City
Business License: Most municipalities in
South Carolina
require you to obtain a business license in order to conduct
business. License fees vary and are based on sales tax
revenues. If you do not see the municipality where you
plan to conduct business listed below, call their town hall for
information regarding business licenses.
| City |
Address |
Phone |
| Charleston |
75 Calhoun |
724-3711 |
| North Charleston |
4900 La Cross Rd. |
740-2634 |
| Mt. Pleasant |
100 Ann Edwards Lane |
849-2786 |
| Summerville |
104 Civic Center |
871-6000 |
| Hanahan |
1255 Yeamans Hall Rd. |
554-4221 ext 133 |
| Sullivans Island |
1610 Middle St |
883-3198 |
| Isle of Palms |
1301 Palm Blvd. |
886-9912 |
| Goose Creek |
125 St. James Ave. |
797-6220 |
Other municipalities in
Berkley
, Dorchester and
Charleston
County
(Contact
these offices for licensing requirements in their areas)
|
Awendaw
Bonneau
Edisto
Beach
Folly
Beach
Harleyville
Hollywood
Jamestown
Kiawah
Island
Lincolnville
|
928-3100
825-3385
869-2667
588-2447
462-7676
889-3222
257-2233
768-9166
873-3261
|
|
McClellanville
Meggett
Moncks
Corner
Ravenel
Reevesille
Ridgeville
Seabrook
Island
St.
George
St.
Stephen
|
887-3712
889-3622
719-7900
889-8732
563-9128
871-7960
768-9121
563-3032
567-3597
|
County
Business
License: If you plan to conduct business outside
city limits but within the county you must obtain a license for
the entities listed below:
|
Charleston
County
202-6080
|
Dorchester
County
832-0018
|
Berkeley
County
Not
required
|
Planning
& Zoning: For information pertaining to
whether your business can operate in the chosen location, you
must check your local zoning ordinances. This can be done
at the addresses listed below. This includes Home Business
Requirements.
|
Charleston
75 Calhoun St
.
724-3781
|
North Charleston
4900 La Cross Rd.
740-2634
|
Mt.
Pleasant
100
Ann Edwards Lane
884-1229
|
Summerville
104
Civic Center
871-6000
|
|
Hanahan
1255 Yeamans Hall Rd.
529-3409
ext 133
|
Sullivans
Island
1610 Middle St
.
883-3198
|
Isle
of Palms
1301 Palm Blvd.
886-9912
|
Goose Creek
125 St. James Ave.
863-5205
|
Building
& Fire Inspections: Before you can operate in
a specific business location you must obtain a Certificate of
Occupancy issued by the local building inspections department.
Application is made through the Business License Office.
Building Inspector and Fire Inspector will come and look at the
business location.
|
Charleston
80 Broad St
.
724-7433
|
North Charleston
4900 La Cross Rd.
740-2673
|
Mt.
Pleasant
100
Ann Edwards Lane
884-5184
|
Summerville
104
Civic Center
871-6000
|
|
Hanahan
1255 Yeamans Hall Rd.
529-3409
ext 122
|
Sullivans
Island
1610 Middle St
.
883-3198
|
Isle
of Palms
1301 Palm Blvd.
886-9912
|
Goose Creek
125 St. James Ave.
863-5213
|
Health
Department:
If your business will be involved in food handling you must
contact the county health department in the county where you
will do business for requirements on permits.
|
Charleston
County
334 Calhoun St
,
Charleston
740-0855
|
Berkeley
County
Main St
Moncks
Corner
723-0766
|
Dorchester
County
2885 W 5th St
.
Summerville
821-9524
|
|
City
of
Charleston
Commissioner
of Public Works
103 St. Philips St
.
727-6800
|
City
of
Charleston
City
Sanitation Dept.
1950 Milford St
.
727-7364
|
|
SC
Government General Information Number: To find
phone numbers for State of
South Carolina
government offices call: .. (803) 896-0000
Secretary
of State: If you plan to incorporate your
business, operate as a partnership, or as a limited liability
company, you will need to notify the Secretary of State to file
your assumed name or the name you will be doing business under.
An
attorney must do filing for incorporation in
South Carolina
.
o
Corporate Charter (803) 734-2158
o
Trademarks/Service Marks . (803) 734-2170
·
The Secretary of States Office
(www.scros.com)
conducts
business name searches
·
Trademark searches can
be done at www.uspto.gov
·
Trademark
Assistance
Center
...(803)
308-9000
Sales
and Use Tax Permit:
Issued by the Dept of Revenue and Taxation and is required if
collecting sales tax.
o
Charleston
Office
(843) 852-3600
o
Initial Licensing
.. (803) 898-5872
o
Quarterly Returns
(803) 898-5872
SC
Retail License:
Enable a retailer to purchase tax-free. Anyone selling any
kind of product needs to obtain this license when securing your
sales and use tax permit.
o
Charleston
Office
.
(843) 852-3600
o
Tax Commission
.. (803) 898-5872
SC Employment Security Commission (ESC): If you will be hiring anyone in your business you must
notify the ESC. They will inform you of what forms you need to file with their agency.
- Charleston Office (843) 792-7046
- Columbia , 1550 Gadsen St , Columbia , SC 29201 (803) 737-2400
Workmans
Compensation: Contact your local insurance agent or, SC Workman’s Compensation Office (803) 737-5700
Alcohol Beverage Service: If you will be serving or selling alcoholic beverages
in the course of doing business you must contact these agencies:
Dept of Revenue & Taxation (formerly Alcoholic Beverage Control) (803) 898-5864
Federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U. S. Treasury Dept
1835 Assembly Street
Room 1410
Columbia , SC 29201
Permits (803) 765-5722
Day
Care Licensing:
Anyone conducting business involving groups of senior citizens
or children must contact the following office to satisfy State
requirements:
o
SC Department of Social Services (803) 898-7345
Food
or Cosmetic Related Businesses::
If your business will involve the production or packaging of
food you must contact:
o
Department of Agriculture
PO Box
11280
Columbia
,
SC
29211
(803) 737-9700
o
Dept of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) . (803) 896-0640
Obtaining
a barcode or Universal Product Code (UPC)
o
To obtain an application for a barcode contact the
Uniform
Code Council at (937) 435-3870
o
Fill out the application completely and return to
the Uniform Code Council with the required fee
o
The fee is dependent on your annual sales.
The minimum fee for new products is $300.
o
Processing of the application takes approximately
10 15 days upon receipt of application and fee.
o
You will be issued a bar code and instructions for
getting the bar code on your product
|
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