Updated April 2026.
South Carolina’s statewide beer rule is the Sunday blackout, not a weekday last-call. Default: no beer or wine from midnight Saturday until sunrise Monday (S.C. Code § 61-4-120) unless a local referendum and the matching 7-day permit opened Sunday. Weekday grocery hours are local — there is no statewide 24-hour cooler and no 7:00 p.m. grocery clock. Packaged liquor is SCDOR PRL: 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday, closed Sunday. Age 21.
Pages that print “grocery beer 24 hours Monday–Saturday” are describing a store that is open, not a statute. SCDOR’s 7-day off-premises beer/wine permit (P7B) adds no statewide hour cutoff; the city still can. Spirits never come from that cooler. Confirm the city.
Beer vs liquor-store clocks
| Channel | Statewide default | Local overlay |
|---|---|---|
| Grocery / c-store beer (Mon–Sat) | No opening or closing hour in § 61-4-120 | City/county ordinances often add a night cutoff. Do not use the PRL 7:00 p.m. liquor close |
| Sunday beer/wine | Closed midnight Sat–sunrise Mon (§ 61-4-120) | Referendum + 7-day permit (P7B) can reopen Sunday. SCDOR: P7B has no statewide time-of-day cap |
| Native-grape tasting-room wine | § 61-4-120(B) Sunday exception if local ordinance | Same-site grow, bottle, and sell. Not a grocery cooler rule |
| Retail liquor store (spirits) | 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Mon–Sat; closed Sunday (SCDOR PRL) | No Sunday operation. No checkout after 7:00 p.m. H. 4001 Sunday liquor 1–5 p.m. is not law |
| On-premise beer / liquor-by-the-drink | Tied to liquor-by-the-drink hours (typically 10:00 a.m.–2:00 a.m. Mon–Sat, § 61-6-1610) | SCDOR: no on-premise Sunday 2:00–10:00 a.m. Saturday after midnight needs a Local Option Permit |
A 24-hour Circle K in one county can sell beer at 1:00 a.m. Tuesday and refuse you at 1:00 a.m. Sunday. Gas stations follow the beer permitgas stations. Neighboring: Georgia alcohol hours, Georgia beer, North Carolina. Walmart’s cooler is the same beer permit, not a chain clockWalmart.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 61-4-120 (Sunday beer/wine default ban; on-premise exception when liquor-by-the-drink is lawful; (B) native-grape Sunday wine).
- SCDOR Retail Liquor Store License (PRL): 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Mon–Sat; no Sunday; no sale after 7:00 p.m.
- SCDOR 7-day off-premises beer/wine (P7B): no statewide time-of-day restriction. 7-day on-premises (PO7): no Sunday on-premise 2:00–10:00 a.m.
- S.C. Code § 61-6-1610; SCDOR LOP (Saturday after midnight / Sunday on-sale).
- No county referendum roster (goes stale). Age 21.