South Carolina § 33-15-101 Authority to transact business required.

South Carolina Statutes

§ 33-15-101 — Authority to transact business required.

South Carolina § 33-15-101

Title 33CORPORATIONS, PARTNERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

Ch. 15FOREIGN CORPORATIONS

This text of South Carolina § 33-15-101 (Authority to transact business required.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.C. Code Ann. § 33-15-101 (2026).

Text

(a)A foreign corporation may not transact business in this State until it obtains a certificate of authority from the Secretary of State.

(b)The following activities, among others, do not constitute transacting business within the meaning of subsection (a):

(1)maintaining, defending, or settling a proceeding;

(2)holding meetings of the board of directors or shareholders or carrying on other activities concerning internal corporate affairs;

(3)maintaining bank accounts;

(4)maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange, and registration of the corporation's own securities or maintaining trustees or depositories with respect to those securities;

(5)selling through independent contractors;

(6)soliciting or obtaining orders, whether by mail or through employees or agents or

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(a) A foreign corporation may not transact business in this State until it obtains a certificate of authority from the Secretary of State. (b) The following activities, among others, do not constitute transacting business within the meaning of subsection (a): (1) maintaining, defending, or settling a proceeding; (2) holding meetings of the board of directors or shareholders or carrying on other activities concerning internal corporate affairs; (3) maintaining bank accounts; (4) maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange, and registration of the corporation's own securities or maintaining trustees or depositories with respect to those securities; (5) selling through independent contractors; (6) soliciting or obtaining orders, whether by mail or through employees or agents or otherwise, if the orders require acceptance outside this State before they become contracts; (7) creating or acquiring any indebtedness, mortgages, and security interests in real or personal property; (8) securing or collecting debts or enforcing mortgages, security interests, or other rights in property securing debts; (9) owning, without more, real or personal property; (10) conducting an isolated transaction that is completed within thirty days and that is not one in the course of repeated transactions of a like nature; (11) transacting business in interstate commerce; (12) owning and controlling a subsidiary corporation incorporated in or transacting business within this State; or (13) owning, without more, an interest in a limited liability company organized or transacting business in this State. (c) The list of activities in subsection (b) is not exhaustive.

Legislative History

HISTORY: Derived from 1976 Code SECTION 33-23-10 [1962 Code SECTION 12-23.1; 1952 Code SECTION 12-701; 1942 Code SECTION 7764; 1932 Code SECTION 7764; Civ. C. '22 SECTION 4028; Civ. C. '12 SECTION 2664; Civ. C. '02 SECTION 1779; R. S. 1465; 1893 (21) 409; 1904 (24) 436; 1962 (52) 1996; 1981 Act No. 146, SECTION 2; Repealed, 1988 Act No. 444, SECTION 4(1)]; 1988 Act No. 444, SECTION 2; 1990 Act No. 446, SECTION 12004 Act No. 221, SECTION 21.