Regulatory Information Guides

Are you ready to start a business?

The US Small Business Administration wants to help you make sure. Being ready will help your business succeed in these tough economic times. Click the link to find out if you are ready.

Local Business Information and Regulations: 

1. Business Personal Property Taxes    
2. Hazardous Materials and Waste 
3. Home Based Business Regulations 
4. SC Local Fees and Taxes
5. Zoning and Development Regulations 

State Business Information and Regulations:

1. Consumer Credit Regulations
2. Financing Your Business
3. Food and Beverage Regulations
4. Legal Business Structures
5. SC Business One Stop
6. SC Illegal Immigration Reform Act Info
7. State Department of Revenue: State Sales Taxes

Richland County Business Licenses:

1.  About Business Licenses 
2.  Getting Your First Business License 
3.  Renewing Your Business License 
4.  What We Check For 
5.  Contractors 

What are business licenses?
They are licenses that businesses pay for in order to do business in the county. They help the county understand the types of businesses operating in the unincorporated areas of the county. This knowledge can help the county be more responsive to the business community’s needs. They also benefit the community at large by ensuring that businesses are legitimate and complying with all Richland County Codes.

When is a business license needed?
They are needed any time a business, whether owned by a single individual or by a group of people, operates or intends to operate within the unincorporated areas of Richland County. Even if a business is located in a city in Richland County or in another county, if a business does business in the unincorporated areas of Richland County, a business license is needed.

Fire Marshal’s Business License Inspection
Any time a business opens for the first time, or has a change of physical location, ownership, or business activity, the Fire Marshal requires the business to be inspected. Please click the above link to be directed to a description of this inspection. 

Sign Information and Permit Package
Businesses wanting signs for their businesses are required to apply for sign permits. The size and types of signs allowed can vary. Please click the above link to be directed to this information and permit application package. 

Business Personal Property Taxes:

The State Department of Revenue (SCDOR) has important information about Business Personal Property Taxes, including information about exemptions. Please click the above link to be directed to this information.

A Business Personal Property Tax receipt is currently required (of all businesses, more than a year old, located in Richland County) to obtain a business license. This receipt documents that all Business Personal Property Taxes have been paid.

What Other Counties Require: There are 46 counties in South Carolina. Each requires various, and different, business fees and taxes to be paid. To see what counties charge which fees and taxes, please click the links below for more information. 

From the SC Association of Counties: 

1. Local-Option Taxes Imposed by Local Entities 
2. Special Taxes/Fees Imposed by Counties 
3. User Fees Charged for Goods and Services Consumed 

Closing Your Business?
Your business exists within Federal, State, and local government databases, and when you decide to close your business, it is important to let the federal, State agencies, cities, and counties know that your business is closing. This will help avoid confusion with unpaid taxes and penalties because the various governments expecting payment from your business was not informed your business has closed. 

To close your business with Richland County, click here for the Closing Business Form. 

To learn how to close your business with the State, click here. 

To learn how to close your business with the US Government, click here.