South Carolina Concealed Carry Reciprocity: States That Honor It

South Carolina Reciprocity: Which Out-of-State Permits Are Honored

South Carolina honors a valid out-of-state concealable weapon permit when the permit is held by a resident of a reciprocal state and that state requires both a criminal background check and a firearm training and safety course. Georgia and North Carolina permits are recognized automatically by name in the statute. For every other state, the statute states the test and directs SLED to publish the list of states that meet it, and SLED's Concealed Weapons Permit page does not display that list.

That gap matters less than it once did, because since March 7, 2024 a lawful visitor generally does not need any permit to carry in South Carolina. Section 23-31-215(O)(1) says a permit issued pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 31, Title 23, the South Carolina CWP article, is not required for a person, and item (O)(1)(b) under it covers a person "carrying a concealable weapon in a manner not prohibited by law". Section 23-31-215(O)(2) adds 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whether openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded, in a manner not prohibited by law". 2024 Act No. 111, SECTION 15 repealed the former carrying concealed weapons offense, the section the code page now marks "Repealed." Recognition still matters for what an out-of-state permit does and does not authorize here, and for the rules that bind you once you are inside the state.

What the reciprocity statute actually says

S.C. Code 23-31-215(N) has three parts, each doing separate work.

Subsection (N)(1): "Valid out-of-state permits to carry concealable weapons held by a resident of a reciprocal state must be honored by this State, provided, that the reciprocal state requires an applicant to successfully pass a criminal background check and a course in firearm training and safety. A resident of a reciprocal state carrying a concealable weapon in South Carolina is subject to and must abide by the laws of South Carolina regarding concealable weapons. SLED shall maintain and publish a list of those states as the states with which South Carolina has reciprocity."

Read that closely. The permit has to be held by a resident of the reciprocal state, so the sentence is not describing a permit from a state you do not live in. The issuing state has to require both a background check and a course in firearm training and safety. And recognition does not import your home state's rules. You are subject to South Carolina law while you are here.

Subsection (N)(2): "Notwithstanding the reciprocity requirements of item (1), South Carolina shall automatically recognize concealed weapon permits issued by Georgia and North Carolina." Those two states are recognized without regard to the background check and training conditions in (N)(1).

Subsection (N)(3): "The reciprocity provisions of this section shall not be construed to authorize the holder of any out-of-state permit or license to carry, in this State, any firearm or weapon other than a handgun." Recognition is a handgun authority and nothing broader.

Subsection (N) took its current shape before the 2024 changes. The second 2008 amendment rewrote subsection (N) to require that the reciprocal state require firearm training and a criminal background check, and 2016 Act No. 223, SECTION 1 inserted the paragraph designator (1) and added (2) and (3), relating to recognizing concealed weapon permits issued by Georgia and North Carolina under certain circumstances. 2024 Act No. 111 amended 23-31-215 in three places. SECTION 9 rewrote (K), (M), and (O), and the enrolled act's SECTION 9 heading also names (U). SECTION 21 added (V). SECTION 23 substituted "eighteen years of age" for "twenty-one years of age" in (A). None of them touched (N).

Where the list of reciprocal states stands

The statute assigns the list to SLED: "SLED shall maintain and publish a list of those states as the states with which South Carolina has reciprocity." SLED's Concealed Weapons Permit page describes the program section as providing a "listing of reciprocity agreement states," but no list of states appears on the page. Its CWP Links block runs to the privacy statement, the notification letter to gun purchasers, free CWP courses, the online applications, the instructor listing, and a State Gun Laws link. That link is an anchor to a section lower on the same page, and that State Gun Laws section holds a link to Chapter 31, Title 23 of the S.C. Code and an image of a "No concealable weapons allowed" sign, with a note that the image is not sized in accordance with statutory requirements and that Section 23-31-235 sets the sign requirements. No list of states appears anywhere on the page.

So this guide names Georgia and North Carolina, the two states the statute names, and no others. To confirm whether a specific state is on the list SLED maintains, ask SLED rather than relying on a chart. The CWP office is 803-896-7015 and CWPquestions@sled.sc.gov, and the page is https://www.sled.sc.gov/concealed-weapons-permit. Commercial reciprocity maps are not the list the statute calls for.

Visiting South Carolina without a South Carolina permit

H. 3594, signed by the Governor on March 7, 2024 as 2024 Act No. 111, is the "South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024". SLED's guidance to chiefs, sheriffs, and officers says the act "authorizes individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm, to legally possess a firearm openly or concealed without training and without a concealed weapons permit issued by SLED," and it "allows individuals 18 years old and older to carry firearms openly or concealed without a permit." The same act repealed the former carrying concealed weapons offense, effective March 7, 2024.

For a visitor, the practical read is that your ability to carry here turns on whether you may lawfully possess a firearm, not on whether your home state made SLED's list. Section 16-23-500(A) opens "Except as provided in subsection (F)" and then makes it unlawful for a person who has been convicted of a crime punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than one year to possess a firearm or ammunition within this State. Subsection (F) says that for the purpose of that section the phrase "crime punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than one year" does not include an offense in this State or another jurisdiction pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices; any offense classified by the laws of this State or another jurisdiction as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of five years or less; or any crime for which the conviction has been expunged, or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored, unless that pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms. Under 16-23-500(B), a violation is a felony: not more than five years for a first offense, a mandatory minimum of five years and not more than twenty years for a second offense, and a mandatory minimum of ten years and not more than thirty years for a third or subsequent offense.

