South Carolina — statewide
South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance
In short
South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance issues 2 permits we publish for South Carolina — statewide, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Food Establishment Permit | South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance | $100 to open plus an annual inspection fee of $100 to $450 banded by gross food sales — $100 up to $250,000, rising in $50 steps to $450 above $1.75 million | annual — the inspection fee is invoiced and due thirty days from the billing date | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance | No fee | set by the certifying programme — South Carolina's rules specify none | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Retail Food Establishment Permit
Check the agency before anything else: retail food safety moved out of the health and environmental control department on 1 July 2024, and it did not go to either of the two departments that replaced it — it went to the Department of Agriculture. Any guidance naming DHEC for a restaurant permit is two years out of date. The pricing is a $100 first-year fee plus an inspection fee banded by the previous year's gross food sales, starting at $100 up to a quarter of a million and rising in fifty-dollar steps to $450 above $1.75 million; a new business estimates its band from anticipated sales. Alcohol and general merchandise are excluded from the calculation, and a convenience store counts only what it prepares or packages itself, though fountain drinks do count. Miss the thirty-day payment window and $50 is added at thirty days and another $50 at sixty; at ninety days the permit is suspended and reinstatement costs $25. There is no paper permit — the graded decal posted on the wall is the evidence, on a scale where 88 to 100 is an A, 78 to 87 a B and 77 or below a C, and below 70 triggers enforcement. School and licensed child care kitchens, healthcare facilities and charitable meal providers are exempt from the fee but must certify annually.
Certified Food Protection Manager
No state fee, because South Carolina neither examines nor certifies anyone — the certificate comes from a nationally accredited programme at that programme's price. There are two obligations here and the second is the one that shapes rotas. At least one employee with supervisory authority, the power to direct food preparation and enforce health policy, and a frequent presence at the premises must be a certified food protection manager. Separately, at all times during operation the person in charge must be either a certified food handler or a certified food protection manager — which is a staffing constraint on every shift, not a one-off qualification for the owner. The rules draw a sharp line between certification and training: a training certificate alone does not satisfy the requirement, because the accreditation must attach to the examination process. Establishments the department judges to pose minimal risk are excused. No validity period appears anywhere in South Carolina's rules, so the certificate lasts as long as the issuing programme says it does.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- South Carolina — statewide
- Phone
- (803) 896-0640
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- South Carolina Code section 46-57-10 — the Department of Agriculture takes over retail food regulation from 1 July 2024South Carolina General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- South Carolina Department of Agriculture — annual retail food inspection fee schedule, with unambiguous band boundariesSouth Carolina Department of Agriculture · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- South Carolina Regulation 61-25 — retail food establishments, permit fees, inspection fee bands and the A to C grading scaleSouth Carolina Department of Agriculture · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other South Carolina statewide offices
- South Carolina Department of Revenue
- South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings
- South Carolina Board of Barber Examiners, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- South Carolina Board of Cosmetology, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- South Carolina Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- South Carolina Department of Social Services, Division of Early Care and Education
- South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
South Carolina jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.