Business Structure

You will need to decide on a business structure. The following links should be helpful:

• Starting a Business in South Carolina booklet by the South Carolina Department of Commerce. This guide offers information to potential business owners to aid them in the process of starting a business in South Carolina from writing a business plan and deciding on the legal structure of the business to understanding tax liability. Skip to page 10 of 24 in the booklet to see the section on "Deciding On the Legal Structure Of the Business."
  
  
• Steps to Starting a Small Business by the Small Business Development Centers of South Carolina (SBDC). This guide not only provides information about how to start a small business, it also provides a good section on "Choosing the Legal Form of Business ".
  
  
• "Small Business / Self-Employed - Business Structure" website by the Internal Revenue Service.
  
  
• "Business Structure" found on the BusinessLaw.gov website created by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Make sure you look on the Left side of the page and view the "Basic Structures" and "Special Structures" sections under "Business Structure".
  

If your business is a limited partnership, corporation or limited liability company/limited liability partnership, you must first register with the South Carolina Secretary of State's Office.