Licensing Labyrinth: How Occupational Regulations Disincentivize Work

As South Carolina looks to curb overregulation, one major area in need of attention is occupational licensing. South Carolina is ranked 27th in the nation on occupational licensing burden with 159 licenses (You can view the full list of occupational licenses here, on South Carolina’s Department of Labor Licensing & Regulation page). 

In recent years, SC has seen improvement on this front, such as 2021 legislation, H. 3024, that finally permitted barbers to operate out of a mobile unit. This legislation represented a significant milestone in the cause of removing roadblocks to work.   

What more can be done? There are still unnecessary barriers hindering our state’s free-market economy and creating barriers for South Carolinians seeking work. 

For example: 

• Heavy regulation has caused simple, daily practices to require licensing. To perform any hair braiding service, an individual must submit a registration application, pay a $25 fee, complete a six-hour online course, and pass an online exam with a 70% or higher. Without completing these requirements, individuals simply braiding hair can face hefty fines. 

• To use a blow dryer to style hair for compensation means a full cosmetology license requiring: 1,500 hours in a cosmetology school, passing the NIC written and practical exams, and paying a prescribed fee. But cosmetology is very different from mere blow dry styling, including the more invasive  “arranging, styling, thermal curling, chemical waving, pressing, shampooing, cutting, shaping, chemical bleaching, chemical coloring, chemical relaxing, or similar work…”   

• Furthermore, to practice any of these cosmetology services, cosmetologists must operate out of a brick-and-mortar facility, rather than being able to take their hairstyling and makeup services on the road to event venues. Barbers, however, are allowed to do so. 

Blow dry styling or hair braiding pose no health or safety threat to the community and instead fosters the healthy market competition needed to keep prices low. An open market gives consumers the ability to shop around and find what is right for them. This protects the free exchange of services by community members and eases the regulatory burden that South Carolina workers face. 

Proposed Licensing Legislation 

This legislative session, lawmakers are considering legislation that aims to roll back these burdensome regulations on occupational licensing. Here are a few of the bills in play:

S. 160 – Dietician Licensure Compact

S.160, sponsored by Senator Danny Verdin (R-Laurens), focuses on making the field of dietetics more readily available.

• Creates a compact agreement among states for licensing: An individual would get licensed as a dietitian in their home state following all proper regulations and could practice in all states participating in the compact. All participating states would be required to have a proper licensing and investigative force and comply with the compact commission.  

• The compact privilege: An individual must hold a valid registration within their home state and complete education equivalent to a Master’s or Doctoral degree accredited by Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. The licensee shall notify the compact commission of their intent to operate in a member state and pay a prescribed fee.  

• Active military members: An active military member or their spouse may designate a home state where they have a current license in good standing during the period the service member is on active duty. Within the compact, the dietician could practice in any participating states. 

• Dietitian Licensure Compact Commission: Compact member states create a joint governmental agency to legislate and govern the terms of the interstate licensing agreement. 

• Medical Nutrition Therapy: Amends the definition of dietetics to include medical nutrition therapy. 

This bill lowers the licensing burden for dietitians who practice across multiple states or are relocating to South Carolina, reducing barriers to work for these professionals.  

H.3479 – Skills-Based Hiring Act

H.3479, sponsored by Representative Kambrell Garvin (D-Richland) aims to reduce regulatory hurdles for experienced individuals moving to South Carolina. This bill also addresses the use of apprenticeships to obtain occupational licenses and as a pathway to state government jobs. Senate Pro Tempore Tommy Pope (R-York) is a cosponsor on this bill. 

• Previously Licensed Individuals Moving to South Carolina: Creates a simplified pathway for licensing in South Carolina for those who hold professional licenses in other states. This applies to any sort of professional license held in another state, so long as the state in which the license was first received meets proper education and training requirements and the applicant must have been practicing under that license for at least one year in the five years prior to the current application.  

• Occupational licensing through qualified apprenticeships: The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation would be authorized to recognize qualified apprenticeships as an alternative means of obtaining an occupational license. 

• Apprenticeships as pathways to state government jobs: The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation would expand the number of apprenticeships available in state jobs, and every state agency would work with the department to see which positions would be good candidates for increasing the number of apprenticeship programs in the agency by 50%. These apprenticeships would be classified as temporary appointments and upon completion of their apprenticeships these individuals would be moved into a permanent position. 

This bill recognizes that individuals joining the workforce with experience (whether from prior out of state licensing or an apprenticeship) should face an easier path to licensing and should be recognized for their prior experience. 

H.3633/H.3752 – Social Workers Interstate Compact

H.3633 and H.3752, both sponsored by Representative Doug Gilliam (R-Union), makes South Carolina as a member of an interstate social workers compact that allows social workers to practice in all participating member states. A similar bill  passed the House in 2024 but did not make it through the full legislative process before sine die adjournment. Other states that have enacted the Social Work Interstate Compact include Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama.  

