South Carolina Nonprofit Compliance

• 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 by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year.

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization

Online or mail.

$50 + $1.85 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
• IRS form 990 (only if it hasn't already been submitted to the Secretary of State)

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization (Renewal)

Online or mail.

$50 + $1.85 online filing fee.

Annually by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year. So if your fiscal year ends December 31, then file by May 15.

The registration statement renewal cannot be extended.

$10 per day per delinquent report (max $2,000 per report)

• 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.
• Organizations who do not file by the due date will receive a notice by certified mail giving them 15 days to submit the required renewal before late fees begin to accrue.

• IRS form 990
  • This should only be submitted if the annual financial statement has not already been submitted to the department and NO extension was granted by the IRS. If an extension for time to file the annual financial statement was granted, submit a copy of that extension request/approval. The 990 can then be submitted along with the annual financial statement by the extended due date for the annual financial report.
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts
• IRS determination letter

Annual Financial Report for a Charitable Organization 

Mail or online.

$0

Annually by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year. So if your fiscal year ends December 31, then file by May 15.

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.

$10 per day per delinquent report (max $2,000 per report)

Organizations who do not file by the due date will receive a notice by certified mail giving them 15 days to submit the required renewal before late fees begin to accrue.

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.

Contracts between charities and commercial coventurers must disclose the following, if applicable:

1. Legal name and alias name, address, and registration number, if any, of the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer;
2. Legal name, address, and registration number of the charitable organization;
3. Name and residence address of each person directing or supervising the contract solicitation services;
4. Description of the event or campaign;
5. Date the solicitation or campaign will commence;
6. Date the solicitation or campaign will terminate;
7. Statement of the amount or guaranteed minimum percentage of gross receipts to be remitted or retained by the charitable organization, excluding the amount which the charitable organization must pay for fundraising costs;
8. Statement of the amount or percentage of gross receipts with which the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer is compensated, including the amount the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer must be reimbursed as payment for fundraising costs; and
9. If applicable, the maximum dollar amount that will benefit the charitable organization.

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

$0

1-2 business days

Your fiscal year can be updated by emailing the secretary of state with notice of this change. Make sure to include the full name of the organization and charity registration ID.

Email charities@sos.sc.gov

$0

To withdraw a registration you must email and termination request letter and make sure all annual financial reports are up to date to the last day of solicitations in South Carolina.

• 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 by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year.

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization

Online or mail.

$50 + $1.85 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
• IRS form 990 (only if it hasn't already been submitted to the Secretary of State)

Registration Statement for a Charitable Organization (Renewal)

Online or mail.

$50 + $1.85 online filing fee.

Annually by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year. So if your fiscal year ends December 31, then file by May 15.

The registration statement renewal cannot be extended.

$10 per day per delinquent report (max $2,000 per report)

• 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.
• Organizations who do not file by the due date will receive a notice by certified mail giving them 15 days to submit the required renewal before late fees begin to accrue.

• IRS form 990
  • This should only be submitted if the annual financial statement has not already been submitted to the department and NO extension was granted by the IRS. If an extension for time to file the annual financial statement was granted, submit a copy of that extension request/approval. The 990 can then be submitted along with the annual financial statement by the extended due date for the annual financial report.
• List of officers and directors
• Professional fundraising contracts
• IRS determination letter

Annual Financial Report for a Charitable Organization 

Mail or online.

$0

Annually by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of your fiscal year. So if your fiscal year ends December 31, then file by May 15.

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.

$10 per day per delinquent report (max $2,000 per report)

Organizations who do not file by the due date will receive a notice by certified mail giving them 15 days to submit the required renewal before late fees begin to accrue.

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.

Contracts between charities and commercial coventurers must disclose the following, if applicable:

1. Legal name and alias name, address, and registration number, if any, of the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer;
2. Legal name, address, and registration number of the charitable organization;
3. Name and residence address of each person directing or supervising the contract solicitation services;
4. Description of the event or campaign;
5. Date the solicitation or campaign will commence;
6. Date the solicitation or campaign will terminate;
7. Statement of the amount or guaranteed minimum percentage of gross receipts to be remitted or retained by the charitable organization, excluding the amount which the charitable organization must pay for fundraising costs;
8. Statement of the amount or percentage of gross receipts with which the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer is compensated, including the amount the professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer must be reimbursed as payment for fundraising costs; and
9. If applicable, the maximum dollar amount that will benefit the charitable organization.

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

$0

1-2 business days

Your fiscal year can be updated by emailing the secretary of state with notice of this change. Make sure to include the full name of the organization and charity registration ID.

Email charities@sos.sc.gov

$0

To withdraw a registration you must email and termination request letter and make sure all annual financial reports are up to date to the last day of solicitations in South Carolina.