Bonds & Surety› Contractor License Bonds › South Carolina
South Carolina Contractor License Bond Requirements
What South Carolina requires, what it costs, and how to get bonded
The short answer for South Carolina
Yes, but only if you choose it. South Carolina sets your bid and job limit from either a financial statement or a surety bond, and the bond is the same dollar amount as the net worth it replaces. General contractor bonds run $20,000 to $350,000 by group; mechanical run $7,000 to $300,000.
Verified August 12, 2026 against primary sources from South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, both within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Requirements are subject to current state statutes and agency rules, which change without notice. Confirm the figure that applies to you before you file.
Does South Carolina require a contractor license bond?
Not the way most states do, and this is where South Carolina contractors get bad information. A General or Mechanical Contractor's licence is required for commercial construction over $10,000 in the classifications listed at S.C. Code Ann. section 40-11-410. Residential work sits with a separate agency, the Residential Builders Commission. The bond is not a flat condition of licensure. It is one of the ways you satisfy the financial responsibility requirement.
The three ways to prove financial responsibility
Your licence carries a group limit that caps what you may bid and what you may build. You set that limit one of two ways, and you are not required to do both:
- File a financial statement. Meet either the working capital or the net worth figure for the group you want. Groups 1 and 2 accept an owner-prepared statement with an affidavit of accuracy. Groups 3 and 4 need a CPA-compiled GAAP statement on initial application. Group 5 needs an audited balance sheet on initial application and a reviewed one at renewal.
- Post a surety bond. In the same amount as the net worth or working capital required for that group, from a surety authorized to transact surety business in South Carolina, under section 40-11-260.
The net worth you have to document
| License class | Requirement |
|---|---|
| General - Group 1 | Bid and job limit $100,000. Working capital $10,000 or net worth $20,000. |
| General - Group 2 | Bid and job limit $400,000. Working capital $40,000 or net worth $60,000. |
| General - Group 3 | Bid and job limit $1,000,000. Working capital $100,000 or net worth $150,000. |
| General - Group 4 | Bid and job limit $3,000,000. Working capital $175,000 or net worth $250,000. |
| General - Group 5 | Unlimited. Working capital $250,000 or net worth $350,000. |
The bond amount by license limitation
| Limitation | Bond | What it replaces |
|---|---|---|
| General Group 1 | $20,000 | Bid and job limit $100,000. |
| General Group 2 | $60,000 | Bid and job limit $400,000. |
| General Group 3 | $150,000 | Bid and job limit $1,000,000. |
| General Group 4 | $250,000 | Bid and job limit $3,000,000. |
| General Group 5 | $350,000 | Unlimited bid and job limit. |
| Mechanical Group 1 | $7,000 | Bid and job limit $35,000. |
| Mechanical Group 2 | $15,000 | Bid and job limit $100,000. |
| Mechanical Group 3 | $30,000 | Bid and job limit $200,000. |
| Mechanical Group 4 | $60,000 | Bid and job limit $400,000. |
| Mechanical Group 5 | $300,000 | Unlimited bid and job limit. |
The bond used to be double. It is not any more, and most published guidance has not caught up
The Board states it plainly in its own FAQ: the surety bond limits were reduced from two times the net worth for the applicant's licence group to a bond in the same amount as the net worth for that group. If you are reading a South Carolina contractor bond page that quotes double the net worth, it predates the change. That one-to-one ratio makes South Carolina unusual. Compare North Carolina next door, where the bond that replaces $150,000 of working capital is $1,000,000. Here the bond that replaces $350,000 of net worth is $350,000. The sharpest use of it sits at Group 5. A Group 5 licence on the financial statement route needs an audited balance sheet from a CPA on initial application and a reviewed one every year at renewal. For a contractor who does not otherwise need an audit, the annual cost of that audit is a real number, and the bond is a straight alternative to it. That is arithmetic worth doing rather than assuming.
The requirement that is easy to miss
Five conditions sit on the bond itself and the Board lists all five. It must be continuous in form and stay in effect for as long as you hold the licence, or until you file a financial statement showing you meet the requirement for your group. It must list the State of South Carolina as obligee. It runs to the benefit of any person damaged by your breach of a construction contract or a contract for labour, materials or professional services, or by any unlawful act or omission in performing construction. It must be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other bond required of you. And the surety may cancel only by notifying both the Board and you thirty days beforehand.
This bond does not make you bondable for contract work
The rule says it in those words: in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other surety bond required of the applicant by law, by regulation, or by any party to a contract. Your licence bond does nothing for you on a bid and it does not make you bondable for performance and payment bonds.
