How to Renew Your Insurance License in South Carolina

Written by: Ethan Peyton

Last updated:

If you’re getting near your South Carolina insurance license renewal date, keep your license active by taking your South Carolina insurance continuing education (CE) courses in advance of your expiration date.

This guide will provide you all the information you need to ensure you fulfill your SC insurance license renewal and insurance CE requirements on time.

South Carolina Insurance License Renewal and CE Requirements
Expiration TimeEvery 2 years
Required Continuing Education (CE)24 credit hours
Renewal Cost$25 per license + CE course cost
Recommended CE CourseKaplan Education Company

South Carolina Insurance Continuing Education

In order to keep your South Carolina insurance license in good standing with the state, you will need to renew your license by completing your South Carolina Insurance CE requirements before your expiration date. 

In South Carolina, insurance licenses expire every two years. The renewal period begins 90 days prior to the expiration date. The expiration will be on the last day of your birth month, biennially, based on the anniversary of your original license year. This means that if you were licensed in an even-numbered year, your license will expire on the last day of your birth month in the next even-numbered year.

South Carolina Insurance Continuing Education Courses

Insurance CE comes in many forms. Most folks nowadays choose to take a self-paced course online, but you can also complete your credit hours by attending an in-person class or even a scheduled online webinar.

Self-paced Course

The most common method of continuing education today. These CE courses allow you to log in to an online platform any time of day to complete your credit hours. Most of these courses are a mixture of video and text combined with a knowledge exam at the end. Some platforms even allow you to take the course from your phone, which could be useful if you’re short on computer time.

In-person Class

This is how continuing education courses all began. Join your fellow insurance license holders for a live class taught by an industry professional. You may be able to find a “school” that provides all of your state’s required credits in a few full-day classes, or you might also take some shorter sessions to fill part of your requirements.

Scheduled Online Webinar

This is essentially the same as an in-person class, except you don’t have to travel away from your home or office. You will be taught by an instructor who will deliver the lesson at a specified time. Many webinars even allow you to interact with the instructor if you have specific questions.

Recommended Course

For South Carolina insurance CE courses and credits, StateRequirement recommends:

4.7 out of 5 starsKaplan Education Company

Tip: Most courses certify completion by taking either a knowledge exam at the end or by counting attendance to all of the scheduled classes. If you want to save time, it’s best to go with a self-paced course. If you want no exam, try an in-person class or an online webinar.

South Carolina Insurance Continuing Education Requirements

The South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) requires that all insurance producers and agents complete their continuing education requirements before their expiration date. In South Carolina, these requirements include:

  • Twenty-four (24) total hours of South Carolina insurance continuing education every renewal period, which is two (2) years
  • Three (3) of those hours must be in the subject of ethics
  • Eight (8) of those hours must be in your line of authority
  • Eight (8) of those hours must be in any line of authority

Note

If you have a producer license in more than one line of authority (ex. Property & Casualty and Life & Health), you do not need to take double hours. Your total amount of CE credit hours due is still twenty-four (24).

Once you completed the insurance CE course, your CE course provider will send a certificate of completion to the South Carolina Department of Insurance. Make sure to keep a printed copy of your certificate for your records.

Tip

It is recommended to complete all continuing education credits 30 days prior to the expiration date of the license. This will give the CE provider time to report the successful completion to the department of insurance. Your CE courses can be taken at any time within your license term.

South Carolina Insurance License Renewal

After you have completed your continuing education requirements, you may renew your South Carolina insurance license to keep it active.

Follow the steps below to complete your South Carolina insurance license renewal requirements ahead of your expiration date.

Step 1: Complete South Carolina Insurance License Continuing Education

Follow the steps above to complete your required 24 hours of CE.

Step 2: Apply for South Carolina Insurance License Renewal

According to the South Carolina Department of Insurance, you may renew your insurance license by logging into NIPR. Choose the account where you signed up for during your South Carolina insurance license application.

NIPR charges $5.60 for processing. The South Carolina Department of Insurance provides no charge for processing, so it’s recommended to renew your license more than 30 days before your license expiration date.

