Allowed if reasonable

Non-compete law in South Carolina

South Carolina has no general noncompete statute that this review found: employee noncompetes are governed by judge-made law (reasonableness of time, area and scope), and Title 39 chapter 3 of the Code deals with antitrust, not employment covenants. A bill to void physician noncompetes (H. 4767, 2026) passed the House 58-53 and received a favorable Senate committee report on 2026-05-05 but, as of 2026-10-14, still showed 'Currently residing in the Senate' and is not law.

Last verified · confidence medium. Clauseworthy is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Employee non-competes
Not banned; conditions apply
Pay floor
None in the statute
Duration
No statutory cap; common-law reasonableness (no statute to cite).

Exceptions and special rules

  • Physician (pending, NOT law). H. 4767 (126th Session, 2025-2026), as reported favorably by Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry on 2026-05-05, would add S.C. Code ch. 9 of Title 41: noncompete clauses in physician contracts would be against public policy and void (no post-employment bar on practicing in any area, on treating or advising a patient at the patient's request, or on notifying patients of departure); employers could still require repayment of documented relocation, signing/retention bonus and training costs (departing physician with under 3 years' service; retention-bonus repayment period up to 2 years) and protect trade secrets and confidential information; applies to contracts entered into or renewed on/after the effective date; effective on the Governor's approval. Not enacted as of 2026-10-14. (H. 4767, committee report version of 2026-05-05)

Which agreements it covers

No statute in force; common law applies.

Recent changes

  • 2026-05-05. Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry reported H. 4767 (Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition) favorably; the House had passed it 2026-03-26 (58-53 on third reading). No later action was shown on the official bill page on 2026-10-14. Source

Primary sources

Checker

What the statute says for these facts

Four facts. The answer leads with what the statute does at that pay, then names any change already enacted, then quotes the details with their citations.

The person who would sign

Several statutes treat contractors differently.

Other states on file