Does South Carolina require an operating agreement?
No. South Carolina's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: all the members may enter into an operating agreement, which need not be in writing, to regulate the company's affairs and the conduct of its business and to govern relations among the members, managers and company, and to the extent it doesn't provide otherwise, the chapter governs those relations (S.C. Code § 33-44-103(a)). It's still worth having. Without one, the South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act decides how profits are shared, who can act for the LLC and what happens when a member leaves, and banks often ask to see a signed agreement before opening an account for an LLC.
The South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act lets the agreement be oral or implied as well as written (S.C. Code § 33-44-103(a)). A signed, written agreement is still the only kind a bank, a court or a new member can read.
South Carolina's LLC law and this template
South Carolina LLCs are governed by the South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act of 1996 (Title 33, Chapter 44) (S.C. Code § 33-44-101 et seq.). It is South Carolina's version of the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose South Carolina in the form and the agreement names the State of South Carolina as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the South Carolina agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping a South Carolina LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our South Carolina LLC name search.
| South Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $110, filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “limited liability company”, “limited company”, “L.L.C.”, “LLC”, “L.C.”, “LC”, “("Limited" may be abbreviated "Ltd." and "company" "Co.")” |
| Recurring report | None for most LLCs (LLCs taxed as corporations report to the Department of Revenue) |
| Newspaper notice | Not required |
| Name reservation | $25, 120 days (not renewable) |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Existence, $10 |
How to finish your South Carolina agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the South Carolina Secretary of State. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c044.php
- https://businessfilings.sc.gov/BusinessFiling/Entity/Search
- https://dor.sc.gov/business-income-taxes/corporate/corporate-faqs
- https://dor.sc.gov/business-income-taxes/corporate/c-corporation
Common questions
Does South Carolina require an LLC operating agreement?
No. South Carolina's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the South Carolina Uniform Limited Liability Company Act's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the South Carolina Secretary of State?
No. The South Carolina Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this South Carolina operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.