Bad Check Laws In South Carolina

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Below are the civil and criminal penalties for writing a bad check in South Carolina as under Code Title 34, Chapter 11.

The following South Carolina civil and criminal action may result if a 10-day notice is sent requesting reimbursement of funds on the check, plus a $25 service fee in not paid by the dishonored check writer to the payee within that ten day period:

Civil Penalties: In addition to other fines, issuer shall pay all reasonable court costs, not to exceed $20 and if payment not made within 30 days, issuer shall pay amount of check and damages, of the lesser of $500 or treble the amount of the check.


Criminal Penalties: Under SECTION 34-11-90. Jurisdiction of offenses and penalties. A person who violates the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction, must be punished as follows: If the amount of the instrument is one thousand dollars or less, it must be tried exclusively in a magistrates court. A municipal governing body, by ordinance, may adopt by reference the provisions of this chapter as an offense under its municipal ordinances and by so doing authorizes its municipal court to try violations of this chapter. If the amount of the instrument is over one thousand dollars, it must be tried in the court of general sessions or any other court having concurrent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, a person who violates the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction for a third or subsequent conviction, may be tried in either a magistrates court or in the court of general sessions.

Convictions in a magistrates court are punishable as follows: for a first conviction, if the amount of the instrument is five hundred dollars or less, by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days; for a first conviction, if the amount of the instrument is more than five hundred dollars but not greater than one thousand dollars, by a fine of not less than three hundred nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both; for a second or subsequent conviction, if the amount of the instrument is five hundred dollars or less, by a fine of two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days; for a second or subsequent conviction, if the amount of the instrument is more than five hundred dollars but not greater than one thousand dollars, by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both.

Convictions in the court of general sessions or any other court having concurrent jurisdiction are punishable as follows: for a first conviction by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both; and for a second or subsequent conviction by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars and imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than ten years. After a first offense conviction for drawing and uttering a fraudulent check or other instrument in violation of Section 34-11-60 within its jurisdiction, the court shall, at the time of sentence, suspend the imposition or execution of a sentence upon a showing of satisfactory proof of restitution and payment by the defendant of all reasonable court costs accruing not to exceed forty-one dollars. For a second or subsequent conviction for a violation of Section 34-11-60 , the suspension of the imposition or execution of the sentence is discretionary with the court. After a conviction or plea for drawing and uttering a fraudulent check or other instrument in violation of Section 34-11-60 and the defendant is charged or fined, he shall pay in addition to the fine all reasonable court costs accruing, not to exceed forty-one dollars, and the service charge provided in Section 34-11-70. After a conviction under this section on a first offense, the defendant may, after one year from the date of the conviction, apply, or cause someone acting on his behalf to apply, to the court for an order expunging the records of the arrest and conviction. This provision does not apply to any crime classified as a felony. If the defendant has had no other conviction during the one-year period following the conviction under this section, the court shall issue an order expunging the records. No person has any rights under this section more than one time. After the expungement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is required to keep a nonpublic record of the offense and the date of its expungement to ensure that no person takes advantage of the rights permitted by this subsection more than once. This nonpublic record is not subject to release under Section 34-11-95, the Freedom of Information Act, or any other provision of law except to those authorized law or court officials who need this information in order to prevent the rights afforded by this subsection from being taken advantage of more than once.

As used in this section the term "conviction" shall include the entering of a guilty plea, the entering of a plea of nolo contendere, or the forfeiting of bail. A conviction is classified as a felony if the instrument drawn or uttered in violation of this chapter exceeds the amount of five thousand dollars. Each instrument drawn or uttered in violation of this chapter constitutes a separate offense.



For more information on bad check laws and for criminal and civil penalties in other states for writing bad checks, please read Bad Check Laws

Check with your state statutes for the most current information on South Carolina bad check laws at ( http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t34c011.htm ).

You may want to also read Getting A Checking Account While On The Chex System

Learn how to Prevent Overdraft And Bounced Check Fees

Although all information has been written in good faith and has been reviewed, please email us at [email protected] to report any inaccuracies.