The appointment and maintenance of an in-state registered agent is required

With a strong and diverse economy that includes aerospace, agriculture, automotive, manufacturing, and tourism; South Carolina is an attractive place to locate a business. However, doing business in South Carolina requires compliance with many federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

CT Corporation's reliable, professional Registered Agent services ensure that you won’t miss a critical filing and endanger your business’ good standing and its right to defend itself in court. You'll benefit from monitoring tools and services that ensure insight into your business compliance so you’re always in control. With a professional Registered Agent, you can have the confidence of knowing that you’re aware of and on top of your compliance obligations.

I strongly recommend CT Corporation as a reliable corporate compliance partner.
Walters-Morgan Construction, Inc.
Responsive, great, and knowledgeable customer service.
Children International

Safeguard your business with America's most reliable registered agent service

Registered Agent package options:

Products

Registered agent services

Easily appoint your registered agent online within 10 minutes

Order Online - $337*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

    Not included

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

    Not included

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

    Not included
Registered agent and incorporation filing

Our incorporation experts are here to help you start your business with a solid and smart foundation

Order Online - $788 +state fees*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

    Not included
Registered agent and qualification filing

Legally register an existing business in another state

Order Online - $808 +state fees*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

    Not included

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

Products

Roadmap to compliance
What to look for when choosing a South Carolina Registered Agent

A registered agent should be reliable, accurate, and consistent.  They must always be available and physically present at the registered office during normal business hours. This ensures any hand-delivered legal documents get proper attention. 

 

They must also know all business entity and compliance rules, have professionally trained staff with expert knowledge on how to properly handle and forward SOP papers, have state-of-the-art processes in place to deliver crucial documents to you, and to follow-up with you regarding delivery. 

 

It is also important to have a registered agent that has the coverage and expertise to support your business as it expands into other states where additional registration is often necessary.  
Select the best registered agent in your state
The importance of having a South Carolina Registered Agent

Having a professional registered agent ensures that things such as personal emergencies, vacations, business trips, and meetings never leave your company without this physical presence. Keep in mind, a lawsuit can proceed against you, even if your registered agent is not available to receive service. You may lose the opportunity to defend yourself in court or incur extra legal fees.

 

In addition to the registered agent’s statutory responsibilities of receiving and forwarding documents, professional service companies often provide a full range of services for LLCs, corporations, and other types of business entities to help them with their compliance needs. The right professional services company can help you stay in compliance and make sure all of your documents are handled correctly.
Foreign qualification requires expert support
You can rely on CT Corporation to:
  • Record your registered agent information with the state—essential to keep your business in good standing
  • Receive state documents and legal notices, including Service of Process and wage garnishment notices, and promptly relay them to your designated contacts—so nothing gets overlooked
  • Monitor laws and regulations—to make sure you aren’t caught off guard by changes
  • Designate a specific team to serve as your go-to resource for answers to your questions—you won’t get the round around
  • Customize your registered agent services if you wish to include alerts of upcoming deadlines and forwarding of business documents—so you’ll have less to manage

Legislative updates

House Bill 3243, effective August 1, 2019, revises the fee schedule of the clerks of court and registers of deeds for filing and recording various documents.

Case summaries

Single Business Enterprise Theory
Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners’ Assoc., Inc. v. IMK Dev. Co., No. 28071, decided December 8, 2021. The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the lower courts’ denial of the motion for a directed verdict filed by defendants – an LLC and its managing member – in response to the plaintiff’s attempt to hold them liable on the single business enterprise theory. (Also referred to by the court as the amalgamation theory.) The court stated that the single business enterprise theory is not to be used to amalgamate an individual with a company. It exists as an equitable remedy for plaintiffs whenever they have been wronged by business entities with blurred identities.

Other notices

April 23, 2021 — The South Carolina Secretary of State issued an updated advisory on April 23, 2021 regarding what it called “continued scams offering to sell bogus documents and certified copies to businesses”. The advisory alerts businesses to a “scam [that] purports to sell businesses a phony document that is not issued by the Secretary of State’s Office, and that serves no legitimate purpose in verifying a business’s good standing in South Carolina”. The updated advisory can be read in full on the Secretary of State’s website.

March 12, 2021 — The South Carolina Secretary of State issued an advisory on March 12, warning of what was referred to as “a ‘scam’ selling bogus certificates of status to businesses.” The advisory states that this is not an official certificate issued by the state and is not required to transact business in the state. The advisory can be read in full on the Secretary of State’s website.

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