(A)(1) The department shall issue a license upon payment of the license fee, pursuant to subsection (C), to an applicant who in the opinion of the department has met the requirements of this chapter.

(2) The issuance of a license by the department is prima facie evidence that the person named is entitled to all rights and privileges of a professional soil classifier during the term for which the license is valid if the license has not been revoked or suspended.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-65-36

  • Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • professional soil classifier: means a person who, by reason of his special knowledge of the physical, chemical, and biological sciences applicable to soils as natural bodies and of the methods and principles of soil classification as acquired by soil education and soil classification experience in the formation, morphology, description, and mapping of soils, is qualified to practice soil classifying, who has been licensed by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and who has passed an examination in the fundamental soil and related subjects as provided for in this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
  • Soil: means all of the groups of natural bodies occupying the unconsolidated portion of the earth's surface capable of supporting plant life and having properties due to the combined effect of climate and living organisms, as modified by topography and time, upon parent materials. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20
  • Soil-classifier-in-training: means a person who complies with the requirements for education and character and who has passed an examination in the fundamental soil and related subjects as provided for in this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-65-20

(B) The department shall issue a certificate as a soil-classifier-in-training upon payment of the certificate fee, pursuant to subsection (C), to an applicant who in the opinion of the department has met the requirements of this chapter.

(C)(1) The application for a license as a professional soil classifier or for certification as a soil-classifier-in-training shall be on a form prescribed and furnished by the department, shall contain statements made under oath showing the applicant’s education, a detailed summary of his experience, and references as required by this chapter, and shall be accompanied by an application fee established by the department of not less than five nor more than twenty-five dollars.

(2) Licenses shall be established by the department subject to the following limitations:

(a) The license fee for professional soil classifiers shall be in an amount not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars.

(b) The certification fee for soil-classifier-in-training certification or enrollment shall be established by the department in an amount not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars.

(c) Should the department deny the issuance of a license to an applicant, the fee paid shall be retained as an application fee.

(3) Examinations shall be held at such times and places as the department shall determine. Examinations required on fundamental soil subjects may be taken at any time prescribed by the department. The final examinations may not be taken until the applicant has completed a period of soil classifying experience as provided in this chapter. The passing grade on any examination shall not be less than seventy percent. A candidate failing one examination may apply for reexamination, which may be granted upon payment of a fee established by the department of not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars. Any candidate for registration having an average grade of less than fifty percent may not apply for reexamination for a period of one year from the date of such examination.

(D) An applicant otherwise qualified shall be admitted to registration as a professional soil classifier without examination if he holds a certificate of registration in the practice of soil classifying awarded on the basis of comparable qualifications and issued to him by a proper authority of another state, possession, or territory of the United States and who in the opinion of the department meets the requirements of this chapter.