Step 3: Pay the South Carolina Insurance License Renewal Fee

The renewal fee is $25 per line of authority. To avoid paying late renewal fees, you must complete CE hours and apply for renewal at least 30 days before your license expires. The late fee is $75 per line of authority.

Pay the renewal fees via NIPR by credit card, electronic check, or your chosen online payment system.

Once you complete the steps above before your expiration date, you can renew your license in South Carolina.

Congratulations!

You’ve taken the steps you need to take and now your insurance license is good for another two years!

What Happens If My Insurance License Expires In South Carolina?

In South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Insurance will send you via email a renewal notice within 90 days before your license expires. If you don’t renew your license on time, there will be a $75 late renewal fee.

There is no continuing education “grace period”. Not meeting your CE requirements prevents you from renewing your insurance license. You can reinstate your expired license, if within six months of CE compliance deadline, by paying a $50 reinstatement fee to the South Carolina Department of Insurance and providing proof of CE completion through NIPR.

If you have not completed CE requirements within six months of compliance deadline, then your license will become inactive. To become licensed again, you must retake and pass the exam, apply for a new application, submit new fingerprints, and pay the license fee via NIPR Resident Licensing.

You may may reinstate your expired license for failing to renew by completing a renewal application, paying the renewal fee, and paying the penalty fee:

  • Renew within 1-30 days of the license expiration date – $75
  • Renew within 31-60 days of the license expiration date – $125
  • Renew within 61-180 days of the license expiration date – $275

South Carolina Insurance License Lookup

You can look up the status of your South Carolina insurance CE credits and South Carolina insurance license renewal by using these resources:

  • View your current accrued CE credits using the South Carolina State-Based Systems – NAIC tool.
  • Check your renewal status via NIPR.
  • If you don’t know your insurance license number (National Producer Number or NPN), you can find your name within the State-Based Systems Lookup Search. Select South Carolina as your jurisdiction and Licensee Search Type. Enter your information and click Search.

South Carolina Department of Insurance Contact Information

Mailing Address:
South Carolina Department of Insurance
1201 Main Street
Suite 1000
Columbia, SC 29201

Phone: (803) 737-6160

Email: info@doi.sc.gov

Website: https://doi.sc.gov/

South Carolina Insurance License Renewal FAQ

How often do I need to renew my South Carolina insurance license?

In South Carolina, the expiration date or renewal date is most often based on the requirement to complete continuing education (CE) hours every two years. You must renew by this date and meet your CE hours. You can find out when you need to renew your insurance license on the front of the license itself. The expiration date will be printed directly on the license. Make sure that you renew your insurance before this date.

How much does it cost to renew my South Carolina insurance license?

South Carolina charges a $25 renewal fee + CE provider cost. Check on South Carolina’s requirements to learn more about the costs you can expect to renew your insurance license. Renewing your insurance license through the NIPR (National Insurance Producer Registry) comes with a $5.60 processing fee.

What are the continuing education requirements for South Carolina in renewing my insurance license?

You should check with the South Carolina Department of Insurance to determine how many hours you need and if there are restrictions on what kind of CE will be accepted. Continuing education topics include insurance policies, ethics, insurance law, and more. Some topics apply to all insurance agents, such as claims and tax updates. Other classes will be geared toward specific lines, such as property and casualty or life and health. See above to find out more about South Carolina Insurance CE courses and requirements.

How do I document the completion of my continuing education courses?

Sending in course completion paperwork to the state is typically the responsibility of the course provider. As the individual taking the course, you will not need to send in documentation. If you want to check your continuing education progress and make sure that all completed courses are in your state file, you can use your state’s online system to look up license information, including continuing education completion.

What is NPN for an insurance agent?

You will need your National Producer Number, or NPN, to renew your insurance license. This number is assigned to each individual working in insurance when they are first licensed. If you are unsure of your NPN, you can look it up on the National Insurance Producer Registry using your license number or social security number.

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