How to Choose a Licensed General Contractor: Checklist

Choosing a licensed general contractor comes down to four checks: confirm the license with the board that regulates your project, read that board’s public disciplinary orders, confirm who carries insurance on your property, and compare every bid against one written scope.

Choosing a licensed general contractor comes down to four checks: confirm the license with the board that regulates your project, read that board’s public disciplinary orders, confirm who carries insurance on your property, and compare every bid against one written scope. In South Carolina each check has an official source, and the common mistake is searching the wrong database and concluding that a legitimate contractor is unlicensed.

What does a licensed general contractor actually do?

A general contractor runs the whole job: the schedule, the trades, the materials, the permit and the inspections. Section 40-59-20(6) of the South Carolina code defines a residential builder as a person who "constructs, superintends, or offers to construct or superintend" the construction, repair or improvement of a residential building when the cost exceeds five thousand dollars, up to three floors and sixteen units per apartment building.

The word carrying the job is "superintend." A specialty contractor installs one trade and leaves. The South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, part of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), states that a licensed residential builder in South Carolina may work in any of the areas of contracting without separate specialty registrations, apart from restrictions on the mechanical trades.

That is why multi-trade work needs a builder. A kitchen remodeling job touches demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, cabinetry and tile, usually in a house you still live in. The same holds across a general contractor’s general contracting services: one contract, one schedule, one person answerable at inspection.

Does your remodel legally require a licensed contractor in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, almost any remodel legally requires a licensed contractor, because the dollar threshold is low. Residential work in South Carolina above five thousand dollars requires a Residential Builder license under the residential builder definition in Section 40-59-20(6) of the South Carolina code. Residential specialized trade work above five hundred dollars requires a residential specialty contractor registration under Section 40-59-20(7) of the same chapter.

The exemptions in the South Carolina residential licensing law are narrow. The owner exemption, Section 40-59-260(A), applies when you do the work yourself on a structure "intended for the owner’s sole occupancy or occupancy by the owner’s family" and not intended for sale or rent, and subsection (B) makes selling or renting within two years of completion prima facie evidence that the exemption was violated. Section 40-59-265 exempts minor improvements from the same South Carolina licensing requirement: accessory structures under 200 square feet, fences up to seven feet, retaining walls under four feet, low decks and minor trade repairs.

Hiring outside those limits costs you, not only the contractor. Under South Carolina law, an unlicensed contractor "may not file a mechanics’ lien or bring an action at law or in equity to enforce" a residential contract, the bar set by Section 40-59-30(B), and a knowing violation of the state licensing requirement is a misdemeanor under the penalty provision, Section 40-59-200. Read that from your chair: the person holding your money has no lawful way to enforce the deal, and the state treats the work itself as a violation. If you are still deciding, this post covers why hiring a licensed general contractor matters.

How do you verify a contractor’s license before you sign anything?

Verify a contractor’s license in the public record, not in the contractor’s own paperwork, and verify twice: once for the license itself, once for the disciplinary history. Those are two findings in two places.

1. Decide which board regulates your project. In South Carolina, a house of three floors or fewer falls under the Residential Builders Commission. Commercial general and mechanical contracting falls under a separate body, the South Carolina Contractor’s Licensing Board.
2. Open the official Licensee Lookup. The Residential Builders Commission page at South Carolina LLR links the state lookup. Third party sites that look like license checkers are not the state.
3. Search the name exactly as it appears on the estimate. Search the company, then the person who signs. A firm can hold a Certificate of Authorization while the license itself is issued to an individual.
4. Check the other board before you conclude anything. If nothing comes up, search the South Carolina Contractor’s Licensing Board. This is where homeowners get it wrong.
5. Read the public Board Orders. The Residential Builders Commission page links the public orders for its division. Disciplinary action appears there and nowhere on a bid.
6. Ask for the local business license. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs tells homeowners to ask to see the vendor’s business license with the county or city.
7. Write the license number into the contract. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lists name, address, phone and license number among the items the contract should contain.

Which insurance documents should you ask for, and what does each cover?

Ask any contractor for two insurance documents: general liability, which covers damage to your property, and workers’ compensation, which covers a worker injured on it. "Are you insured?" is not enough here, because in South Carolina a small crew can legally carry no workers’ compensation.

Here is the trap. The small employer exemption in South Carolina’s workers’ compensation law, Section 42-1-360, exempts any employer who "has regularly employed in service less than four employees in the same business within the State" or whose annual payroll was under three thousand dollars the previous year. A three person crew can say "yes, we are insured" truthfully, mean liability only, and leave you exposed if a worker falls in your driveway. Exempt South Carolina employers may elect coverage under Section 42-1-380.

