Is prostitution legal in South Carolina?

Illegal

Prostitution is illegal.

South Carolina is classified “Illegal” for sex work, as are 48 of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. For the United States as a whole, the classification is “Varies by region”.

Source

Taken from
Wikipedia: Prostitution in the United States
Last checked
17 September 2026
How it was classified
Read from the source’s state-by-state coverage; the topic is published only once hand-verified reference states match it.

Across the United States

  • Legal & regulated 1 state.
  • Buying illegal (Nordic model) 1 state.
  • Illegal 48 states and the District of Columbia, including South Carolina.

Nearby states

Georgia
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
North Carolina
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
Virginia
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
Tennessee
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
Alabama
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
West Virginia
Illegal Prostitution is illegal.

Other laws in South Carolina

Abortion
Legal (limited)
Euthanasia
Illegal
Same-Sex Marriage
Marriage legal
Age of Consent
16–17
Death Penalty
Retained / in use
Gun Laws
Permissive
Cannabis
Illegal

Sex work in the United States → · Where is sex work legal? →

A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.