The official board
South Carolina nursing licensure is regulated by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. That is where applications, renewals, endorsement, and official forms live. Requirements and fees are board-set and change, so we point you to the official site rather than list figures that could go stale.
Official South Carolina licensure resources
- Verify a license: Nursys QuickConfirm (national) or the board — see our South Carolina verification guide.
- Apply by endorsement: through the South Carolina Board of Nursing — see the South Carolina endorsement guide.
- Renew a license: through the board — see the South Carolina renewal guide.
- Compact status: is South Carolina a compact state? See the South Carolina compact status page.
The law that governs this in South Carolina
Licensing a nurse in South Carolina happens under South Carolina’s own nurse practice act — the same act that defines what practice means here — administered by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. That act is S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 33 (Nurses); discipline at § 40-33-110.
The compact itself is separate law. South Carolina adopted it at S.C. Code Ann. §§ 40-33-1300 to 40-33-1365 (tit. 40, ch. 33, art. 15 — Nurse Licensure Compact), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach South Carolina at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
What South Carolina runs itself
Beyond the national systems, South Carolina Board of Nursing publishes its own primary-source lookup — South Carolina LLR Board of Nursing. Where a board runs its own, that is the record the board itself works from, which can matter when a national system and a board disagree or lag. How South Carolina’s route actually behaves, including what an empty result means there, is on verifying a South Carolina license.
Official vs independent
The South Carolina Board of Nursing and Nursys are the authorities — they make decisions and hold the records. CompactStates.com explains how South Carolina licensure works and gets you to those sources quickly. We never charge for or monetize official board or Nursys links.
What the South Carolina Board of Nursing controls
Because South Carolina is in the compact, this board does two jobs at once: it licenses South Carolina residents — including issuing multistate licenses, which it has done since January 19, 2018 — and it regulates every nurse practicing in South Carolina on another state’s multistate license. A visiting compact nurse answers to this board while working here, even though it never issued them anything.
Its authority comes from S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 33 (Nurses); discipline at § 40-33-110, and its compact role from S.C. Code Ann. §§ 40-33-1300 to 40-33-1365 (tit. 40, ch. 33, art. 15 — Nurse Licensure Compact). You can read the law rather than take our word for it.
The board runs its own license lookup — South Carolina LLR Board of Nursing — separate from Nursys. Where the two disagree, the board’s record controls.