S.C. Liquor Liability & Compliance Requirements

To help your business stay compliant with South Carolina’s alcohol laws, the South Carolina Department of Revenue (S.C. DOR) has released updated requirements for liquor liability insurance, alcohol server training, and digital ID verification.

Liquor Liability Insurance

If your business serves alcohol after 5 p.m., you must maintain a $1 million aggregate liquor liability policy (or general liability with liquor endorsement).

• Submit an ACORD 25 form listing the S.C. DOR as Certificate Holder.
• Your business must be listed as the Insured (not Additional Insured).

View approved surplus lines insurers →

Who Must Have Coverage

Required for all businesses open after 5 p.m. with one of the following licenses:

PBW, P07, PBB, PWY, PDW, P7W, PML, PMD, PLB, PLC, PSV, TBP, TLP, TNL

Mitigation Factors: Lower Your Coverage Requirement

You may qualify to reduce your insurance requirement below $1M by meeting any of the following:

Mitigation Factor	Reduction
Stop serving alcohol by midnight	$250,000
All servers complete SCDOR-approved training	$100,000
Alcohol sales under 40% of total	$100,000
Use forensic ID system (12–4 a.m.)	$100,000
501(c)(3) nonprofit	$100,000
Single special event	$500,000

Submit via MyDORWAY

Approved Alcohol Server Training Programs

Under H. 3430, employees who serve alcohol must complete an S.C. DOR-approved alcohol server training program to qualify for mitigation and compliance.

• Anyone who serves alcohol for on-premises consumption and managers who oversee alcohol service must complete an approved server training program by March 2, 2026 or within 30 days of employment. 
• The S.C. DOR has not yet approved any server training programs to meet the requirements of H.3430.
  SCRLA will update this page when server training is available. To receive an email when training programs are approved, subscribe to S.C. DOR's Alcohol Beverage Licensing News at dor.sc.gov/emails. 
• Servers must maintain a digital or physical copy of their alcohol server training certificate while serving alcohol.
• Licensees must maintain a digital or physical copy of each server’s certificate for the duration of the server’s employment
• Qualifying businesses may reduce insurance limit by $100,000
• SCRLA advises members not to take any alcohol server training programs until S.C. DOR has published the official list of approved programs.

A full list of approved programs will be published by S.C. DOR prior to launch.

Serving Age Requirements

• 21+: May mix, pour, and serve all alcohol
• 18-20: May serve alcohol if mixed/poured by someone 21+
• Under 18: May serve only sealed beer/wine for off-premises consumption

Forensic Digital ID Systems

Required for: Any business open and serving alcohol between 12 a.m. - 4 a.m.

Approved Systems: Intellicheck, Tokenworks AgeVisor 3, IDentiFake, IDVisor Smart V2

Systems must scan ID barcodes and verify age/data against DMV records. Simple barcode match is not sufficient. This list is not exhaustive and will be updated as additional systems receive approval. Visit the S.C. DOR website for the latest information.