Two boards, two bonds, and they do not travel
The Contractor's Licensing Board states that surety bonds payable to the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission are not accepted by the Contractor's Licensing Board. They are separate agencies with separate bond forms and separate obligees, and holding one does not satisfy the other. The two boards also disagree on paperwork, inside the same department. The Contractor's Licensing Board wants the original bond with wet signatures, a visible surety company seal and the Power of Attorney attached, and states that DocuSign is not an acceptable form of signature. The Residential Builders Commission voted on February 12, 2020 to accept original licence bonds and continuation certificates in electronic format. If you hold both credentials, you are running two bonds on two sets of rules.
Financial statements must carry a balance sheet dated no more than twelve months before the application. Compiled, reviewed and audited statements must be prepared by a licensed CPA, and the Board points applicants at cpaverify.org to check. Personal financial statements of an entity's principals are accepted for an entity with less than two years of operating experience, and only on the initial application. A parent company statement can be accepted if the notes or an accompanying letter state the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary.
On the residential side the Residential Builders Commission requires builders to keep a $15,000 bond on file at all times. A residential specialty contractor in electrical, HVAC or plumbing needs a $10,000 bond once the cost of an undertaking for an individual property owner exceeds $5,000, under section 40-59-220(D). A specialty registrant needs a $5,000 bond on the same $5,000 trigger, under section 40-59-240(D). On both, the bond must be issued in your name as principal, not in a company or business name, unless it is a Certificate of Authorization Bond. Getting that wrong means the filing comes back.
What a South Carolina license bond costs
You do not pay the face amount of the bond. You pay a premium, which is a percentage of it, and that percentage is set by underwriting - primarily your personal credit, how long you have been in business, and your financial position. A contractor with strong credit pays a small fraction of the bond amount. A contractor with credit problems pays more, and sometimes needs a market built for that situation, which we have.
We do not quote rates on a web page, and anyone who does is guessing at your file. For the mechanics of how bond pricing works, see how much contractor bonds cost. For a real number, call us.
A license bond is not a contract bond
This is the distinction that costs South Carolina contractors work. A license bond is what the state or the city requires before it will let you operate. It is a fixed amount, it renews annually, and it protects the public. It says nothing about whether you can bond a job.
A performance bond is different. That is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and it is what an owner requires before awarding you the work. Contractors who assume their license bond makes them "bonded" find out otherwise the first time they try to bid public work.
The two are connected in one direction that matters: the financial file that gets you a license bond easily is the same file a surety underwriter reads when you ask for a performance bond. Building it properly now is what makes the bigger bond reachable later. See how contractors qualify for bonds and how a bond program gets built.
A license bond is also not insurance. It does not protect you - if a claim is paid, you reimburse the surety. See surety bonds versus insurance.
Get bonded in South Carolina
Our team writes contractor license bonds nationally and we never decline a submission - our job is to find the path to yes. Tell us the classification you are applying for and we will tell you what it takes. If you are building toward bigger work, we will look at the whole program, not just the bond in front of you.
Call the Grit team: (801) 505-5500
South Carolina contractor license bond FAQ
Does South Carolina require a contractor license bond?
Yes, but only if you choose it. South Carolina sets your bid and job limit from either a financial statement or a surety bond, and the bond is the same dollar amount as the net worth it replaces. General contractor bonds run $20,000 to $350,000 by group; mechanical run $7,000 to $300,000.
How much is a South Carolina contractor license bond?
$20,000 to $350,000 for general contractors, $7,000 to $300,000 for mechanical contractors. It is filed on the board's own bond form, and it is an alternative to documenting your net worth rather than an additional requirement.
Is a South Carolina license bond the same as a performance bond?
No. A license bond is a fixed annual requirement to hold your license and it protects the public. A performance bond is job-specific, written at the full contract value, and required by the project owner before award. Holding a license bond does not mean you can bond a job.
Does a South Carolina contractor license bond protect my business?
No. A surety bond protects the party the bond runs to. If a claim is paid on your bond, you reimburse the surety. Liability insurance protects your business; a bond does not.
A note on the details: Everything on this page was taken from the state's own statutes, rules or agency publications on the verification date shown at the top, and it is subject to current state code. Legislatures amend statutes, boards amend rules, and agencies set some amounts administratively so they move without any change in the law. Bond amounts, licensing thresholds and filing rules also vary by classification and by the agency issuing the license. Use this page as a starting point, not as legal advice. Confirm the current requirement with the licensing authority before you file, and confirm your own bond requirement with a licensed member of our team.
Already licensed and looking for work to bid? See where to find public construction work to bid on in South Carolina, and the national guide to contractor license and permit bonds.