South Carolina Code 40-59-220. Licenses and certificates of registration; application; qualifications; bonds; examinations; reciprocity
(B) An applicant for a license or certificate shall file with the commission a written application on a form as may be prescribed by the commission. The application must be accompanied by the payment of all applicable fees required by the commission. A prerequisite for taking the examination for a residential builder‘s license is a minimum of one year of actual experience under the supervision of a licensed residential builder, or other appropriately licensed professional who is engaged in residential building construction involving the trades or crafts for which the license is desired, or other education or experience or a combination of these as may be approved by the commission. The commission, in examining an applicant, may consider the following qualifications of the applicant:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-59-220
- Commission: means the South Carolina Residential Builders Commission. See South Carolina Code 40-59-20
- Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-59-20
- License: means a license, registration, or certification issued in accordance with this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-59-20
- Residential builder: means one who constructs, superintends, or offers to construct or superintend the construction, repair, improvement, or reimprovement of a residential building or structure which is not over three floors in height and which does not have more than sixteen units in any single apartment building, when the cost of the undertaking exceeds five thousand dollars. See South Carolina Code 40-59-20
- Residential specialty contractor: means an independent contractor who contracts with a licensed residential builder, general contractor, or individual property owner to do construction work, repairs, improvement, or reimprovement which requires special skills and involves the use of specialized construction trades or craft, when the undertakings exceed five hundred dollars and are not regulated by the provisions of Chapter 11. See South Carolina Code 40-59-20
(1) experience;
(2) ability;
(3) character;
(4) financial condition;
(5) equipment;
(6) workers’ compensation insurance; and
(7) other pertinent information the commission may require.
(C) The commission shall issue a residential builder’s license if, as a result of examination, the commission finds that the applicant is qualified to engage in residential building in South Carolina, and the applicant submits an executed bond in the form and with a surety approved by the commission in the sum of not less than fifteen thousand dollars or proof of financial responsibility acceptable to the commission.
(D) The commission shall issue a residential specialty contractor‘s license for which the applicant is qualified if, as a result of examination, the commission finds that the applicant is qualified to engage in residential specialty contracting in South Carolina. When the cost of an undertaking performed by a residential specialty contractor for an individual property owner exceeds five thousand dollars, the residential specialty contractor must obtain an executed bond with a surety in an amount approved by the commission.
(E) An applicant who fails the examination must be given the opportunity to be reexamined after payment of an additional examination fee; however, if the applicant fails the examination three times, the applicant shall wait twelve months before being examined again. A record must be made and preserved by the commission of each examination of an applicant and the findings of the commission pertaining to the examination. A certified copy of the record must be furnished to an applicant requesting the record upon the payment of a fee to the commission that reasonably reflects the cost of furnishing the record to the applicant.
(F) A license may be granted by the commission without examination to those applicants who are licensed in good standing in other states which are determined by the commission to have comparable examinations.