How to Apply for a Concealed Carry Permit in South Carolina

How to Apply for a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit

You apply to SLED. S.C. Code 23-31-215(H) says an application "must be submitted in person, by mail, or online to SLED headquarters which shall verify the legibility and accuracy of the required documents." SLED must issue the permit to a resident or qualified nonresident at least eighteen years of age who is not prohibited by state law from possessing the weapon, once you submit the six items in S.C. Code 23-31-215(A) and the review in S.C. Code 23-31-215(B) is favorable. There is no application fee. S.C. Code 23-31-215(C) states that "SLED may not charge a fee of any kind for a concealable weapon permit." The code still prints three fees elsewhere in the same section, and a heading below works them through.

The age of eighteen comes from 2024 Act No. 111, SECTION 23, which substituted "eighteen years of age" for "twenty-one years of age" in subsection (A), approved and effective March 7, 2024.

The statute lists six things you must submit

S.C. Code 23-31-215(A) requires all of these:

• A completed application signed by you.
• A photocopy of a driver's license or photographic identification card.
• Proof of residence, or if you are a qualified nonresident, proof of ownership of real property in this State.
• "[P]roof of actual or corrected vision rated at within six months of the date of application or, in the case of a person licensed to operate a motor vehicle in this State, presentation of a valid driver's license." The phrase "rated at within six months" is incomplete as the code reads, and neither the statute nor SLED's pages complete it. A valid South Carolina driver's license satisfies the item on its face.
• Proof of training, as defined in S.C. Code 23-31-210(4). That definition holds seven routes, set out in the next heading, and a handgun course is only the first of them.
• A complete set of fingerprints, unless a medical condition verified in writing by a licensed medical doctor makes that "impossible to submit." You then submit the doctor's statement of reasons, and the Chief of SLED may waive the requirement if you otherwise qualify.

S.C. Code 23-31-215(E) fixes the form's fields, including all residence addresses for the three years preceding the application date. S.C. Code 23-31-215(F) makes you certify that you are not prohibited from possessing a weapon, that the permit is revoked and must be surrendered immediately if you become prohibited, and that your application is true and correct. S.C. Code 16-23-30(B) makes possession or acquisition of a handgun unlawful for the persons its subsection (A) enumerates, among them a person convicted of "a crime of violence," a "fugitive from justice or a habitual drunkard or a drug addict," and a person "adjudicated mentally incompetent."

The statute lists seven proof of training routes, and SLED must offer a free course

S.C. Code 23-31-210(4) defines "proof of training" as "an original document or certified copy of the document supplied by an applicant that certifies that he is either" one of the following:

• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(a), "a person who, within three years before filing an application, successfully has completed a basic or advanced handgun education course offered by a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or a nationally recognized organization that promotes gun safety." The item says that course "must include, but is not limited to" eight subjects, among them subitem (a)(iv), "the actual firing of the handgun in the presence of the instructor, provided that a minimum of twenty-five rounds must be fired."
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(b), a person who "demonstrates the completion of basic military training provided by any branch of the United States military who produces proof of his military service through the submission of a DD214 form"; a "retired law enforcement officer who produces proof that he is a graduate of the Criminal Justice Academy or that he was a law enforcement officer prior to the requirement for graduation from the Criminal Justice Academy"; or a "retired state or federal law enforcement officer who produces proof of graduation from a federal or state academy that includes firearms training as a graduation requirement." Item (4)(b) says a person who demonstrates any of these "must comply with the provisions of subitem (a)(i) only," the statutory and case law portion of the course.
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(c), "an instructor certified by the National Rifle Association or another SLED-approved competent national organization that promotes the safe use of handguns."
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(d), "a person who can demonstrate to the Director of SLED or his designee that he has a proficiency in both the use of handguns and state laws pertaining to handguns."
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(e), "an active duty police handgun instructor."
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(f), "a person who has a SLED-certified or approved competitive handgun shooting classification."
• Under S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(g), "a member of the active or reserve military, or a member of the National Guard."

