South Carolina

Regulatory Agency

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

  • Regional Offices
    • Region 1 – Clemson: (864)-654-1671
    • Region 2 – Florence: (843)-661-4768
    • Region 3 – Columbia: (803)-734-3886
    • Region 4 – Charleston: (843)-953-9856
    • For information on permits call (803)-734-3887

License Details

Fees

There are no fees associated with a depredation permit

License Duration

A depredation permit is valid for 30 days

For issues regarding regarding beavers, the permit is valid for a year from the issued date

How to Apply

Request a permit from any SCDNR Wildlife Management or Law Enforcement office

Renewal and Reporting

A report must be filed once the issue has been alleviated or the permit has expired

The report can be found on the back of the permit issued 

This report asks for information including what species, how many animals, what type of traps were used, were the animals hunted, and was the problem alleviated 

Laws and Regulations

  • Animals captured under a depredation permit may not be relocated, sold, traded, exchanged, or bartered
  • A depredation permit or license is not required by the property owner, or his or her designee, when capturing furbearing animals or squirrels within one-hundred yards of the owner’s home when the animals are causing damage to the owner’s property. Animals captured under this exemption may not be relocated and must be released on site or destroyed 
  • All traps must be checked at least once daily from two hours before official sunrise to two hours after official sunset.
  • Body gripping traps used in water sets and other traps used in submersion sets must be checked once every 48 hours.
  • The possession or transport of live coyotes is allowed only by licensed trappers during the trapping season and thirty days after the close of the trapping season, or by special permit from the SCDNR
  • Beaver dams can be destroyed with a permit 
  • A permit is now required by law (50-16-25) to remove any live hog from the wild in South Carolina. Permits are not required if hogs are killed by hunters or killed before the hogs are removed from traps.
  • Hogs removed from the wild under authority of a permit can only be transported directly to a permitted hog hunting enclosure or released on the same tract of land where captured.

Laws Regarding Translocation

Animals are not allowed to be translocated. They must be released on the property on which they were caught on or euthanized

Trap Tags

All traps must bear the owner’s name and address, or the owner’s DNR-issued Customer ID number either directly thereon or by an attached tag

Hunting and Trapping License

A hunting license is not required to obtain a depredation permit

A trapping license is not required to obtain a depredation permit