Georgetown County, SC Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

The Georgetown County Council's open-container ordinance, codified at § 3-2 (Ord. No. 98-06, amended by Ord. No. 2014-18), prohibits consuming alcoholic liquors, beer, ale, porter, wine or any similar malt or fermented beverage on the county's streets, roads or sidewalks, whether the drinking happens inside a vehicle or on foot. Simply possessing an open can, bottle or other container of any such beverage on those public ways is enough, by itself, to establish prima facie evidence of a violation, so an officer does not have to see someone actually drink.

The only carve-out is for beer and wine served from non-glass containers under an alcoholic beverage use special permit issued by the Georgetown County Parks and Recreation Department for a specific event, and even then the permit never authorizes drinking inside a vehicle and consumption must stay within the area the permit describes. A related provision, § 3-3, separately requires a special permit, a $300 alcohol fee and proof of general liability, host liquor liability and, for paid bars, commercial liquor liability insurance before any alcoholic beverage may be served on county-owned and operated property such as parks, and it bars anyone under 21 from possessing or consuming alcohol there at all.

Conviction under § 3-2 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days. Because the Waccamaw Neck's public beach accesses, boat landings and roadside pull-offs are county property or county rights-of-way, the ban reaches the areas where Pawleys Island-area and Murrells Inlet visitors most often carry drinks outdoors.