## How the limitation period applies

The controlling primary authority for US-SC libel (written defamation) SOL (S.C. Code § 15-3-550) is **S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550**.

> **S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550.** SECTION 15-3-550. Two years. Within two years: (1) an action for libel, slander, or false imprisonment; and (2) an action upon a statute for a forfeiture or penalty to the State.

## Use the calculator

DocketMath's statute-of-limitations tool can model these timelines once you identify the controlling claim type and accrual date. Use the source panel for the verified primary-source citations.

[Open the Statute of Limitations calculator](/tools/statute-of-limitations)

## Sources

- [S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550 — SECTION 15-3-550. Two years.](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php)

All sources are official primary law published by `www.scstatehouse.gov`.

**Corroboration method:** government_primary_source_direct_fetch.


Statute of Limitations for Libel (written defamation) in South Carolina.

Statute of Limitations for Libel (written defamation) in South Carolina

Primary-source verified live against scstatehouse.gov on 2026-04-24 and re-verified 2026-04-29 (Mozilla UA, 200 OK): §§ 15-3-30, 15-3-40, 15-3-530, 15-3-535, 15-3-540, 15-3-545, 15-3-550, 15-3-555, 15-3-600, 15-51-10, 15-51-20, 15-78-80, 15-78-110, 36-2-725. 15+ fabrications caught; see commit history.

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520;

Within three years: an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520

SECTION 15-3-20. General rule as to time for commencement. (A) Civil actions may only be commenced within the periods prescribed in this title after the cause of action has accrued, except when, in special cases, a different limitation is prescribed by statute.

No action may be brought under this article more than three years after discovery of the unlawful conduct which is the subject of the suit.

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property; (4) an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels including an action for the specific recovery of personal property; (5) an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545; (6) an action under Sections 15-51-10 to 15-51-60 for death by wrongful act, the period to begin to run upon the death of the person on account of whose death the action is brought; (7) any action for relief on the ground of fraud in cases which prior to the adoption of the Code of Civil Procedure in 1870 were solely cognizable by the court of chancery, the cause of action in the case not considered to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts constituting the fraud; (8) an action on any policy of insurance, either fire or life, whereby any person or property, resident or situate in this State, may be or may have been insured, or for or on account of any loss arising under the policy, any clause, condition, or limitation contained in the policy to the contrary notwithstanding; and (9) an action against directors or stockholders of a monied corporation or a banking association to recover a penalty or forfeiture imposed or to enforce a liability created by law, the cause of action in the case not considered to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts upon which the penalty or forfeiture attached or the liability was created, unless otherwise provided in the law under which the corporation is organized.

Executions may issue upon final judgments or decrees at any time within ten years from the date of the original entry thereof and shall have active energy during such period, without any renewal or renewals thereof, and this whether any return may or may not have been made during such period on such executions.

Within three years: (5) an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545

SECTION 15-3-530. Three years. Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520;

SECTION 15-3-550. Two years. Within two years: (1) an action for libel, slander, or false imprisonment; and (2) an action upon a statute for a forfeiture or penalty to the State.

Within twenty years: (a) an action upon a bond or other contract in writing secured by a mortgage of real property;

Within three years: an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545;

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property; (4) an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels including an action for the specific recovery of personal property; (5) an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545;

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property;

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property; (4) an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels including an action for the specific recovery of personal property;

The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters conferred on the district courts by the provisions of titles 13, 24, and 70 of the Revised Statutes for the protection of all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and for their vindication, shall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but in all cases where they are not adapted to the object, or are deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offenses against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitution and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of such civil or criminal cause is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern the said courts in the trial and disposition of the cause, and, if it is of a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party found guilty.

Within two years: (1) an action for libel, slander, or false imprisonment;

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property; (4) an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels including an action for the specific recovery of personal property; (5) an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545; (6) an action under Sections 15-51-10 to 15-51-60 for death by wrongful act, the period to begin to run upon the death of the person on account of whose death the action is brought; (7) any action for relief on the ground of fraud in cases which prior to the adoption of the Code of Civil Procedure in 1870 were solely cognizable by the court of chancery, the cause of action in the case not considered to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts constituting the fraud; (8) an action on any policy of insurance; (9) an action against directors or stockholders of a monied corporation or a banking association.

An action on a written contract (express or implied) in South Carolina must be brought within 3 years from accrual, except where the contract qualifies for the 20-year period under § 15-3-520 (sealed instruments / contracts secured by mortgage of real property). Sealed notes and personal bonds for the payment of money only revert to the 3-year rule under § 15-3-520(b)'s own carve-out.

Under South Carolina law, executions may issue upon a final judgment or decree at any time within ten years from the date of original entry, and the judgment retains active enforcement energy throughout that ten-year period without renewal. After ten years from entry, the statutory authority to issue execution on the judgment lapses.

Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5), an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another (not arising on contract and not specifically enumerated by law) must be commenced within three years. Covers general PI, negligence, premises liability, product liability, slip-and-fall, dog bite, assault/battery.

Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(1), an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability — express or implied — must be commenced within three years (excepting those provided in § 15-3-520). Reduced from 6 to 3 years in 1988. Controls written contracts, oral contracts, debt-on-promissory-note, account-stated, and most contract claims in South Carolina.

Under S.C. Code § 15-3-520(a), an action upon a bond or other written contract secured by a mortgage of real property must be commenced within twenty years. Section 15-3-530(1)'s three-year contract lane expressly excepts actions provided for in Section 15-3-520.

A federal civil-rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising in South Carolina uses South Carolina's general injury-to-person-or-rights limitations period. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(a), federal civil-rights claims borrow forum-state law when federal law is deficient; for Section 1983 limitations, the borrowed state period is the general or residual personal-injury period. South Carolina's S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5) provides a three-year period for injury to the person or rights of another.

