South Carolina

S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-310; § 63-7-420 — South Carolina mandatory-reporting statute

Clergy named as mandatory reporter?: Yes
Confessional exemption?: Yes

Statute: S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-310; § 63-7-420
Clergy named: Expressly
Pending: —

South Carolina law expressly names clergy as mandated reporters, and a 2018 amendment added paid religious counselors to the same list. The statute also says clearly that reporting to a supervisor or up the institutional chain does not satisfy the individual duty to report. These are meaningful protections. The gap is narrow but pointed: § 63-7-420 preserves the clergy-penitent privilege specifically for information received from the alleged perpetrator during a communication protected under § 19-11-90. Every other source of knowledge, including the child, a family member, or a third party, must be reported. But the one channel where a clergy member might learn directly from the person who committed the abuse is the channel the law keeps closed. South Carolina has built a strong reporting framework; the carveout isolates the confessional channel that matters most. Closing it is the kind of targeted reform UCO is working toward across the country.

Section 01What needs to change

What needs to change in South Carolina.

Clergy and paid religious counselors expressly named (§ 63-7-310(A))
Section 63-7-310(A) lists members of the clergy, religious healers, and clerical or nonclerical religious counselors who charge for services among persons who must report when, in their professional capacity, they have reason to believe a child has been or may be abused or neglected. The 2018 addition of paid counselors means the enumeration reaches lay pastoral counselors and faith-based therapists who operate outside the traditional clergy role.
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Individual reporting duty, not satisfied by internal reporting (§ 63-7-310(C))
Section 63-7-310(C) provides that a mandated reporter who reports to a supervisor or an institutional contact is not relieved of the individual duty to report to county DSS or law enforcement. The duty is not superseded by an internal investigation within the institution, school, facility, or agency.
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Privilege carveout: perpetrator-penitent channel preserved (§ 63-7-420)
Section 63-7-420 abrogates most professional-client privileges as grounds for failing to report child abuse. The clergy-penitent exception is narrow: a clergy member must report **except** when the information was received from the alleged perpetrator during a communication protected by the clergy-penitent privilege under § 19-11-90. Information from any other source, including the child, a family member, or a third party, falls outside the carveout and must be reported. The exception isolates precisely the confessional channel where a person who committed abuse might disclose directly to clergy.
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Section 02What's needed

What it takes to close the gap.

Section 03How you can help

Concrete ways to support reform in South Carolina.

Donate

Donate.

Donations fund South Carolina-specific research and coalition outreach as UCO works to close the perpetrator-penitent carveout.

Mission supportDonate→

Section 04Timeline

How South Carolina got here.

2018
Act 222 / H.4705: paid religious counselors added
Ratified May 14, 2018 (effective May 18, 2018). Amended § 63-7-310(A) to add clerical or nonclerical religious counselors who charge for services as a distinct mandated-reporter category, expanding coverage beyond traditional clergy.
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2023
Federal HHS survey confirms clergy enumeration and privilege posture
The Child Welfare Information Gateway's May 2023 state-by-state clergy survey cites § 63-7-310(A) for the express clergy enumeration and § 63-7-420 for the preserved privilege, confirming both the action-needed classification and the perpetrator-penitent carveout remain current law.
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Section 05Background

Public-record sources UCO is tracking.

Always verify against the underlying statute or filing before quoting.

South Carolina Legislature (State House)
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-310 and § 63-7-420 — Children's Code, Chapter 7
Principal statute. Section 63-7-310(A) enumerates clergy, religious healers, and paid religious counselors as mandated reporters. Section 63-7-310(C) states the individual duty is not satisfied by internal reporting. Section 63-7-420 abrogates most privileges but preserves clergy-penitent for communications received from the alleged perpetrator under § 19-11-90.
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Child Welfare Information Gateway (HHS Children's Bureau)· May 2023
Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect — South Carolina
Federal state-by-state catalog entry. Confirms § 63-7-310(A) clergy enumeration and § 63-7-420 privilege posture: clergy-penitent is preserved only for communications received from the alleged perpetrator, abrogated otherwise. Authoritative federal cross-reference for both the statusBucket and privilegePosture classifications.
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South Carolina Legislature (State House)· Ratified May 14, 2018
2017-2018 Bill H.4705 — Act No. 222 of 2018
Legislative history for the 2018 amendment adding paid religious counselors to § 63-7-310(A). Documents the statutory expansion trajectory: South Carolina has broadened, not narrowed, clergy-adjacent reporting coverage in recent revisions.
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Children's Law Center, Joseph F. Rice School of Law; South Carolina Department of Social Services· 2023
Clergy as Mandated Reporters — South Carolina guidance
South Carolina-specific clergy guidance stating that the only reporting exception for clergy is when their only knowledge comes from the alleged perpetrator during a communication protected by the clergy-penitent privilege under § 19-11-90, citing § 63-7-420. Confirms that reporting up the institutional chain does not satisfy the individual duty.
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Other states

Last reviewed May 21, 2026 · by Unheard Child Org research teamHow we track this