With an SC corp search, you can browse the registry to find detailed record information of all commercial units incorporated, previously and presently, in the US state of South Carolina. 

Begin your search by putting a business name into the entry field. Scroll down until you find the entity you're looking for, click on the name to continue, and you will be able to review details of all the businesses.

South Carolina Secretary of State Business Filing

The South Carolina's Office of Secretary of State holds the responsibility of business filing for limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, nonprofit organizations, business corporations, and limited partnerships. Mark Hammond is the State of South Carolina's existing Secretary of State, and he has functioned in the office since 2003.

The South Carolina Secretary of State has a broad position of responsibilities which include:

  •  Maintaining South Carolina's corporations' files.
  •  Supplying certifications and applications of the cable franchise.
  •  Administering trade names and trademarks.
  •  Issuing Annexure for lands.

Generally, South Carolina's Secretary of State is responsible for these five state divisions:

  1. Business Filing Division
  2. Notaries Division
  3. Charities Division
  4. Trademarks Division
  5. Cable Franchise

General partnerships and sole proprietorships do not get put on record with the Secretary of State. The H4650, approved by the South Carolina General Assembly, which revoked the statutes compelling LLC South Carolina's Annual Reports, revised the statute of Certificate of Existence. This means that reporting annually is not required anymore as a regulation for the issuance of a Certification of Existence/Good Standing.

South Carolina Corporation Formation

The business name must include the declaration “Incorporated,” “Corporation,” “Limited,” or “Company,” abbreviation of words such as “Corp.,” “Co.,” “Ltd.,” or “Inc.,” or any such short forms of Lexis with the same meaning in a different tongue.

The designation must not consist of language with an indication further than the name acceptable by the Articles of Incorporation, including the law of the state. In addition, the name has to be noticeable upon the Secretary of State's report apart from the registered name or reserved corporate name, limited partnership or non-profit corporation, or domestic or qualified foreign corporation. 

These are requirements of South Carolina for corporations' directors:

  1. Least number - companies are required to include individual or additional directors.
  2. Residence requirements - South Carolina has no prerequisite stipulating the place directors must live.
  3. Age requirements - South Carolina have no provision specifying the requirements of the age.
  4. Articles of Incorporation inclusion - no requirement for the designations and residential addresses of the director to be scheduled in the Articles of Incorporation.

An article of Incorporation is the document critical to forming a corporation in South Carolina. In the formation document, the mandatory data from the states may be different. South Carolina's requirements include:

  1. Officers - Article of incorporation may not have the details of the officer, though the names and addresses must be included in the initial report.
  2. Stock - certified shares and par value must be included in the Articles of Incorporation, and the case of a rise in the standard value and figure of shares' value have no consequence on the fees of initial filing.
  3. Registered agent - company is mandated to file the registered agent's name and address with a substantial address in South Carolina. The registered agent has to be on the ground during business hours to acknowledge important company transactions like tax and legal documents.

At the time of incorporation, some states demand additional steps and filings, which include notice of publishing of the incorporation in a local newspaper, filing of a county level, and an initial report filing (South Carolina's requirement for a corporation is to file an initial report at the same time as filing the Articles of Incorporation).

South Carolina favors the creation of a professional corporation (PC). Professions like physicians, attorneys, and accountants, can come together to initiate a professional corporation (PC).

The online Employment Identification Number (EIN) application is accessible for every entity whose legal residence (on condition of an individual), agency or office, principal business is based in the U.S. Territory or the United States. To get the benefit of applying online, the owner, trustor, general partner, principal officer, must possess a valid taxpayer Identification Number, including Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, Social Security Number, and Employment Identification Number.

If you need help with South Carolina Corporation Search, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.