An action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged deprivation of federal civil rights arising in South Carolina must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued. Federal courts adjudicating § 1983 claims arising in SC apply, by operation of the SCOTUS borrowing doctrine (Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (1985); Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989); Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)), the State's general or residual personal-injury limitations period — § 15-3-530(5)'s three-year 

An action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied — including a written contract — must be commenced within three years, excepting those instruments addressed by S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-520 (sealed instruments; UCC sales contracts under § 36-2-725). South Carolina's discovery rule applies: the period begins to run when the plaintiff knew or, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known of the breach (Maher v. Tietex Corp., 331 S.C. 371, 500 S.E.2d 204 (Ct. 

Under S.C. Code Ann. § 39-5-150, no action under the South Carolina Consumer Protection Code (Unfair Trade Practices Act) may be brought more than three years after discovery of the unlawful conduct which is the subject of the suit. This is a discovery-rule period — the clock starts when the plaintiff discovers the unlawful conduct, not when it occurred. This statute governs consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and all other UTPA claims. It is distinct from the general personal injury SOL 

South Carolina's continuing-violation doctrine is a judicial doctrine with no standalone codified limitations period. The doctrine re-sets the accrual date to the last act in a series of related unlawful acts, allowing a plaintiff to reach conduct that would otherwise be time-barred so long as at least one act occurred within the limitations period. The applicable underlying period is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530, most commonly § 15-3-530(5) in employment discrimination and civil righ

South Carolina has no criminal statute of limitations for any offense, including Class A felonies. The only limitation statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-20 (Title 15, Chapter 3), expressly applies to 'Civil actions' only. Title 17 (Criminal Procedures) contains no limitations chapter (chapters proceed from 19 - Indictments to 21 - Venue with no Chapter 20). A prosecution for a South Carolina Class A felony — punishable by not more than thirty years imprisonment under § 16-1-20(A)(1) — may therefore

Statute of limitations for enforcement of domestic judgment in US-SC is 10 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-30.

Statute of limitations for consumer fraud deceptive trade practices in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 39-5-150.

Statute of limitations for breach written contract in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(1).

Statute of limitations for medical malpractice in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545.

Statute of limitations for legal malpractice in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for product liability in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for premises liability in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for breach oral contract in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for libel in US-SC is 2 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550.

Statute of limitations for slander in US-SC is 2 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550.

Statute of limitations for property damage in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for trespass in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for personal injury in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5).

Statute of limitations for equitable tolling in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for wrongful death in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for fraud in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.

Statute of limitations for section 1983 civil rights claims in US-SC is 3 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5).

Statute of limitations for ucc sale of goods in US-SC is 6 years under S.C. Code Ann. § 36-2-725.

South Carolina Code § 15-3-530 establishes a 3-year statute of limitations for actions upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, which encompasses account stated and open account claims.

South Carolina common-law wrongful termination claims are governed by S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530, which provides a general 3-year SOL. Wrongful termination sounding in breach of contract falls under subsection (1); tort-based claims fall under subsection (5). Either way, the period is 3 years.

Under S.C. Code Ann. 15-3-530(1), an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, must be commenced within three years; a promissory note is a written contractual obligation, so a suit on promissory-note debt is governed by this three-year period.

An action upon an oral (implied or express) contract in South Carolina must be brought within 3 years.

An action for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels (personal property) in South Carolina must be brought within 3 years.

An action for libel (written defamation) in South Carolina must be commenced within two years under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-550(1).

Except as to actions initiated under Section 15-3-545, all actions initiated under Section 15-3-530(5) must be commenced within three years after the person knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action.

Any action to recover damages for injury to the person arising out of any medical, surgical, or dental treatment, omission, or operation by any licensed health care provider must be commenced within three years from the date of the treatment, omission, or operation giving rise to the cause of action or three years from the date of discovery or when it reasonably ought to have been discovered, not to exceed six years from the date of occurrence. For foreign objects left in the body, the period runs two years from the date of discovery.

Within two years: (1) an action for libel, slander, or false imprisonment; and (2) an action upon a statute for a forfeiture or penalty to the State.

(A) An action to recover damages for injury to a person arising out of an act of sexual abuse or incest must be commenced within six years after the person becomes twenty-one years of age or within three years from the time of discovery by the person of the injury and the causal relationship between the injury and the sexual abuse or incest, whichever occurs later.

An action for relief not provided for in this chapter must be commenced within ten years after the cause of action shall have accrued.

If a person entitled to bring an action mentioned in Article 5 of this chapter or an action under Chapter 78 of this title, except for a penalty or forfeiture or against a sheriff or other officer for an escape, is at the time the cause of action accrued either: (1) within the age of eighteen years; or (2) insane; the time of the disability is not a part of the time limited for the commencement of the action, except that the period within which the action must be brought cannot be extended: (a) more than five years by any such disability, except infancy; nor (b) in any case longer than one year after the disability ceases.

If when a cause of action shall accrue against any person he shall be out of the State, such action may be commenced within the terms in this chapter respectively limited after the return of such person into this State. And if, after such cause of action shall have accrued, such person shall depart from and reside out of this State or remain continuously absent therefrom for the space of one year or more, the time of his absence shall not be deemed or taken as any part of the time limited for the commencement of such action.

Within three years: (1) an action upon a contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, excepting those provided for in Section 15-3-520; (2) an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture; (3) an action for trespass upon or damage to real property; (4) an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels including an action for the specific recovery of personal property; (5) an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law, and those provided for in Section 15-3-545; (6) an action under Sections 15-51-10 to 15-51-60 for death by wrongful act, the period to begin to run upon the death of the person on account of whose death the action is brought