Starting a New Business with the South Carolina Business One Stop

Starting a new business can be an overwhelming task.  Seek as much qualified advice as you can, e.g., the advice of friends, business people, attorneys, and accountants.  There is no substitute for good advice.

 The SCBOS Web site is intended to be a one stop business resource guide and a one stop place to obtain Licenses, Permits, and Registrations (LPRs) required for doing business in South Carolina. SCBOS walks the User through a process; asking relevant questions, collecting data, facilitating payments, submitting applications, and communicating to various State Agencies on the User’s behalf. Currently, participating State agencies of SCBOS are: the South Carolina Secretary of State (SOS), Department of Revenue (DOR), Employment Security Commission (ESC), and Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The vision of SCBOS, is to add State, County, Municipal, and Federal agencies.

The Web site is divided into two areas:

The Information/Resource Section contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), SCBOS training material, articles and documents that are relevant for starting a new business in South Carolina, and links to relevant Web pages of other Web sites.

The secure portion of the Web site is the SCBOS LPR System where Licenses/Permits/Registration (LPRs) are submitted.

LPR’s can be required by a State Agency, County, or Municipality.  The word “Agency” will be used to describe all three types of government.

Choose a business structure that's right for your business needs; choosing a business structure found on the business.gov website, created by the U.S. Small Business Administration, can help you do just that.  Another helpful link on the same site, gives you 12 tasks to address for launching a new business. After deciding the type of business structure, SCBOS will guide you to register with the South Carolina Secretary of State and/or the South Carolina Department of Revenue when you use the “Start New Business” wizard.

Selling or not selling? Businesses that sell goods and products at retail or provide accommodations, will need to register with the South Carolina Department of Revenue and obtain a retail license in order to properly handle sales, use, or accommodation taxes.  Some sole proprietorship businesses that are service-related and not selling goods and products to customers may not need to obtain a retail license, but will need to be registered with the Department of Revenue for business personal property taxes.  For more information on Business taxes, click here.

Employees? If your business has employees, you will be required to register to withhold employee withholding taxes from employee wages and to register with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission to report and pay unemployment insurance. Registering is now possible through use of SCBOS.

*You may be required to register with the Worker’s Compensation Commission.