File your South Carolina campaign disclosure reports on time
Quarterly reports, a pre-election report fifteen days out, and a $500 trigger that starts the whole obligation.
Last reviewed 29 August 2026 against the South Carolina State Ethics Commission. Campaign finance rules change: confirm current requirements with South Carolina State Ethics Commission before you file. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Your 2026 South Carolina filing calendar
| Report | Period covered | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly report | 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2025 | 10 Jan 2026 |
| Quarterly report | 1 Jan – 31 Mar 2026 | 10 Apr 2026 |
| Pre-election report, June primary | Through 20 May 2026 | 25 May 2026 |
| Quarterly report | 1 Apr – 30 Jun 2026 | 10 Jul 2026 |
| Quarterly report | 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026 | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Pre-election report, November general | Through 14 Oct 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Quarterly report | 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026 | 10 Jan 2027 |
Quarterly reports are owed only for quarters with activity, until a final report closes the account. The two pre-election dates above are computed from the statutory rule (a report at least 15 days before the election, current through 20 days before) applied to the 2026 primary of 9 June and general of 3 November; the Commission publishes no consolidated 2026 calendar, so confirm both with the Commission before you rely on them. If a pre-election report falls within 30 days of a quarter end, the two combine into one filing due no later than 15 days before the election. The 23 June runoff adds no separate report.
Contribution limits
Limits apply per election within the cycle. Each contested primary, runoff or special election and each general election carries its own limit; an unopposed candidate gets one. A candidate may fund their own campaign without limit. Cash contributions over $25 are prohibited, as are contributions from lobbyists who lobby that office.
| Donor | Limit | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide office | $3,500 | per election |
| Any other office | $1,000 | per election |
| Party or legislative caucus committee → statewide | $50,000 | per cycle |
| Party or legislative caucus committee → other office | $5,000 | per cycle |
What you must collect on every donor
Itemize contributions over $100. Contributions of $100 or less appear only in totals.
- Contributor name
- Address
- Amount and date of each contribution
- South Carolina requires neither occupation nor employer. Those are federal fields. A guide that tells you to collect them for South Carolina is describing the wrong jurisdiction.
Reports that run on a clock, not a date
There is no 24-hour or 48-hour contribution report
South Carolina has no rapid large-contribution report for candidates or committees. Any guide describing one has imported the federal rule. Do not build your process around a deadline that does not exist.
Large committee independent expenditures
A committee making an independent or incurred expenditure over $10,000 in a statewide race, or over $2,000 in any other race, must file a report listing it “immediately”. The statute sets no hour window.
Open records before an election
Through the pre-election period a candidate must keep a current list of contributions over $100 open to public inspection.
Registering your committee
In South Carolina the form is: Statement of Organization (committees) — candidates instead file an initial certified campaign report
Committees: within 5 days of receiving or spending more than $500 in the cycle. Candidates: within 10 days of reaching $500 in aggregate.
Two different rules, and they are commonly confused. Candidates file an initial certified campaign report within 10 days of receipts or expenditures reaching $500 in aggregate; a candidate who never reaches $500 files 15 days before the election. Committees file a Statement of Organization within 5 days of receiving or spending more than $500 in the election cycle. Candidates also file a Statement of Economic Interests before the close of candidacy filing.
Who files where
File and edit your reports in the State Ethics Commission filing system. Candidates filing with a county board may use a different system — confirm with your county election office.
All candidates and committees — state, county and municipal — file electronically through the State Ethics Commission system. The supervisory office differs for legislators: candidates for and members of the State Senate and House answer to the Senate Ethics Committee or the House Ethics Committee respectively, not to the Commission.
If you miss a deadline
$100 if a report is not filed within five days of the deadline. After notice by certified mail, $10 per day for ten days, then $100 per day, capped at $5,000. Past the cap with the report still unfiled, the matter becomes a misdemeanour. An inadvertent error may be handled as a confidential technical violation carrying a penalty of up to $50 in place of all other penalties.
Keeping South Carolina records ready to file
Whoever files your reports, the work is the same: capture every contributor field at the point of donation, keep running totals against the itemization threshold, and reconcile before each deadline. Campaign Deputy does that for campaigns in the states it supports.
