South Carolina Gun Laws

• Constitutional Carry Realized: Signed into law in March 2024 via House Bill 3594, South Carolina is firmly a constitutional carry state. Any law-abiding individual 18 years of age or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm may carry a handgun, openly or concealed, without needing a state-issued permit.
• Freedom of Vehicle Carry: The 2024 constitutional carry law completely overhauled South Carolina's notoriously strict vehicle transport laws. Previously, non-permit holders could only keep a handgun in a closed glovebox, console, or trunk. Now, individuals 18 and older can carry a firearm anywhere in their vehicle, including loaded on their person.
• Aggressive Second Amendment Defenses: Entering 2026, the South Carolina legislature continues to aggressively defend its permissive gun laws. Recent resolutions and legislative pushes emphasize non-cooperation with federal gun control mandates and seek to permanently ban any form of state-level firearm registries.

South Carolina is a "Shall Issue" state. While a permit is no longer required for carrying within the state, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) continues to issue the Concealed Weapon Permit (CWP) for those seeking interstate reciprocity and NICS background check exemptions.

• Minimum Age: 18 years old.
• Training Requirements: Applicants must complete a state-approved firearms training course taught by a SLED-certified instructor. The course must include classroom instruction on state laws, conflict resolution, and a live-fire range qualification.
• Background Checks: A mandatory state and federal (FBI NICS) fingerprint-based background check is conducted.
• Fingerprints: A complete set of electronic fingerprints must be submitted via IdentoGO.
• Application Fees: Under recent legislative updates, the state application fee of $50 was entirely eliminated. Obtaining the permit is now essentially free, though applicants must still pay the private instructor for the training class and the fingerprinting vendor.
• Processing Times: By law, SLED has up to 90 days to issue or deny the CWP after receiving a completed application.

South Carolina maintains a highly permissive legal framework with virtually no state-level restrictions on modern sporting rifles or magazine capacities.

• Magazine Capacity: No restrictions. Any capacity magazine is completely legal to possess, buy, sell, and carry.
• "Assault Weapon" Bans: None. South Carolina does not regulate or ban semi-automatic firearms based on cosmetic features or military appearance.
• Restricted Ammunition: State law explicitly prohibits the possession, use, or sale of Teflon-coated ammunition (armor-piercing rounds). Standard hollow-point ammunition is fully legal for self-defense.
• Banned Models / NFA Items: No specific firearm models are banned by name. While state law technically requires machine guns and sawed-off shotguns/rifles to be registered with SLED, they are legal provided the owner fully complies with the federal National Firearms Act (NFA).

South Carolina provides incredibly strong "Stand Your Ground" and "Castle Doctrine" protections under the Protection of Persons and Property Act.

• Stand Your Ground: Yes. South Carolina law explicitly states that a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and is attacked in a place where they have a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand their ground and meet force with force, including deadly force.
• Castle Doctrine: Yes. The law grants an absolute legal presumption that an individual held a reasonable fear of imminent peril if someone unlawfully and forcefully enters their dwelling, residence, place of business, or occupied vehicle.
• Duty to Retreat: No. State statute explicitly removes any legal duty to retreat from a threat.
• Civil Immunity: Yes. South Carolina provides statutory immunity from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution for individuals who use justified force in self-defense, preventing attackers or their surviving relatives from successfully suing for damages.

Transportation laws in South Carolina are highly permissive due to the 2024 constitutional carry protections.

• Handguns: Any law-abiding adult 18 or older may transport a loaded handgun, openly or concealed, anywhere inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle, or directly on their person.
• Long Guns: May be legally transported loaded in a motor vehicle. There is no state requirement for long guns to be unloaded or cased during standard transport.
• Federal Gun-Free School Zone Act: Constitutional carry does not satisfy the federal GFSZA exemption. To legally drive within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school in South Carolina without violating federal law, an individual must possess a state-issued SLED CWP.

South Carolina defers entirely to federal law for commercial firearm transactions and places no mandates on private sales.

• Dealer Sales: All purchases through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) require a standard NICS background check.
• Private Sales: No background check, paperwork, or government registration is required for private, face-to-face firearm transfers between two South Carolina residents.
• Waiting Periods: There are no mandatory waiting periods for purchasing any type of firearm in South Carolina.
• CCW Bypass: A valid South Carolina CWP qualifies as an exemption to the NICS background check at a dealer, allowing for the immediate transfer of the firearm.

South Carolina does not have an Extreme Risk Protection Order (Red Flag) law. There is no civil legal mechanism in the state that allows law enforcement, family members, or doctors to petition a judge for the temporary, preemptive confiscation of an individual's firearms without full criminal due process.

Because South Carolina operates under constitutional carry, eligible adults (18+) face no penalties for carrying a concealed or open weapon without a permit. However, if a "prohibited person" (such as a convicted felon) is caught in possession of a firearm, it is a severe felony.

Carrying a firearm into a statutorily prohibited zone, or ignoring a compliant "No Concealable Weapons Allowed" sign on private property, is generally prosecuted as a misdemeanor carrying up to 30 days in jail and a fine, though penalties escalate depending on the location. Carrying a firearm onto K-12 school property without authorization is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.