Reasonableness test

South Carolina Non-Compete Law (2026): Enforceable if reasonable

South Carolina will enforce a non-compete that is necessary to protect a legitimate interest, reasonable in duration, territory, and restricted activity, supported by valuable consideration, and not unduly harsh or contrary to public policy. What sets the state apart is the remedy for getting it wrong. A court will not sever offending words and will not reform the clause into something reasonable, so an agreement that reaches even slightly too far is unenforceable in full rather than enforced in part.

Jurizmo Updated 9 September 2026 Current as of September 2026 All 50 states + DC

The rule

How South Carolina treats non-compete agreements

The all-or-nothing rule makes South Carolina outcomes unusually binary, and it is stricter than North Carolina's blue-pencil approach, which at least allows a court to strike severable offending language. Rated medium confidence on one point only: H. 4767's ultimate fate. The 2026 regular session adjourned in mid-May with the bill still on the Senate calendar, and no post-adjournment action has been recorded, so it is dormant rather than formally dead within the 126th General Assembly.

If you are an employer

There is no second draft in South Carolina, so build the covenant to the narrowest scope you can actually defend and do not rely on a savings clause, because Poynter says the parties cannot authorize a court to fix an overbroad restriction.

If you are a worker

Your strongest argument is usually overbreadth in a single dimension, since establishing that one piece of the restriction sweeps too wide takes down the whole covenant rather than merely trimming it.

Key non-compete rules in South Carolina
Classification	Pure common-law reasonableness with a strict no-modification rule
Pay threshold	No pay threshold
Maximum term	Nothing fixed by statute. Duration is weighed alongside geography and the range of restricted activity in the courts' reasonableness inquiry.
Notice or consideration	None. Ordinary contract rules on consideration govern, and a covenant an incumbent employee signs mid-employment needs independent consideration.
Primary statute	No non-compete statute; governed by South Carolina decisional law

Detail

What has changed, and what is still moving

Legislation 2024–2026

None. South Carolina has never enacted a general non-compete statute, and nothing was enacted in 2024, 2025, or 2026.

Bills to watch

H. 4767, the Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition, is genuinely alive. It would declare physician non-competes an interference with a patient's choice of physician and void geographic and patient-based restrictions, while letting employers recoup relocation costs and signing bonuses from physicians who leave within three years and preserving trade-secret protection. It passed the House 58-53 on March 26, 2026 and was reported favorably out of Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry on May 5, 2026, but it has drawn no Senate floor action since and is contested on the calendar. S. 46 covers similar ground and has not moved out of committee since January 2025.

Leading cases

Poynter Investments, Inc. v. Century Builders of Piedmont, Inc., 694 S.E.2d 15 (S.C. 2010), is the decision that matters: restrictions in a non-compete cannot be rewritten by a court or narrowed by the parties' own savings clause and must stand or fall on their own terms. Faces Boutique, Ltd. v. Gibbs, 455 S.E.2d 707 (S.C. Ct. App. 1995), and Stringer v. Herron, 424 S.E.2d 547 (S.C. Ct. App. 1992), supply the underlying reasonableness analysis.

If you have one in hand

What can make a non-compete unenforceable in South Carolina

The scope is wider than the interest behind it. A restriction that reaches beyond the customers, trade secrets or goodwill the employer can actually point to is the most common reason a covenant fails in South Carolina.

Whether any of these applies turns on the wording of your own agreement, your role and the case law your court follows. This page maps the statutory landscape; it does not replace advice on a specific contract.

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FAQ

South Carolina non-compete questions

Are non-compete agreements enforceable in South Carolina?

How long can a non-compete last in South Carolina?

Nothing fixed by statute. Duration is weighed alongside geography and the range of restricted activity in the courts' reasonableness inquiry.

Is there a minimum salary for non-competes in South Carolina?

No. South Carolina sets no income floor, so pay alone does not decide whether a covenant binds you. The test is whether the restriction goes further than the employer's legitimate interest requires in time, geography and scope of work.

What notice or consideration does South Carolina require?

None. Ordinary contract rules on consideration govern, and a covenant an incumbent employee signs mid-employment needs independent consideration.

Sources

How this entry was checked

Primary source. None to link — South Carolina has no non-compete statute and the rule is judge-made, so the cases named below carry the authority.
Secondary sources consulted. Poynter Investments, Inc. v. Century Builders of Piedmont, Inc. (Parker Poe analysis and Justia), Faces Boutique, Ltd. v. Gibbs (Justia), South Carolina Legislature Online bill records for H. 4767 and S. 46, FastDemocracy H. 4767 action history, Senate calendar, May 24, 2026, South Carolina Law Review, 'Sharpening South Carolina's Blue Pencil'.

Check it against a third party

None of these is ours. If a figure here matters to a decision, verify it:

This page is general legal information published by Jurizmo and is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and may not reflect amendments enacted after the review date above. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state before acting on any agreement.