So put numbers in the question: how many people do you regularly employ, do you carry workers’ compensation, and do your subcontractors carry their own. Then verify with the Coverage Division of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission, which enforces coverage requirements and offers public verification. A certificate of insurance sent by the insurer is sound practice, not a South Carolina legal requirement. Federal guidance sets the floor: consider only contractors who are licensed and insured.

Residential builder, specialty contractor or commercial general contractor: which license fits your project?

For a house in South Carolina, you want a contractor who holds a Residential Builder license, the credential for superintending an entire residential job. A residential specialty contractor, by contrast, is registered for one trade and does not superintend the project. A commercial general contractor holds the license the Contractor’s Licensing Board issues for general and mechanical contracting.

Two separate South Carolina bodies issue these credentials, and each keeps its own public lookup: the Residential Builders Commission for residential builders and residential specialty contractors, the Contractor’s Licensing Board for commercial general contractors.

The threshold and the group limits come from the Contractor’s Licensing Board FAQ. The Residential Builders Commission also issues residential electrician, HVAC installer and repairer, residential plumber and home inspector licenses, plus a specialty contractor registration and a Certificate of Authorization for firms, so one company can appear in the record more than once.

Who pulls the permit, and which office issues it near Myrtle Beach?

Your licensed contractor should pull the building permit, and which office issues that permit depends on your street address, not your mailing city.

Horry County Code Enforcement permits and inspects construction "located within the unincorporated area of Horry County." Inside the city limits of Myrtle Beach the work goes through the City of Myrtle Beach Construction Services Department, which handles permits, plan review, inspections and trade permits. The city adds that contractors working inside the city limits must hold a City of Myrtle Beach business license and be licensed by South Carolina LLR: two credentials, both verifiable.

Horry County requires a permit from any owner or authorized agent who "intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy" of a structure, with published exemptions for one story accessory structures up to 120 square feet, fences up to seven feet, retaining walls under four feet, low decks, and finish work such as painting, tiling and cabinets. Horry County permit exemptions and South Carolina license exemptions are different lists: 120 square feet in one, 200 in the other.

For an addition to a one or two family home, Horry County asks for two scaled site plans with Wind Design Summary Sheets and seismic design per the 2021 IRC, sealed by an engineer or architect licensed in South Carolina, with a review window of 5-7 days. Interior remodeling needs no site plan, and a notarized letter of authorization is required when someone other than the contractor obtains the permit on the contractor’s behalf.

On who files: the Horry County rule lets the owner or the owner’s authorized agent obtain a building permit, so a contractor can ask you to do it. The FTC lists a contractor who "asks you to get any required building permits" among the signs of a home improvement scam, because it moves code responsibility to the party with no license. Confirm the code edition too: the South Carolina Building Codes Council adopted the 2021 South Carolina Building Codes on October 6, 2021, effective January 1, 2023.

What should you ask in the first conversation?

In a first conversation with a contractor, ask only questions whose answers you can check later against a public record or a document.

1. What license do you hold, and in what name is it issued?
2. Do you hold a business license in the city where my house sits?
3. How many people do you regularly employ, and do you carry workers’ compensation?
4. Who files the permit, and which office issues it for my address?
5. Will my project need drawings sealed by a South Carolina licensed engineer or architect?
6. Who is on site daily, and how many other jobs run at once?
7. Can I see three completed projects of this type and speak to those homeowners?
8. How do change orders work: written, priced and signed before the work happens?

Consumer Affairs also recommends getting references from friends, neighbors or coworkers before you shortlist anyone. Then have each contractor walk you through their process end to end. Top GM Construction, a Myrtle Beach general contractor and residential remodeler serving Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet and Little River, publishes a six step sequence: Initial Consultation, Detailed Estimate, Contract Signing, Pre-Construction Meeting, Execution and Final Walkthrough. Whoever you hire, you want named stages.

How do you compare three bids when the numbers look nothing alike?

To compare bids whose numbers look nothing alike, give all three contractors the same written scope, then compare the bids item by item instead of at the bottom line. Consumer Affairs advises getting at least two other bids, and the Federal Trade Commission warns against automatically taking the lowest.

This walkthrough of how to read a contractor’s bid line by line applies the same method to one specific scope.

What belongs in the contract: scope, schedule, payments, change orders

Everything a contractor promises out loud belongs in the written contract, and the contract names the contractor’s license number. Federal guidance from the Federal Trade Commission lists what a home improvement contract should contain: name, address, phone and license number; the start and completion dates; everything promised, in writing; and a written statement of your right to cancel the contract within three business days. A written estimate carries the work description, the materials, the completion date and the price. This post on what to check in a proposal before you sign works through one example.

