# South Carolina — Construction retainage limits by US state — maximum withholding percentages, release deadlines, escrow requirements, and public vs private distinctions with statutory citations

For South Carolina, public project retainage cap (%) is no statutory cap; private project retainage cap (%) is no statutory cap; release deadline is 21 days for owner to contractor; 7 days for contractor to subcontractor after receipt; escrow required is no; milestone reduction is none, recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **State:** South Carolina
- **Public project retainage cap (%):** no statutory cap
- **Private project retainage cap (%):** no statutory cap
- **Release deadline:** 21 days for owner to contractor; 7 days for contractor to subcontractor after receipt
- **Escrow required:** no
- **Milestone reduction:** none
- **Statutory citation:** S.C. Code Ann. § 29-6-40 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> Nothing in this chapter prevents the owner, the contractor, or a subcontractor from withholding application and certification for payment because of the following: unsatisfactory job progress, defective construction not remedied, disputed work, third party claims filed or reasonable evidence that claim will be filed, failure of contractor or subcontractor to make timely payments for labor, equipment, and materials, damage to owner, contractor, or another subcontractor, reasonable evidence that contract or subcontract cannot be completed for the unpaid balance of the contract or subcontract sum, or a reasonable amount for retainage.

## Source

- https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t29c006.php

Last verified: 2026-08-17. Review by: 2027-08-17.
Part of [Construction retainage limits by US state — maximum withholding percentages, release deadlines, escrow requirements, and public vs private distinctions with statutory citations](https://referencesource.org/construction-retainage-limits-by-state/).