What Are the Continuing Education Requirements for South Carolina Insurance Agents?

Once you earn your South Carolina insurance license, continuing education is what keeps it active. The South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI354 Licensing CE Doi.sc.gov) requires all resident producers to complete CE before each biennial renewal. The consequences of missing your deadline are severe: a lapsed license in South Carolina means you must start the licensing process over, including retaking the state exam. Here is everything you need to know to stay compliant.

How Many CE Hours Does South Carolina Require?

South Carolina requires 24 hours of approved CE every two-year compliance period. The breakdown is specific: 3 hours must be in ethics, at least 8 hours must be in courses approved for each line of authority you hold, and the remaining hours can be in any approved line. If you hold both Life and Health and Property and Casualty licenses, you need 8 hours in each, totaling 16 line-specific hours plus 3 ethics hours plus 5 hours in any approved course.

Your renewal date is the last day of your birth month, biennially. The compliance cycle follows a birth-year pattern: producers born in odd-numbered years renew in odd calendar years, and those born in even-numbered years renew in even calendar years. The renewal period begins 90 days before your expiration date.

What Happens If Your License Lapses?

South Carolina has one of the strictest reinstatement policies in the country. If you do not provide documentation of compliance within six months of your deadline, your license and appointments become inactive. To become licensed again, you must retake and pass the Pearson VUE licensing exam, submit a new application, submit new fingerprints through IdentoGO, and pay a new license fee. This is not a simple late-filing situation. It is a complete restart of the licensing process.

Within the first six months after your deadline, you can reinstate by paying a $50 penalty fee and providing proof of completing all 24 hours. This is still costly and disruptive, but far better than the full reinstatement process. The takeaway: complete your CE well before your deadline.

Are There Product-Specific Training Requirements?

Product	Requirement
Annuities	One-time training course required before selling annuity products; check SCDOI for current hour requirements
Long-term care	Initial 8-hour training plus ongoing 4-hour renewal training for agents selling LTC products
Flood insurance	Agents selling NFIP policies should complete flood-specific training; check current SCDOI guidance

Who Is Exempt from South Carolina CE?

South Carolina provides limited exemptions. Nonresident producers are exempt as long as their home state license is in good standing. Producers licensed only for limited lines of insurance may be exempt. Producers who are at least 65 years old with 25 or more years of continuous licensure in South Carolina can request an exemption. Holders of certain professional designations, including CLU, CPCU, ChFC, FLMI, CIC, and CFP, may receive credit toward CE requirements in their applicable lines of authority.