Payments and liens: why the schedule is your real leverage

Pay for completed milestones and hold a final retainage, because South Carolina’s mechanics’ lien law makes your unpaid balance the thing that protects you. The state mechanics’ lien statute, Title 29, Chapter 5 of the South Carolina code, gives a lien on the structure and on the owner’s interest in the land to anyone owed for labor or materials actually used in the erection, alteration or repair of a building. Subcontractors and suppliers on authorized work can claim one after written notice by certified mail.

Three provisions of the South Carolina mechanics’ lien statute matter by number. Section 29-5-23 requires a notice of project commencement filed within fifteen days of the start of work; failing to file means certain notice and bond protections do not apply. Section 29-5-40, the cap on the total lien, is the one for you: no aggregate lien may exceed what the owner still owes. Section 29-5-120 dissolves the lien unless suit is commenced within six months after the claimant stops furnishing labor or material.

So the payment schedule is mechanics, not advice. The less you have prepaid, the smaller the balance a lien can reach. Consumer Affairs sets the floor: do not pay in full before the work is finished. Lien waivers at each payment are a contract clause worth negotiating, not a statutory right in South Carolina.

What are the red flags that should end the conversation?

Walk away from a contractor who brings high pressure sales tactics, cash only terms or a vague scope. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs and the Federal Trade Commission publish nearly the same list of red flags.

• An unsolicited knock on the door from someone "just in the neighborhood."
• A discount built on leftover materials from another job.
• High pressure sales tactics and a price that expires today.
• Cash only, or payment in full before the work starts.
• A request that you pull the required building permits.
• Financing steered to a lender the contractor picks.
• A blank document to sign, or any request to transfer your deed.
• No license to verify, no local business license, no written scope.

If a contractor has taken your money or left work unfinished, file with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, which takes complaints at 844-TELL-DCA (844-835-5322). Licensing conduct sits with the Residential Builders Commission, the board that disciplines the residential builders it licenses.

Frequently asked questions

Does a general contractor need a license in South Carolina?

Yes, and the cost of the job decides which license. A Residential Builder license, Section 40-59-20(6) of the South Carolina code, covers residential work over five thousand dollars. A residential specialty registration, Section 40-59-20(7), covers single trade work over five hundred dollars. Commercial general and mechanical contracting over ten thousand dollars belongs to the South Carolina Contractor’s Licensing Board instead.

How do I verify a contractor’s license in South Carolina?

To verify a South Carolina contractor’s license, use the official Licensee Lookup linked from the Residential Builders Commission page at South Carolina LLR, and search both the company and the person who signs. The record shows the license status. If you find nothing, check the South Carolina Contractor’s Licensing Board before assuming anything: residential and commercial credentials sit in separate databases.

How can I see if a contractor has been disciplined?

Read the licensing board’s public orders, which for a South Carolina residential builder are linked from the Residential Builders Commission page. This is the step most homeowners skip. A license can read as active today and still belong to a licensee with a disciplinary history.

Does a contractor need a City of Myrtle Beach business license?

Yes, and a state license on its own is not enough inside the city. The City of Myrtle Beach states that contractors working inside the city are required to hold a City of Myrtle Beach business license and to be licensed by South Carolina LLR for their respective trades. Your address decides which city’s rule applies.

Who pulls the building permit, the contractor or the homeowner?

The contractor, in practice. The Horry County rule allows the owner or the owner’s authorized agent to obtain the permit, which is the only reason the request reaches you at all, and the Federal Trade Commission lists a contractor who asks you to get the required permits among the signs of a home improvement scam. Signing for the permit puts the code responsibility on the party without a license.

Is my contractor required to carry workers’ compensation insurance in South Carolina?

Not always: South Carolina exempts small employers from carrying workers’ compensation insurance. Section 42-1-360 of the South Carolina code exempts an employer who regularly employs fewer than four people in the state, or whose annual payroll the previous year was under three thousand dollars. A small crew can legally carry none, though an exempt employer may elect coverage. Ask how many people the company employs and verify with the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Can a subcontractor put a lien on my house if I already paid the contractor?

What the South Carolina statute fixes is the size of the claim, not who may bring one. Subcontractors and suppliers on work you authorized can claim a mechanics’ lien under Title 29, Chapter 5 of the South Carolina code after written notice, and no aggregate lien may exceed what you still owe under Section 29-5-40. A claim must be sued on within six months under Section 29-5-120. So the amount at stake is the part you control: pay by completed milestone and the unpaid balance stays small.

Sources:SC Code Title 40 Chapter 59; SC Code Section 42-1-360; SC Code Title 29 Chapter 5; SC LLR Residential Builders Commission; SC LLR board page and public orders; SC LLR Contractor’s Licensing Board FAQ; SC Building Codes Council; SC Workers’ Compensation Commission; SC Department of Consumer Affairs; Federal Trade Commission; Horry County Code Enforcement; City of Myrtle Beach Construction Services.