Become a Nurse in South Carolina – Licensure & Requirements

South Carolina Nursing Salaries

^{The annual mean wages above were retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: South Carolina, Charleston-North Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville-Anderson-Greer.}

There are many paths to becoming a nurse in South Carolina. The one you take will mostly depend on the type of nurse you’d like to become and your current or prospective level of education.

In addition to nursing salaries in South Carolina, you’ll find information on acquiring and maintaining several types of South Carolina nursing licenses on this page. We’re constantly making updates, but with the speed of change in healthcare, it’s sometimes difficult to stay current. If you have any comments or suggestions for our information on nursing in South Carolina, please email us at info@nursinglicensemap.com!

Compact State Status

South Carolina is a Nursing Licensure Compact state, according to the South Carolina Board of Nursing and the Nurse Licensure Compact administrator.

Prescriptive Authority in South Carolina

According to South Carolina’s Nursing Practice Act, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists may apply for prescriptive authority. Under the SC Board of Nursing’s prescriptive-authority requirements, an initial applicant must document 45 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics education within two years of application; a recent graduate within two years of program completion may instead meet this requirement with a completed graduate-level pharmacology course; and an endorsement applicant who already holds out-of-state prescriptive authority may qualify with 20 contact hours within two years.

Authorized nurses may prescribe Schedule II through V controlled substances when included in their practice agreement and otherwise permitted by law, subject to the statute’s Schedule II limitations.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) in South Carolina

APRNs in South Carolina are defined as Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Education: Master’s degree from accredited college or university. The Board recognizes limited grandfathering exceptions for qualifying advanced-practice program graduates who completed their program before 1994, and CRNA program graduates who completed their program before 2003.

Examination: Varies according to prerequisite national certification

Certification Required: Current national certification in the applicable specialty area, in addition to licensure as a Registered Nurse

Fees:

• $30 Initial/Update Application without Temporary License
• $40 Initial/Update Application with Temporary License
• $140 Endorsement Application without Temporary License
• $150 Endorsement Application with Temporary License
• $20 Prescriptive Authority Application (separate)

Renewal: APRN licenses are renewed every even year, by April 30th.

Requirements above reflect the South Carolina Board of Nursing APRN licensure page, fee schedule and renewal schedule, current as of 2026-09-17.

Learn more on how to become an advanced practice registered nurse.

Registered Nurse (RN) in South Carolina

Education: Board-approved Registered Nurse pre-licensure education program

Examination: NCLEX-RN

Fees:

• $90 Examination Application without Temporary License
• $100 Examination Application with Temporary License
• $100 Licensure by Endorsement without Temporary License
• $110 Licensure by Endorsement with Temporary License
• $200 NCLEX-RN Registration Fee (paid separately to NCSBN)

Endorsement: RNs applying for licensure endorsement must submit, with application, evidence of continued competence and verification from original state of initial licensure.

Renewal: RN renewal requires 30 contact hours of continuing education, national certification/recertification, completion of a nursing course or academic nursing program, or verification of competency.

Requirements above reflect the South Carolina Board of Nursing RN licensure page, fee schedule and renewal schedule, current as of 2026-09-17.

Learn more on how to become a registered nurse.

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in South Carolina

Education: Board-approved Licensed Practical Nurse pre-licensure education program

Examination: NCLEX-PN

Fees:

• $70 Examination Application without Temporary License
• $80 Examination Application with Temporary License
• $100 Licensure by Endorsement without Temporary License
• $110 Licensure by Endorsement with Temporary License
• $200 NCLEX-PN Registration Fee (paid separately to NCSBN)

Endorsement: LPNs applying for licensure endorsement must submit, with application, evidence of continued competence and verification from original state of initial licensure.

Renewal: LPN renewal requires 30 contact hours of continuing education, national certification/recertification, completion of a nursing course or academic nursing program, or verification of competency.

Requirements above reflect the South Carolina Board of Nursing LPN licensure page, fee schedule and renewal schedule, current as of 2026-09-17.

Learn more on how to become a licensed practical nurse.