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State requirements · South Carolina
What you need to operate in South Carolina
South Carolina issues the federal MQSA certificate itself, through the Department of Environmental Services, which also approves every X-ray facility before equipment is installed and asks a mobile facility for its operating schedule. Mobile dental facilities register with the Board of Dentistry. Certificate of need was repealed in 2023 for everything but nursing homes and, until 2027, hospitals.
Facility licensing for a mobile clinic
South Carolina does not license a physician-run mobile clinic as a facility type. The Department of Public Health’s licensed facilities list covers hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, birthing centers and other named types; a mobile clinic is not among them, so a hospital-run unit operates under the hospital’s license and a practice-run unit under its practitioners’ licenses. No specific mobile-unit rule found on the agency’s site; confirm with DPH Healthcare Quality at that link.
Certificate of need
Not applicable to a mobile unit. After Act 20 of 2023, S.C. Code section 44-7-160 requires a certificate of need for nursing-home projects and, under subsection (B), for building a hospital or adding hospital beds; subsection (C) repeals (B) effective January 1, 2027. No review applies to a mobile clinic or to imaging equipment.
X-ray and mammography registration
South Carolina approves the facility before the machine arrives. The Department of Environmental Services’ X-ray facility registration page requires a Facility Registration Approval before X-ray equipment is installed; the review covers the radiation safety officer, the radiation protection program and the shielding plan, and the page lists a $62.50 application fee and a $62.50 shielding review fee. The page adds: “If your facility is a mobile facility, also send us your operating schedule.” Machines are registered within 30 days of acquisition. An operator based outside the state files for an Out-of-State Facility Registration Approval; the page says there are no reciprocity agreements.
South Carolina is one of the four states that certifies mammography facilities in place of the FDA. The DES mammography page states that SCDES issues the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) certificate once the ACR notifies it that the facility is accredited, and that only SCDES/FDA-certified facilities can lawfully provide mammography services. The federal sequence on the FDA’s MQSA certification page still applies: accreditation first, then the certificate, then annual inspection.
Mobile dental permits
A mobile dental facility registers with the Board of Dentistry. The LLR Board of Dentistry’s mobile and portable dentistry requirements, under S.C. Code 40-15-172, list a $150 application fee for a mobile dental facility ($75 for a portable dental operation), a South Carolina-licensed dentist as the responsible party, proof of facility registration with the SC Department of Motor Vehicles, proof of Secretary of State registration to do business in the state, and a passed inspection by LLR’s inspectors; mobile dental facilities are inspected annually on renewal of the registration. The facility must have, among other things, carbon monoxide detection, a properly functioning sterilization system, ready access to potable water including hot water and to toilet facilities, a covered noncorrosive container for refuse and waste, and a ramp or lift if services are provided to disabled persons. The Board’s site carries the application.
Who does what. HLE supplies the vehicle side of the file: the floor plan, weights, power and, where the unit carries X-ray or mammography equipment, the shielding drawings the registrations ask for. The licenses, registrations and certificates above are held by you, the operator; we help you build the paperwork list before the build starts. Tell us the state and the program.
Checked Oct 15, 2026. Each statement above was read on the agency or statute page it links to, on that date. Rules change and local permits (county health, fire, zoning, parking) are not listed; confirm each item with the agency before you budget or schedule. Not legal advice.
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