S.C. Code 23-31-210(4) directs that "SLED shall promulgate regulations containing general guidelines for courses and qualifications for instructors which would satisfy the requirements of this item," and adds that for subitems (a) and (c) proof of training "is not satisfied unless the organization and its instructors meet or exceed the guidelines and qualifications contained in the regulations promulgated by SLED pursuant to this item." Those regulations are not published on SLED's CWP pages.

S.C. Code 23-31-215(V)(1) requires SLED to "provide a statewide concealed weapon permit training course that satisfies the proof of training requirement for the issuance of a concealed weapon permit," and says "SLED may not charge participants a fee of any kind" for that course. Under S.C. Code 23-31-215(V)(2) the course "must be offered in every county in South Carolina at least twice per month." SLED's Constitutional Carry Guidance, its notice on H. 3594, said this training "will not be available to the public until the General Assembly appropriates funding in this year's budget." SLED's Sponsored CWP Courses page now carries a registration link.

Step by step, as SLED's own pages describe the filing

The statute above controls. These steps are SLED practice, from its Concealed Weapons Permit page, its online application walkthrough, and its application form updated 03.30.2026.

1. Take a qualifying CWP course, or assemble the paperwork for whichever of the other routes in S.C. Code 23-31-210(4) fits you. SLED's form says your training date, instructor certification number, and student number "must be entered onto the application," that you submit "a signed copy of the current SLED CWP Instructor/Student Checklist," and that the instructor signs the application. Those instructions sit under the form's heading "The following only apply to NEW permit applications," and none of them names an exception for the routes in S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(b), (d), (f) and (g). The form separately tells "Active/retired South Carolina law enforcement officers exempt from training" to submit "current legal and firearm training documentation," without saying those applicants may leave the three fields or the instructor signature blank. The only exemption SLED publishes for them is for renewals, where its mail guide says a renewal applicant need not supply any of the four. Ask SLED before you file on a route other than a CWP course.
2. Gather documents. SLED's form asks for "a good quality photocopy of their state issued driver's license or officially issued identification card," the Alien Resident card for resident aliens, and for qualified nonresidents "a completed Real Property Tax Form (SLED Form R-168)." Claiming a category means proving it: military orders, a DD214, pension documentation, or a VA disability rating.
3. File. SLED's online route is a nine step application in its applicants portal ending in a typed signature certification. Its mail route sends the paper form to "CWP Application, SLED Regulatory, PO Box 21398, Columbia, SC 29221."
4. Answer the three questions on the form: South Carolina resident or qualified non-resident, training completed, and allowed to possess a handgun. SLED warns that "If any of the answers are 'No' you will not be eligible for a permit."
5. Get fingerprinted. By mail, SLED's guide says a new applicant submits "(2) completed and signed fingerprint cards." Online, the portal has you schedule and attend an IdentoGo appointment before SLED continues processing the application.
6. Wait. SLED's form states "Processing time may be up to 90 days."
7. Receive the permit by mail. SLED's portal says an approved permit comes in the mail and a denial comes "by letter and/or email indicating the reason(s) for denial."

SLED must run a fingerprint review and ask your sheriff

Under S.C. Code 23-31-215(B), SLED "must conduct or facilitate a local, state, and federal fingerprint review" and must also check your background "through notification to and input from the sheriff of the county where the applicant resides," or where a qualified nonresident owns the property. The sheriff may submit a recommendation within ten working days after notification by SLED, and SLED must consider any recommendation provided before deciding.

SLED has ninety days, and silence issues the permit

S.C. Code 23-31-215(C) gives SLED ninety days from the date the application was received to give an unqualified applicant a written statement of its reasons for denial, "otherwise, SLED shall issue a concealable weapon permit." A permit granted that way "may be revoked upon written notification from SLED that sufficient grounds exist for revocation or initial denial." If you cannot comply with S.C. Code 23-31-210(4), SLED "shall offer the applicant a handgun training course" that satisfies it.

A denial goes to the Chief of SLED, then to the Administrative Law Court

S.C. Code 23-31-215(D) sets the route. The appeal must be in writing, must state the basis for the appeal, and must be submitted to the Chief of SLED within thirty days from the date the denial notice is received. The Chief "shall issue a written decision within ten days from the date the appeal is received," and an adverse decision must specify the reasons for upholding the denial. It "may be reviewed by the Administrative Law Court pursuant to Article 5, Chapter 23, Title 1," on a petition filed within thirty days from the date the division's decision is delivered.

Qualified nonresidents apply on proof of South Carolina real property

S.C. Code 23-31-210(2) defines a "qualified nonresident" as "an individual who owns real property in South Carolina, but who resides in another state." In place of proof of residence you file proof of ownership under S.C. Code 23-31-215(A)(3), which S.C. Code 23-31-210(6) defines as a certified current document from the assessor of the county in which the property is located, verifying ownership.

SLED's chosen document is Form R-168, the Non-Resident CWP Real Property Tax Form. Under S.C. Code 23-31-215(J), the permit is revoked if you move your permanent residence out of state and no longer own real property here.

Report a lost permit within forty-eight hours and an address change within ten days

S.C. Code 23-31-215(K) requires you to "report the loss or theft of a permit identification card to SLED headquarters within forty-eight hours" of when you knew or reasonably should have known of it. A person who violates that subsection "is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined twenty-five dollars."

S.C. Code 23-31-215(L) covers replacements and moves. SLED "shall issue a replacement for lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed permit identification cards" after you update all information required in the original application and pay "a five-dollar replacement fee." A change of permanent address "must be communicated in writing to SLED within ten days of the change," with "a fee of five dollars." Failing to notify SLED "constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by a twenty-five dollar fine."

SLED's Concealed Weapon Permit Replacement Form is the paper route, covering a legal name change, a lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed card, a changed address, or an updated DMV photograph. Watch the fee language: SLED's form quotes subsection (L) but omits both five-dollar fees in the code text, and its list of what is required for processing names no fee. SLED's published sources do not say which text controls.

SLED may not charge a fee for the permit, and the code still prints three fees

2021 Act No. 66, SECTION 12.A deleted the former subsection (A) item requiring a fifty-dollar application fee, and SECTION 12.B added the sentence in subsection (C) barring any fee for the permit. The history line under S.C. Code 23-31-215 records both as effective August 15, 2021. S.C. Code 23-31-215(P)(1) still conditions renewal on "payment of a fifty-dollar renewal fee by the applicant," a fee that "must be waived for disabled veterans and retired law enforcement officers." S.C. Code 23-31-215(L) still requires "a five-dollar replacement fee" and "a fee of five dollars" for a change of permanent address. The code does not say which sentence controls. Ask SLED at 803-896-7015 or CWPquestions@sled.sc.gov before you send money. The fees section of this guide works the conflict through.

Carrying does not require a permit, and SLED says one still helps

S.C. Code 23-31-215(O)(2) provides that the availability of a permit "must not be construed to prohibit the permitless transport or carrying of a firearm in a vehicle or on or about one's person, whether openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded, in a manner not prohibited by law." SLED's Constitutional Carry Guidance gives the agency's reason people still apply: the permit "will continue to give the individual reciprocity with other recognizing states and makes purchasing a firearm from a dealer easier." The permit does not open the closed places: S.C. Code 16-23-20(A) applies "whether or not the person has a concealed weapon permit," and S.C. Code 23-31-217 says nothing in the permit article affects that section. S.C. Code 23-31-240(A) runs the other way, letting the judges, solicitors, and other officials it names carry "anywhere within this State" if they possess a valid permit, though subsection (B) bars public defenders from carrying into a local or state correctional facility.

What the statute and SLED's pages do not answer

No applicant portrait is required. The statute asks only for the photocopy in S.C. Code 23-31-215(A)(2), and neither it nor SLED's application materials say where the photograph on a new card comes from.

The statute sets no filing deadline after training. The three-year window in S.C. Code 23-31-210(4)(a) governs only the handgun education course route, and neither the statute nor SLED's pages say how long the other routes stay good.

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