South Carolina enforces the 2020 NEC

Record of adoption

In force since

Jan 1, 2023

Legal citation

S.C. Code Ann. 6-9-50(A); Building Codes Council adoption of Oct 6, 2021

Adopted by

South Carolina Building Codes Council (LLR)

Second reading

Agreed Oct 19, 2026

Applies

Statewide

Also called

NEC with SC modifications

Effective date is the Council’s implementation date for local jurisdictions. The Council approved SC modifications.

Coming next

• 2023 NECPartial
  Takes effect Jan 1, 2027Adopted, not yet in forceCouncil vote Aug 26, 2025; modifications published in State Register May 22, 2026 (Sr50-5, Doc. No. 5424 listed as a final regulation submitted to the General Assembly)

  Implementation date for local jurisdictions. Doc. 5424 is titled ‘International Building Code’ in the register’s table of contents.

How South Carolina adopts the NEC

• More than one path
• The legislature names the edition in statute
• The legislature reviews the rules and can block them
• A recent law changed the process

The Building Codes Council adopts the latest edition of each statutorily listed code by vote, after a 180-day modification-request window and a Code Study Committee review, and sets the implementation date. Council-approved modifications are promulgated as regulations under the Administrative Procedures Act (required by 6-9-55 for one- and two-family dwelling provisions) and go to the General Assembly for review. The energy code edition is fixed in statute (6-10-30).

Cycle. Follows the ICC/NFPA cycle; Reg. 8-240 requires adopting the latest edition at least every four years. The 2021 set was effective Jan 1, 2023; the 2024 set takes effect Jan 1, 2027.

Laws, rulings, and other actions

1. Jun 30, 2026Legislation
   H.3021 Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act, Act No. 2512025-2026 session

   General Administrative Procedures Act change that, per the bill summary, would require legislative approval of regulations with an estimated economic impact of $1 million or more; it does not mention building codes, so its effect on future Council rules is untested.

   Enacted Jun 30, 2026

   scstatehouse.gov (opens in a new tab)

How it was checked

Verified

Two separate readings of the state’s own record agree, and the passage is on file word for word.

Read twice: a second, blind reading of the state’s record agreed with the first on Oct 19, 2026.

The state’s record was last read on Oct 19, 2026, from four source pages.

Evidence 4 sources

Sources for the record itself come first, the state’s own records ahead of others. A label marks a source about something else, such as an exception. A source marked secondary is not the state’s own record.

• “2020 National Electrical Code* October 6, 2021 January 1, 2023 2009 International Energy Conservation Code¹ April 2, 2012 January 1, 2013”

• “The South Carolina Building Codes Council adopted the 2021 South Carolina Building Codes at their meeting on October 6, 2021. The Council approved an effective date of January 1, 2023.”

• About how the state adopts codes

Tracker cross-checks

Code adoption trackers are a cross-check. They are not South Carolina’s own record.

• NFPA’s enforcement mapCross-checkAgrees with the record

  South Carolina 2020 with SC amendments (1/1/2023); 2023 update process complete (Effective 1/1/2027) (as of Aug 3, 2026)

  Read Oct 17, 2026

Related pages

• See South Carolina’s NEC on the map
• NEC adoption in every state
• All six codes in South Carolina

Other codes in South Carolina

• IBC2021 IBCVerified
• IRC2021 IRCVerified
• IFC2021 IFCVerified
• IECC residential2009 IECCVerified
• IECC commercial2009 IECCVerified