For states to qualify to be in the Social Workers Compact, they must require applicants to attend a college or university accredited by licensing authority, complete a period of supervised practice, and have a mechanism in place for receiving, investigating, and adjudicating complaints about licensees. States must require applicants for the multistate license to pass the national qualifying exam, participate in the commission’s data system, notify the commission of any adverse action, and implement procedures that require an initial criminal record check. 

• Eligibility for multistate licensing: For individuals to qualify for their social work licenses to be recognized by the interstate compact, they must hold or be eligible for a license in their state, pay certain fees, undergo a criminal background check, notify their home state of any adverse action, and abide by any regulations or rules of member states. 

• Joint government agency: The compact member states will create and establish a joint agency known as the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission to administer the terms of the multistate licensing. 

What’s the difference between the two bills? Aside from some changes in wording, H. 3752 adds Section 40-63-32 which requires an individual initially applying for licensure as a social worker to undergo a state criminal records check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and a national criminal records check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is a different from H.3633 and the bill that passed the House in 2024. H.3752 has more cosponsors than H.3633, indicating it may be the bill that legislators wish to move. 

This Social Workers Compact will make it easier for social workers to practice or relocate across state borders, reducing regulatory burdens for both social workers and for state licensing boards. 

H.3484 – Hair Braiders and Makeup Artists

H.3484, sponsored by Representative Annie McDaniel (D-Fairfield), amends the SC Code of Laws by removing the licensing requirement for individuals providing hair braiding or make up artistry services.  

This bill removes the unnecessary requirement for hair braiders and makeup artists to have proper licensure to provide their services. These services pose no health and safety risks and are commonplace practices within households. This bill is similar to S.1132 sponsored by Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) that passed the Senate in 2024 but did not advance from committee in the House before the end of session. 

H. 3483 – Blow Drying Styling Services

H.3483, also sponsored by Representative Annie McDaniel (D-Fairfield), amends the SC Code of Laws to provide a distinction between blow drying services and cosmetology and allow those practicing blow-drying services to do so without a license. A similar bill died on the Senate calendar last session. 

H.3481 – Off-Site Cosmetology Services

H.3481, sponsored by Representative Annie McDaniel (D-Fairfield), amends SC laws that currently limits cosmetologists, estheticians, or nail technicians to operating out of a brick-and-mortar licensed salon, a rule that licensed barbers do not have. With the allowance of mobile cosmetology services, South Carolinians would be free to hire off-site services at their home or at an event venue. This could be a game-changer for wedding parties. Mobile operation privileges should be extended to cosmetologists in the same manner as for barbering. The ability to perform cosmetology services off-site for clients is a significant convenience for the client that poses no health or safety risk.  

H.3223 – Telehealth for Veterinary Services

H.3223, sponsored by Representative Bailey (R-Horry) amends Section 40-69 of the SC Code of Laws to allow veterinarians to provide services through telehealth.  

Highlights:  

• Eligibility: To practice telehealth, a veterinarian must be fully licensed by the state to practice veterinary medicine. 

• Live calls: A licensed veterinarian should not recommend treatment over telehealth solely based on the client’s responses to a questionnaire; they must have a live call to discuss the case. 

• Previously established client relationship: To prescribe medicine through telehealth services the veterinarian must have a previously established relationship with the client. For veterinarians who do not have a previously established client relationship, they are limited to administering medications that have been prescribed by a veterinarian who has an established relationship with the client. 

This bill allows for the expansion of the types of veterinary services allowing for virtual appointments. With veterinary telehealth, pet owners can receive emergency prescriptions and other advice for their pet without a delay of days to weeks awaiting an in-person appointment.

H.3947 – Continuing Education Requirements for Nonresident Real Estate Brokers and Associates

H.3947, sponsored by Representative Bill Hixon (R-Edgefield), passed the House of Representatives on February 28, 2025, and is currently residing in the Senate. This bill amends the biennial renewal requirement of South Carolina Real Estate Commission to exempt nonresident (interstate practicing) real estate brokers and associates from the routine renewal process, as they already go through licensing in their home state. These nonresident real estate brokers and associates qualify for this exemption with the approval of the commission and the satisfaction of the continuing education requirements in their jurisdiction of residence (their home state). 

This bill is much needed as many our neighboring states, such as Georgia, already offer this exemption to interstate practicing real estate brokers, benefiting our own South Carolina-based brokers. 

Conclusion

South Carolina was built on the principle that individuals should be able to enjoy life, liberty, and the fruits of their own labor. We should not allow unnecessary government sponsored barriers to disturb this right.  

However, in South Carolina, of 102 lower income occupations, 60 of these occupations require licenses. This represents an average of 428 days lost due to education and experience requirements.  

Our South Carolina legislators have recognized the burden created by heavy occupational regulations and have advanced licensure reforms in previous sessions. It is our hope that they will continue to remove unnecessary barriers in the current session.  

Occupational licensing reform is a key part of our Palmetto Freedom Agenda for the 2025-26 legislative session. You can learn more about this important issue on our occupational licensing resource page.

Listen to Dr. Oran Smith’s summary of the occupational licensing issue in South Carolina: