South Carolina: Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements
The short answer
One or more organizers form a South Carolina LLC by filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. The articles state the compliant name, South Carolina designated office, signed agent appointment, every organizer's name and address, any term-company election, manager-management and initial managers, and any member-liability election; they do not require a purpose or ordinary member list. Filing costs $110 online or on paper, may use a delayed effective date up to 90 days, and requires no formation publication or separate initial report.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in South Carolina. Ezel applies current South Carolina law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and filing record | South Carolina Uniform LLC Act of 1996, Title 33 ch. 44; Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State (S.C. Code §§ 33-44-202 to -203) |
|---|---|
| Organizer and signature | One or more persons may organize; each organizer's name/address is public and current form requires every listed organizer to sign. Signer name/capacity required; attorney-in-fact allowed (§§ 33-44-101, -202, -203, -205) |
| Required entity and purpose terms | Distinguishable name with LLC/limited-company designator; no purpose statement required and any lawful purpose allowed. State a term only for a term company; otherwise at-will (§§ 33-44-101, -105, -112, -203) |
| Addresses and service fields | South Carolina initial designated-office address plus agent name and South Carolina street address; current form requires agent signature. No principal or mailing address in minimum articles (§§ 33-44-108, -203; Form F0006) |
| Management and owner disclosure | State whether manager-managed; if yes, name/address every initial manager. No ordinary member/owner list; member names appear only if electing personal liability (§ 33-44-203(a)(6)-(7)) |
| Optional and restricted provisions | May elect term-company status, member liability, delayed date, and other lawful or operating-agreement provisions; articles cannot vary § 33-44-103(b)'s nonwaivable rules (§ 33-44-203(b)-(c)) |
| Filing method, fee, and attachments | $110 online or paper. Paper checklist requires two completed copies and self-addressed stamped return envelope; added provisions use an attachment, but no routine separate attachment (§ 33-44-1204; Form F0006, July 29, 2026) |
| Formation and effective date | Exists when articles are filed unless delayed; filing record may specify date/time up to 90 days after filing. Accepted filing is endorsed with effective time (§§ 33-44-202(b), -206(c)-(d)) |
| Publication and initial follow-up | No formation newspaper/database publication, proof filing, or separate initial report under current Chapter 44 or Form F0006 (verified July 29, 2026) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law and filing record
South Carolina uses Articles of Organization under the Uniform Limited
Liability Company Act of 1996, Title 33, Chapter 44. Under S.C. Code
§ 33-44-202, one or more persons deliver the articles to the Secretary of State
to organize the LLC.
Organizer and signature
Section 33-44-101 defines “person” broadly enough to include individuals and
legal or commercial entities. The articles identify every organizer by name and
address. S.C. Code § 33-44-205 requires a preformation filing to be signed by a
person organizing the company, with the signer's name and capacity adjacent to
the signature; an attorney-in-fact may sign without filing the power of
attorney.
Current Form F0006 goes further procedurally: only one organizer is needed, but
every organizer listed in item 4 must sign. Its instructions say an organizer
may be an owner but does not have to participate in later ownership or
operations.
Required entity and purpose terms
The name must use an approved LLC or limited-company ending and be
distinguishable in the Secretary of State's records under § 33-44-105.
Purpose is not an articles field. S.C. Code § 33-44-112 permits any lawful purpose,
subject to other laws regulating the business. The filing does address duration
when the members choose a term company: § 33-44-203 requires the specified
term. If no term-company election is made, § 33-44-101 classifies the company as
at-will.
Addresses and service fields
The articles state the initial designated-office address, initial agent's name,
and agent's South Carolina street address. S.C. Code § 33-44-108 requires both the
office and agent to be maintained in South Carolina, although the designated
office need not be a place of business.
The statute does not add a principal-office or mailing-address field to the
minimum articles. Current Form F0006 separately requires the agent's signature
directly below the agent name.
Management and owner disclosure
South Carolina makes the management choice public. If the LLC is
manager-managed, § 33-44-203 requires the articles to say so and list every
initial manager's name and address. A member-managed company does not list its
members merely because they are owners.
