South Carolina · Checked October 22, 2026
Your license is the In-Home Care Provider License, issued by South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH, formerly DHEC).
| Item | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| License / registration | In-Home Care Provider License |
| Issued by | South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH, formerly DHEC) — official page |
| Application / initial fee | $1,000 — Regulation 60-122 §103.I: 'The initial license fee shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000).' |
| Renewal | $800 |
| Surety bond | No state bond minimum found in the published rules |
| Liability insurance | Liability insurance (or surety bond in lieu) of at least $100,000 per occurrence / $300,000 aggregate, plus indemnity coverage for client injuries/losses and workers' compensation per S.C. Code §42-5-10 et seq. (Reg. 60-122 §§103.F, 302) |
| Timeline | Not published in Regulation 60-122 |
| Administrator | Each provider must designate an administrator responsible for overall management and operation (Reg. 60-122 §401); the regulation states no education or experience minimum for that administrator. Applicants/signers must pass a SLED name-based criminal record check and a 5-panel drug test before licensure (§§103.G-H). |
| State extras | SLED criminal record checks and 5-panel drug tests for licensee signers and every caregiver; random drug testing program; commercially zoned (or zoning-lettered) in-state primary office required (§103.D). Note: Reg. 60-122 was amended effective May 22, 2026 (State Register Doc. 5407, scrivener correction June 2026) — fees above are from the current DPH-posted regulation text. |
| Service | Under this license |
|---|---|
| Companionship & supervision | Not covered by this license |
| Homemaker help | Covered |
| Hands-on personal care | Covered |
| Live-in / 24-hour care | Not covered by this license |
| Transportation | Not covered by this license |
| Skilled nursing or therapy | Home health license + a gate (see below) |
'In-home care' is ADL/personal (not medical) care only: walking, bed transfers, bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, special diets, supervising self-administered medication (S.C. Code §44-70-20; Reg. 60-122 §102.J). Excluded from the definition: home health agencies/hospices, an individual or agency providing ONLY house cleaning, direct-hire individuals employed by the client/family, and uncompensated church care. Skilled care/therapy is expressly outside in-home care.
Home health agencies are licensed separately under S.C. Code Title 44, Chapter 69, and §44-69-75 requires a Certificate of Need before home health licensure.
Certificate of Need gate applies to the skilled home health lane only (§44-69-75), not to the In-Home Care Provider license.
SC Healthy Connections Medicaid HCBS waivers (Community Long Term Care) — licensed in-home care provider enrolls as a Medicaid waiver provider
State EVV page not captured in this pass; marked null.
The state fee above is one line of the real total. Run the true-cost calculator with South Carolina selected — it adds the bond premium, insurance class, screening and the payroll runway your first hires create.
This page is information, not legal advice. Confirm before you file: the agency — not this page — decides your application.
The free checkers give you the verdict and the number. The Kit gives you the working papers: your state's application packet walked through in filing order, the policies-and-procedures binder spec (what your binder must contain — never a boilerplate binder), the administrator self-audit, the insurance & bond spec sheet, the Medicaid gate map, the franchise-vs-independent 10-year worksheets, and the payroll-runway planner.
$49 one-time payment
Included in the $49 HomeCareLicenseCheck Kit