The place restrictions bind you either way. Section 16-23-20(A) opens: "It is unlawful, whether or not the person has a concealed weapon permit, for anyone to carry about the person any handgun, whether concealed or not, unless otherwise specifically authorized by law into a:" and then runs eleven items, among them law enforcement, correctional, or detention facilities; courthouses and courtrooms while court is in session; polling places on election days; daycare or preschool facilities; churches and other established religious sanctuaries without express permission; facilities where medical services or procedures are performed, unless expressly authorized; and premises clearly marked with a sign complying with 23-31-235. An out-of-state permit does not open any of those doors. S.C. Code 16-23-20(A) lists all eleven.

Under 16-23-50(A)(2), a person violating 16-23-20 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment of not more than one year, or both, for a first offense; a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of not more than three years for a second offense; and a felony punishable by imprisonment of not more than five years for a third or subsequent offense.

Private property still controls. Under 23-31-220(A)(1), nothing in the CWP article limits the right of a public or private employer to prohibit a person who is otherwise not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun from carrying a concealable weapon upon the premises of the business or workplace. Under 23-31-220(A)(2), nothing in the article limits the right of a private property owner or person in legal possession or control to allow or prohibit the carrying of a concealable weapon upon his premises. Under 23-31-220(B), posting a sign stating "NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED" is notice, and a person who knowingly brings a concealable weapon onto the premises in violation may be charged with a violation of 16-11-620. Local governments cannot layer on their own rules: 23-31-510 bars any county, municipality, or other political subdivision from enacting a regulation or ordinance regulating the carrying or transportation of firearms.

Two more points. SLED's guidance states that a CWP holder or a person carrying a firearm without a permit under this law does not have a duty to notify a law enforcement officer that they are carrying a firearm. And 16-23-20(D) provides that a person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from carrying a firearm may lawfully store a firearm anywhere in a vehicle, whether occupied or unoccupied.

One asymmetry is written into the text. Section 16-23-495(A) adds imprisonment not to exceed three years for a person convicted of committing or attempting to commit a crime involving a concealable weapon in violation of an offense listed in Chapter 23, Title 16, or of 10-11-320. That term must be served consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed for the underlying offense, and it may not exceed the actual sentence imposed for the underlying offense. Subsection (B) says the section "does not apply to a person with a valid permit to carry a concealable weapon issued pursuant to Article 4, Chapter 31, Title 23, provided that the permit was valid at the time the crime was committed." That exemption is written around a permit issued under the South Carolina CWP article, not around an out-of-state permit recognized under 23-31-215(N). Subsection (C) frames the indictment element as possession of a concealable weapon "without a valid concealed weapon permit" during the commission of the crime, without naming the article that issued the permit, so the text does not settle the question in either direction.

Officers, retired officers, and pass-through travel

Separate from reciprocity, 16-23-20(B)(1) makes the place restrictions in 16-23-20(A) inapplicable to a list that includes "law enforcement officers or other authorized personnel of the federal government or other states when they are carrying out official duties while in this State." Under 23-31-600(C)(1), and subject to the limitations of 23-31-600(E), a qualified retired law enforcement officer may carry a concealed weapon in this State if he possesses an identification card, which 23-31-600(A)(1) defines as "a photographic identification card complying with 18 U.S.C. Section 926C", along with a certification that, not less recently than one year before the date he is carrying the firearm, he met the standards established by the agency for training and qualification for active law enforcement officers to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm. The place exemption for that officer is qualified as well: 16-23-20(B)(4) covers, "subject to the limitations of Section 23-31-600(D)", persons who meet the definition of "qualified retired law enforcement officer" contained in 23-31-600, and 23-31-600(D) makes the restrictions in 23-31-220 applicable to a person carrying a concealed weapon under 23-31-600 and prohibits carrying a concealed weapon into the residence or dwelling place of another person without the expressed permission of the owner or person in legal control or possession of the premises. Federal law covers the same ground: 18 U.S.C. 926B and 18 U.S.C. 926C each provide that notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any State, a qualified law enforcement officer or qualified retired law enforcement officer carrying the identification required by subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection (b).

If you are passing through with a firearm you cannot lawfully carry here, 18 U.S.C. 926A provides that "any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm" if, during the transportation, the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment, the firearm or ammunition must be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

South Carolina permits: traveling out of state, and issuance to nonresidents

SLED's guidance says the 2024 legislation "leaves in place the CWP program run by SLED for individuals who wish to continue carrying a firearm pursuant to a permit," and that the CWP "will continue to give the individual reciprocity with other recognizing states and makes purchasing a firearm from a dealer easier." Which states those are is set by each of those states' own law and lists. Section 23-31-215(N) governs only what South Carolina honors coming in. Check the destination state before you travel.

South Carolina does issue permits to some nonresidents. Under 23-31-210(2), a "qualified nonresident" is an individual who owns real property in South Carolina but resides in another state, and 23-31-215(A) directs SLED, except subject to subsection (B), to issue a permit to a resident or qualified nonresident who is at least eighteen years of age and who is not prohibited by state law from possessing the weapon, upon submission of the six items that subsection lists. Under 23-31-215(B), SLED must then conduct or facilitate a local, state, and federal fingerprint review and a background check, and must issue the permit if the fingerprint review and background check are favorable.

Statutes referenced