Charleston County, SC Ordinances (2026)

In most residential districts, including R-4 Single Family Residential and rural AGR, the maximum building height is 35 feet, measured from base flood elevation to the roof. Height is…

In both the R-4 Single Family Residential and rural AGR districts, maximum building coverage is 30% of the lot. Coverage counts principal and accessory buildings, roofed areas, and…

Setbacks depend on the zoning district. In the common R-4 Single Family Residential district the minimums are 25 feet front/street side, 5 feet interior side, and 15 feet rear. Rural…

Charleston County allows common fencing materials without a special approved list. The key distinction is masonry: brick, stone, or concrete fences need a zoning permit at any height…

In unincorporated Charleston County, fences may sit within required setbacks but cannot obstruct roadway sight lines between three and ten feet above grade, and a 15-foot…

In unincorporated Charleston County, a fence over 6 feet tall triggers the general building permit requirement under the county's adopted building code. Fences at or under 6 feet are…

A retaining wall over 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, needs a Charleston County building permit before construction starts. Walls of 4 feet or under…

Recreational backyard fires and fires for cooking food are exempt from SC's open-burning ban. Regulation 61-62.2 Section I.B allows 'open burning in connection with the preparation of…

Open burning is prohibited statewide under SC Regulation 61-62.2, except that residents may burn leaves, tree branches, or yard trimmings that originate on and are burned on their own…

There is no statewide defensible-space mandate, but if you burn cleared brush you must follow SC Regulation 61-62.2. Land-clearing burns in non-residential areas must sit at least…

South Carolina lets any property owner, lessee, or condo association in Charleston County ban fireworks discharge on their own land by filing a Discharge of Fireworks Prohibited…

Every dwelling unit in unincorporated Charleston County must have an approved, listed smoke detector installed per the manufacturer's instructions and tested to UL 217. Sec. 4-28, §…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Charleston County needs a Zoning Permit plus a Business License before advertising or renting. ZLDR Article 6.8 (adopted July 24, 2018) sets…

Charleston County's Article 6.8 does not mandate that a host be physically present during stays. A Limited Home Rental must be owner-occupied, but the ordinance permits professional…

South Carolina imposes a 7 percent state sales tax on gross proceeds from renting rooms, campground spaces, RV spaces or lodging to transients, including a private residence in…

Charleston County's STR permit fixes each property's maximum sleeping capacity: the application requires the maximum number of bedrooms rented, maximum guests overall, and maximum…

Charleston County requires short-term rentals to provide one on-site parking space per permitted bedroom, plus the parking already required for the applicable use. The site plan…

Charleston County's Article 6.8 does not require a specific liability-insurance policy for short-term rentals. Instead, owners must comply with all county building-code requirements…

Charleston County caps how many days a home may be rented short-term. A Limited Home Rental may be rented up to 72 days per calendar year; an Extended Home Rental up to 144 days…

Charleston County does not impose a blanket primary-residence-only rule. A Limited Home Rental must be owner-occupied, but an Extended Home Rental may be owner-occupied or…

South Carolina's home-based food law lets you make and sell non-potentially hazardous foods from your home with no permit, license, or inspection, as long as each package carries the…

A home occupation may display one non-illuminated sign no larger than 216 square inches, attached to the house or a fence. There must be no other visible evidence of the business from…

Home occupations are allowed as an accessory use to any residential or agricultural use if they stay subordinate to the home. The ZLDR limits floor area to 25 percent, requires all…

In unincorporated Charleston County, an RV, boat, camper, or trailer may be parked on your own residential lot, but a recreational vehicle cannot be lived in outside a licensed RV…

A vehicle left unattended more than 48 hours on a Charleston County highway, or over seven days on private property without the owner's consent, is legally abandoned under SC Code…

On Charleston County-area streets, a vehicle more than 20 feet long generally cannot stop, stand, or park in one spot for more than an hour, a rule the island and city communities…

Charleston County fines vehicles $20.00 for parking in a designated loading zone on county-owned or county-leased property under Code Section 20-17. The rule covers only county…

Charleston County council can designate any portion of a county highway as a no-parking zone and post signs marking it, under Sec. 20-16 of the county code. "Parking" covers stopping…

Wood and charcoal smokers are legal for backyard use in Charleston County because cooking fires are exempt from SC's open-burning ban. There is no county smoker permit, but persistent…

Backyard propane and charcoal grilling is legal in Charleston County, and cooking fires are expressly exempt from the open-burning ban. Multifamily buildings, however, face the…

You do not need a permit for light pruning, but in unincorporated Charleston County heavy pruning of a Grand Tree requires a Zoning Permit: removing three or more large limbs or…

Unincorporated Charleston County requires a permit before removing protected trees. Grand Trees (24-inch-plus diameter, except pine/sweetgum) need a Grand Tree Removal Permit, and…

It is unlawful to permit weeds and rank vegetation to grow on an improved residential or commercial lot in Charleston County. Owners must cut it, and after a 10-day notice the county…

In unincorporated Charleston County, a garage sale of second-hand goods used on the premises is allowed as an accessory use but may be conducted only once per calendar year from the…

Owners of vacant lots in unincorporated Charleston County must keep weeds and solid waste under control, and a lot that was once improved may not be allowed to revert to unimproved…

In unincorporated Charleston County, weeds, rank vegetation, or accumulated solid waste left on a lot may be declared a public nuisance by a county code enforcement officer, who can…

Temporary signs such as garage-sale and special-event signs are allowed in unincorporated Charleston County under ZLDR Sec. 9.8. In residential and agricultural districts a temporary…

