South Carolina Secretary of State - Division of Public Charities

• Religious organizations
• Political organizations

Religious organizations and political candidates and groups are automatically exempt from registration.

Organizations that do not use professional solicitors, professional fundraising counsels, or commercial coventurers to solicit and meet one of the following criteria:

• An educational institution which solicits contributions from only its students and their families, alumni, faculty, friends, and other constituencies, trustees, corporations, foundations, and individuals who are interested in and supportive of the programs of the institution
• A person requesting contributions for the relief of an individual specified by name at the time of the solicitation when all of the contributions collected, without deductions of any kind, are turned over to the named beneficiary for his use, as long as the person soliciting the contributions is not a named beneficiary
• A charitable organization which (a) does not intend to solicit or receive contributions from the public in excess of $20,000 in a calendar year and (b) has received a letter of tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service, if all functions, including fundraising activities, of the organization exempted pursuant to this item are conducted by persons who are compensated no more than $500 in a year for their services and no part of their assets or income inures to the benefit of or is paid to an officer or a member
• An organization which solicits exclusively from its membership, including a utility cooperative
• A veterans' organization which has a congressional charter
• The State, its political subdivisions, and an agency or a department of the State which are subject to the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act

Also, organizations that meet one one of the following criteria regardless of whether or not they use professional solicitors, professional fundraising counsels, or commercial coventurers to solicit:

• A public school district located in the State and any public school teaching pre-K through grade twelve located within the public school district. For purposes of this chapter, the term "public school" includes any student organization within the school that does not maintain separate financial accounts or a separate federal Employer's Identification Number (EIN) from the school and whose fundraising revenues are deposited in the school's student activity fund
• A charitable organization that does not intend to solicit or receive contributions from the public in excess of $7,500 during a calendar year

Application for Registration Exemption

$0

SC Code § 33-56-50

Organizations that do not use professional solicitors, professional fundraising counsels, or commercial coventurers to solicit and meet one of the following criteria:

• An educational institution which solicits contributions from only its students and their families, alumni, faculty, friends, and other constituencies, trustees, corporations, foundations, and individuals who are interested in and supportive of the programs of the institution
• A person requesting contributions for the relief of an individual specified by name at the time of the solicitation when all of the contributions collected, without deductions of any kind, are turned over to the named beneficiary for his use, as long as the person soliciting the contributions is not a named beneficiary
• A charitable organization which (a) does not intend to solicit or receive contributions from the public in excess of $20,000 in a calendar year and (b) has received a letter of tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service, if all functions, including fundraising activities, of the organization exempted pursuant to this item are conducted by persons who are compensated no more than $500 in a year for their services and no part of their assets or income inures to the benefit of or is paid to an officer or a member
• An organization which solicits exclusively from its membership, including a utility cooperative
• A veterans' organization which has a congressional charter
• The State, its political subdivisions, and an agency or a department of the State which are subject to the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act
   

Also, organizations that meet one one of the following criteria regardless of whether or not they use professional solicitors, professional fundraising counsels, or commercial coventurers to solicit:

• A public school district located in the State and any public school teaching pre-K through grade twelve located within the public school district. For purposes of this chapter, the term "public school" includes any student organization within the school that does not maintain separate financial accounts or a separate federal Employer's Identification Number (EIN) from the school and whose fundraising revenues are deposited in the school's student activity fund
• A charitable organization that does not intend to solicit or receive contributions from the public in excess of $7,500 during a calendar year

Application for Registration Exemption (Renewal)

$0

Annually within 4.5 months after the organization's fiscal year end.

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization

Online or mail.

$50 + $2 online filing fee.

1 week

• The CEO and CFO must sign.
• Late registration forms may result in a fine of up to $2,000 against the charitable organization.
• Some South Carolina counties and municipalities may require charities that solicit in-person to register prior to fundraising.

Domestic Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• Appoint a registered agent to receive legal documents in South Carolina.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.

Foreign Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• Appoint a registered agent to receive legal documents in South Carolina.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.
• If you will foreign qualify in South Carolina, obtain a certificate of good standing from your home state to submit during the foreign qualification process. The certificate cannot be more than 30 days old when filing foreign qualification documents.

Domestic Applicants:

1. File entity formation documents with the South Carolina Secretary of State - Division of Business Filings.
2. Submit a Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization and all required attachments to the South Carolina Secretary of State - Division of Public Charities.

Foreign Applicants:

1. Determine whether or not your charity will need to foreign qualify based on your activity in South Carolina. If not required, skip to number 3.
2. File foreign qualification documents with the South Carolina Secretary of State - Division of Business Filings.
3. Submit a Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization and all required attachments to the South Carolina Secretary of State - Division of Public Charities.

• IRS determination letter
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization (Renewal)

Online or mail.

$50 + $2 online filing fee.

Renewal must be filed annually within 4.5 months after the close of your fiscal year. So if your fiscal year ends December 31, then file by May 15.

The registration statement renewal must be submitted on time, but the due date for the annual financial statement can be extended for 6 months beyond the original due date by emailing the department at charities@sos.sc.gov with your request.

Late registration may result in a fine of up to $2,000 against the charitable organization.

• The CEO and CFO must sign.
• You must file an annual financial report with the Secretary of State. If this has not yet been filed, file it with your renewal.
• The exemption form must be resubmitted annually.

• IRS form 990
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts
• IRS determination letter

Annual Financial Report for a Charitable Organization 

$0

Due annually 4.5 months after fiscal year end. So if your organization's fiscal year ends December 31, the report is due May 15.

None

$0

1-2 business days

Email charities@sos.sc.gov to update fiscal year.

$0

To close out your registration, submit on letterhead the date you wish to withdraw from soliciting in South Carolina or simply do not submit the next IRS form 990.

Registration Application for a Commercial Co-Venturer

Online

$50

1-2 business days

None

Registration Application for a Commercial Co-Venturer (Renewal)

Online

$50

1-2 business days

Annually

None

Notice of Solicitation - CCV

Online

$0

1-2 business days

File a notice of solicitation at least 10 days prior to the start of each solicitation campaign.

The charity must be registered to solicit charitable contributions or otherwise exempt for the contract to be accepted.

$0

An amendment filing should be made before the expiration date of a campaign in order to extend the campaign.

To report an extension of a campaign or another change to a campaign agreement, submit a cover letter describing the change and include a copy of the amended agreement.

Joint Financial Report for Commercial Co-Venturer

Online

$0

1-2 business days

Within 90 days after a campaign has ended and within 90 days after the anniversary of commencement for campaigns lasting more than a year.

South Carolina enforces very strict fines on joint financial reports that are not filed within 90 days of the conclusion of the campaign.

Registration Application for an Individual Professional Solicitor

$50

Registration Application for an Individual Professional Solicitor (Renewal)

$50

Annually