The only ordinary route that puts a member into this part of the articles is the
optional § 33-44-303(c) election making one or more identified members liable
for specified company debts or obligations. The current FAQ otherwise says
business entities need not disclose members to the Secretary of State.
Optional and restricted provisions
The organizers may add provisions permitted in the operating agreement or
other matters consistent with law. Form F0006 places added clauses on a separate
attachment. Section 33-44-203(c) bars the articles from varying the nonwaivable
rules listed in § 33-44-103, including the listed information, loyalty, care,
good-faith, expulsion, winding-up, and third-party protections.
Term-company status, the member-liability election, and a delayed effective date
are optional choices rather than minimum terms.
Filing method, fee, and attachments
The filing fee is $110 under § 33-44-1204. The Secretary of State's Business
Entities Online system accepts organizing documents online. Current paper Form
F0006 requires two completed copies, a $110 payment, and a self-addressed stamped
return envelope.
No separate attachment is routine for minimum articles. An attachment becomes
necessary when organizers add item 9 provisions that do not fit on the form.
Formation and effective date
Unless the articles state a delayed date, the LLC exists when the articles are
filed under § 33-44-202. Section 33-44-206 permits a delayed effective date and
time, but caps the delay at the 90th day after filing. If a delayed date has
no time, effectiveness begins at close of business on that date.
The Secretary of State's filing is conclusive proof that the organizers
satisfied the conditions that precede creation of the LLC.
Publication and initial follow-up
Current Chapter 44 and Form F0006 require no newspaper or database publication,
proof-of-publication filing, or separate initial report for formation. Chapter
44's publication language applies only to an optional claimant notice after an
LLC has dissolved, not to a newly formed company.
What trips people up
Manager-management creates a public manager list. Checking the
manager-managed box requires the name and address of every initial manager; it
is not merely a private operating-agreement choice.
The agent and organizers sign separately. The agent accepts the appointment
in item 3, while every organizer listed in item 4 signs item 10.
Paper filing is a two-copy package. The $110 fee is the same, but Form F0006
also calls for two copies and a stamped return envelope.
A delayed date is capped. A date more than 90 days after filing is pulled
back by statute to the 90th day.
Common questions
Must an organizer own the LLC? No. The statute permits one or more persons
to organize, and the form instructions expressly say an organizer may be an
owner but does not have to be.
Does a member-managed LLC list its members? Not ordinarily. The articles
list managers only when manager-management is elected. A member is identified
in this part of the form only if the LLC makes the optional personal-liability
election.
Must the LLC publish notice after filing? No. South Carolina has no
formation-publication or proof-filing requirement for an ordinary domestic LLC.
Statutes and sources
- S.C. Code § 33-44-101 — at-will and term companies, management labels,
business, and person definitions.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
(accessed 2026-07-29) - S.C. Code § 33-44-103 — nonwaivable operating-agreement rules that the
articles cannot vary.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
(accessed 2026-07-29) - S.C. Code §§ 33-44-105, 33-44-108, and 33-44-112 — name, South Carolina
office and agent, and lawful purpose.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
(accessed 2026-07-29) - S.C. Code §§ 33-44-202, 33-44-203, and 33-44-205 — organization,
mandatory and optional articles, organizers, and signatures.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
(accessed 2026-07-29) - S.C. Code §§ 33-44-206 and 33-44-1204 — filing, effective date, 90-day
limit, and $110 fee.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
(accessed 2026-07-29) - South Carolina Secretary of State, Form F0006 — current public fields,
signatures, delayed-date line, attachment rule, and paper checklist.
https://businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/DownloadForm?formName=F0006&entityType=2&filingType=Articles+of+Organization
(accessed 2026-07-29) - South Carolina Secretary of State, Business Entities Online and FAQ —
online filing, member-disclosure baseline, and common rejection points.
https://sos.sc.gov/online-filings/business-entities/file-and-search-online
(accessed 2026-07-29)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how South Carolina handles this in general. Ezel applies current South Carolina law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.