South Carolina Abbreviation: SC or S.C.

Picking the right South Carolina abbreviation

Each version has its own home. Use this table to match the form to the task.

In short, write SC where a computer or a mail carrier reads it, and spell the name out where it sits inside a sentence.

SC, the postal code

In 1963 the Postal Service handed out two-letter codes, one per state, to make room for ZIP Codes on one address line. South Carolina's is SC, built from the S in South and the C in Carolina. The code goes between the town and the ZIP Code, and South Carolina ZIP Codes all start with 29.

Driver's licenses, license plate records, tax forms and voter rolls all use SC as well.

S.C. in newspapers and older writing

Before postal codes existed, the usual short form was S.C., with periods. News outlets that follow AP style still use that form after a city at the start of an article, then spell out the state in the text that follows.

Court opinions, historic documents and some reference books also use S.C. In most school assignments, though, teachers want the full name in your sentences.

SC vs NC and other near misses

The Carolinas are the classic mix-up. North Carolina is NC, and South Carolina is SC. Look at the first letter: S for South. Another check is the ZIP Code: 29 is South Carolina, while 27 and 28 belong to North Carolina.

People also sometimes guess SD for South Carolina. SD is South Dakota, a state far to the west. And GA, the code for neighboring Georgia, is the other state that touches South Carolina.

Sample sentences and labels

• "Ship to: 400 Marsh View Ln, Beaufort, SC 29902."
• "COLUMBIA, S.C. State lawmakers return to the capitol next week."
• "Our family reunion is in South Carolina this summer."
• "Home state (two letters): SC"
• "Branches: Rock Hill, SC; Aiken, SC; Florence, SC."

Notice that the dotted form appears only in the news line, and the full name appears in the ordinary sentence. The postal code handles everything else.

How to say SC, and what kind of short form it is

Say it letter by letter, "S C," or just say "South Carolina." Because nobody pronounces it as a word, SC does not count as an acronym. It is a postal abbreviation, a short code built from the initials of the name. If the labels confuse you, our acronym vs abbreviation page untangles them, and the state abbreviations list for all fifty codes side by side.

Outside addresses, SC can also mean other things, such as a soccer club in a team name. A city before it or a ZIP Code after it tells you it is the state.