Registered Nurse (RN) License Renewal in South Carolina
South Carolina RNs renew every 2 years and meet competency one of four ways, including 30 CE hours. South Carolina is a Nurse Licensure Compact state.
| Renewal cycle | Every 2 years |
|---|---|
| CE hours required | 30 hours One of four competency options. 30 contact hours of CE (from a Board-recognized provider) is the CE path; a current national nursing certification, a completed academic nursing program or related coursework, or employer-verified nursing practice each satisfy it instead. |
| Renewal fee | $75.00 |
| Mandatory CE topics | None prescribed |
| Licensing board | South Carolina Board of Nursing (LLR) |
Sourced from South Carolina Board of Nursing (LLR), verified July 25, 2026. Requirements change. Confirm with your board before relying on this.
South Carolina, like a handful of states in this reference, doesn’t require continuing-education hours so much as it requires you to be competent, and then it lets you show that four different ways. Thirty CE hours is one of them, and for a working, certified nurse it’s usually not the one you’ll pick.
Four ways to meet the competency requirement
The South Carolina Board of Nursing states it directly: it does not mandate CE hours. Instead you satisfy the continued-competency requirement for each two-year renewal through any one of four options:
- 30 contact hours of continuing education from a Board-recognized provider. The CE path.
- A current national nursing certification from a Board-approved organization. Hold and maintain one and you’re covered, with no contact hours.
- A completed academic program of study in nursing or a related field (the Board counts 15 contact hours per semester hour, 12.5 per quarter hour, with a minimum grade of C).
- Employer-verified nursing practice, confirming you’ve been working competently as a nurse.
The practical read matches North Carolina and Virginia: a certified or actively-employed nurse is usually already compliant without buying 30 CE hours. The Board publishes a Competency Requirement Criteria sheet, print it and match your situation to the cheapest option you already meet, rather than defaulting to the CE path.
The cycle
South Carolina renews RN licenses biennially, with licenses expiring April 30 of even-numbered years. Renew online through LLR’s system before the deadline, renewals after April 30 fall into reinstatement, with additional requirements and fees, and the online window closes at the end of the following month. Everyone renews on the same statewide date, so it’s easy to look up and easy to assume you’ll remember, don’t assume.
The fee
Renewal is $75, and LLR posts it on an open fee page rather than burying it in the portal, so you can check it before you log in. RNs and LPNs pay the same. The numbers that hurt are on the other side of the deadline: reinstating a license lapsed less than five years is $135, five years or more is $145, and reinstating a disciplined license is $225. Official inactive status, if you’re stepping away rather than lapsing, is $15.
South Carolina is a compact state
South Carolina implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 19, 2018. If South Carolina is your primary state of residence, your RN license can be a multistate license, letting you practice in the other compact states without applying separately in each. That reaches into compact neighbors like Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The privilege follows your legal residence, so it holds as long as South Carolina stays home. Use the compact checker below to see exactly which states a South Carolina license reaches.
Add your renewal deadline to your calendar
Enter your expiration date and download a calendar file. Your own calendar will remind you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days out. We don't ask for your email, we store nothing, and the date never leaves your device.
Works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook. This is a convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact deadline with the South Carolina Board of Nursing (LLR).
How many CE hours do you have left?
South Carolina requires 30 CE hours this cycle. Enter what you've completed and see what's left. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
A convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact requirement with the South Carolina Board of Nursing (LLR). This is not legal advice.
Continuing education hours per renewal cycle
South Carolina asks for 30 hours. That is exactly the median of 30 across the 37 states that set a flat hour count, which run from 8 to 40. Ranked lowest to highest, South Carolina is 33 of 37.
Renewal fee
South Carolina charges $75. The median across the 49 states that publish a figure is $100, running from $50 to $245. Ranked cheapest to dearest, South Carolina is 12 of 49.
Each mark is one state. The taller line is the median, the filled dot is South Carolina. States that set no flat hour count, or publish no fee, are left out of that comparison rather than counted as zero.
Where can you practice with your license?
The Nurse Licensure Compact lets a nurse who lives in a compact state hold one multistate license and practice in every other compact state. Pick where you live to see whether that's you, and where it reaches.
Member data from the NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map, verified July 2026. A multistate license requires the compact state to be your primary residence. This is a convenience, not legal advice. Confirm your status with your board or at nursecompact.com.
What will this renewal cost?
South Carolina's renewal fee is filled in from the board below. Add what you expect to spend on CE courses, plus a late fee if you're past due, for a running total. Nothing you type is stored.
The renewal fee is from the South Carolina Board of Nursing (LLR) and dated on this page; the CE and late-fee figures are your own estimates. A convenience, not a compliance service, and not legal advice. Confirm fees with your board.