Small temporary political signs are allowed on private property in unincorporated Charleston County without a permit. A zoning permit is required only for political signs larger than…

In unincorporated Charleston County, one accessory dwelling unit is allowed per lot in Agricultural and Residential districts. In the Rural Area the ADU cannot exceed 1,500 square feet…

Carports are treated as accessory structures in unincorporated Charleston County, but unlike sheds they are exempt from the rule requiring accessory structures to sit wholly behind the…

Charleston County has no separate tiny-home ordinance. A tiny home on a permanent foundation is treated as an accessory dwelling unit or principal dwelling; a manufactured unit is…

Unincorporated Charleston County has no countywide dark-sky or sea-turtle lighting ordinance, per SC DNR's April 2024 list. Instead, the coastal barrier-island towns and communities…

Charleston County's Stormwater Management Ordinance requires a permit application before any land-disturbing construction or redevelopment, bans illicit discharges into the county…

Charleston County Code Chapter 9 ties every building permit in a mapped flood zone to the county's FEMA-adopted Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps dated January 29…

Charleston County requires new construction and substantial improvements in a special flood hazard area to reach the design flood elevation, defined as the base flood elevation plus…

Any land-disturbing construction project in unincorporated Charleston County must control erosion and sediment under the county's Stormwater Management ordinance. The Public Works…

Unincorporated Charleston County requires a permit from the Building Official before anyone constructs, enlarges, alters, repairs, moves, demolishes or changes the occupancy of a…

Unincorporated Charleston County adopts the National Electrical Code under Sec. 4-16 (§101.4.2) for every wiring installation, alteration, repair and appliance connection, and Sec…

Unincorporated Charleston County adopts the International Plumbing Code under Sec. 4-16 (§101.4.5) for every plumbing installation, alteration and repair, and Sec. 4-20 (§105.1)…

Charleston County Code Sec. 10-24 requires every owner of residential or commercial property in the unincorporated county to use a licensed or governmental solid waste collection…

Charleston County Code Sec. 10-21 sets the pickup floor for unincorporated areas: garbage collection at least twice a week in densely populated zones and household or yard rubbish at…

Charleston County residents should set out the recycling roll cart by 7am on collection day (or the night before), keep it at least 3 feet from cars, mailboxes, and trees, with the…

Oversized objects may not be dumped at Charleston County's resource recovery facility. Metal objects over 9 inches or non-metal items exceeding 2ft x 2ft x 5ft must be recycled or…

Dumping or discarding litter or solid waste on public or private property in Charleston County is unlawful. Fines start at $100 to $200 plus mandatory litter-gathering community…

Charleston County bans letting any dog or cat run at large off its owner's property, and imposes eight specific tethering restrictions under County Code § 3-11: no unattended tethering…

Charleston County does not require every pet to be spayed or neutered, but any dog or cat impounded by animal control must be sterilized, or the owner must pay an escalating "intact…

South Carolina law bars the sale of any carnivore that is not normally domesticated as a pet anywhere in Charleston County, covering raccoons, foxes, skunks, bobcats, coyotes, wolves…

South Carolina law forbids Charleston County from labeling a dog dangerous by breed alone. Instead, S.C. Code § 47-3-710 defines a "dangerous animal" by documented conduct, unprovoked…

Every cat owner in Charleston County must keep their cat currently vaccinated against rabies under S.C. Code § 47-5-60, with a veterinarian-issued metal tag worn on the collar at all…

Charleston County declares it a public nuisance for any animal to "bark, whine or howl in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion" under County Code § 3-18(a)(5), alongside seven…

Playing a stereo or sound system on any property so it is "plainly audible within any residential dwelling of another" is unlawful in unincorporated Charleston County under County Code…

Unincorporated Charleston County only exempts construction, demolition and mineral-extraction noise from its noise ordinance when the work happens during daytime hours. Sec. 3-44(7)…

Charleston County bans playing a vehicle radio or stereo loud enough to be "plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the vehicle" or inside another dwelling…

Unincorporated Charleston County bans any excessive or unreasonable sound that is plainly audible above 70 dBA or within 500 feet of a residentially developed parcel's property line…

Unincorporated Charleston County bars any excessive, unnecessary or unreasonable sound that is plainly audible between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., under Sec. 3-43(c). The curfew applies…

Charleston County only exempts chain saws, sanders, grinders, leaf blowers and other lawn and garden tools from its noise ordinance when they run during daylight hours. Sec. 3-44(6)…

Charleston County's unsafe dwellings ordinance sets minimum habitability standards for every rental unit in the unincorporated county: working sanitary fixtures, hot water at 120°F…

Charleston County's unsafe-dwellings ordinance makes every property owner responsible for exterminating rodents, insects and other pests, and requires garbage stored so it can't feed…

Charleston County charges a 2 percent accommodations fee on the gross rental proceeds of any hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, campground, RV space, condominium or residence rented…

Charleston County requires an encroachment permit before anyone builds in, digs into, or otherwise occupies the public right-of-way or a drainage easement in the unincorporated area…

Charleston County bans drinking alcoholic beverages on the premises of any public boat landing or ramp it operates, alongside a list of other prohibited uses like commercial activity…

Charleston County's Clean Indoor Air ordinance bans smoking inside enclosed workplaces but does not extend that ban outdoors. Sec. 14.5-155 expressly allows smoking outside a workplace…

A backyard pool over 24 inches deep needs a Charleston County building permit before construction starts. Only small prefabricated above-ground pools under 24 inches deep and 5,000…