling, reliable medical and scientific evidence that the vaccine directly caused the injury. Symptoms appearing shortly after vaccination are not enough on their own.¹⁴

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 44-29-180
2
Legal Information Institute. South Carolina Code of Regulations 61-8 – Immunization Requirements for School and Childcare Attendance
3
South Carolina Department of Public Health. SC School Immunization Requirements Info for Parents
4
South Carolina Department of Public Health. DHEC Restructuring
5
South Carolina Department of Public Health. Exemptions from School Vaccine Requirements
6
South Carolina Department of Public Health. South Carolina Certificate of Religious Exemption
7
South Carolina Department of Public Health. Childhood Vaccine Exemption
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 44 Chapter 29
9
South Carolina Legislature. 2021-2022 Bill 3126 – Vaccine Mandates
10
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-5-340 – Minors Consent to Health Services
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 Chapter 6A Subchapter XIX Part 2 – National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
13
Health Resources & Services Administration. Covered Vaccines
14
Health Resources & Services Administration. Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program Data