South Carolina
Sex Laws 2026

The age of consent in South Carolina is 16 as of May 2026, the same as in 29 other states. South Carolina requires schools to teach sex education, one of 28 states that do, and the mandated approach is abstinence-only, with no medical-accuracy requirement and no LGBTQ+ inclusion requirement. Adult entertainment regulation is restrictive, and the state scores 20/100 on this page's sex-ed progressiveness scale.

South Carolina's age of consent is 16. There is no close-in-age exemption in South Carolina's primary statutory rape statute. South Carolina Code Section 16-3-655 covers criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Sex education is required in South Carolina schools but must stress abstinence until marriage as the only acceptable standard. Contraception cannot be discussed except in terms of failure rates. The framework is among the strictest abstinence-only mandates in the country, similar to Mississippi. There is no requirement for medical accuracy, no LGBTQ+ inclusion mandate, and no consent education standard. South Carolina has received federal abstinence-only education funding and structured its curriculum to comply with those funding requirements.

South Carolina's adult entertainment environment is restrictive. Myrtle Beach has historically had a more active adult entertainment industry tied to its tourism economy, but the state has used local ordinances and licensing to limit adult businesses throughout most of the state. The overall state posture is restrictive, and there have been periodic local campaigns to reduce the adult entertainment footprint.

Abstinence-until-marriage required. Cannot discuss contraception except failure rates. Social conservative laws.

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More on South Carolina

Also on South Carolina: the full South Carolina profile covers taxes, cost of living, crime and schools, and the county map lets you compare every county in the state. For related rules, read the South Carolina nudism guide and the South Carolina gambling laws guide.