The proper citation to a South Carolina regulation includes three numbers:
Note that we do not use a section (§) symbol to cite a South Carolina regulation.
For example, the South Carolina Lottery Commission regulation for claiming prizes would be cited as:
S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 44-70 (2011).
In the citation above, "44" is the chapter number, "70" is the section number, and 2011 is the year of the main volume.
To illustrate different citation scenarios, we will make up a South Carolina regulation 45-71. (There is actually no such regulation.)
Suppose R. 45-71(a) appears only in the main volume, not in the supplement.
Suppose R. 45-71(b) appears both in the main volume and in the supplement. Presumably, it appears in the supplement because it was amended in some way.
If that were true, these citations would be correct:
S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 45-71(a) (2011).
S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 45-71(b) (Supp. 2023).
S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 45-71(a)-(b) (2011 & Supp. 2023).
South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 268 governs the citation of South Carolina regulations. It is available via the Court Rules link on the South Carolina Judicial Department’s website.
Rule 268 also recommends The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation published by the Harvard Law Review Association and A Guide to South Carolina Legal Research and Citation by Paula Gail Benson (S.C. Bar C.L.E. Division) for additional guidance.
In order to cite a specific portion of a larger regulation, you may need to cite a subsection. The Bluebook rule on subsections (which also applies to subsections found in statutes, secondary sources, or anywhere else) is white pages Rule 3.3.
This rule says: "If the source contains punctuation separating sections from subsections," then you should use the same punctuation the source uses. For South Carolina regulations, when you look in Chapter 44 and see how each regulation is listed with a hyphen between chapter and section, such as "44-10" or "44-70," you know to use a hyphen there as well.
For a slightly more complex example, look at how regulations section 44-20.20 is listed in the source. (It should be the same no matter where you look: in print, on scstatehouse.gov, on Lexis, or on Westlaw.) There might not be a definitive answer as to why there is a hyphen and then a decimal in 44-20.20. The key is to notice that for purposes of following the Bluebook rule, punctuation separating sections from subsections is being provided in the source, and the same punctuation should be used when you cite.
Suppose you need to cite the provision that requires an applicant for a lottery retail license to be at least 21 years old.
The source does not provide a string of numbers and letters that continues all the way through that specific provision's number. In other words, as far as subsection A and sub-subsection 3 are concerned, "the source contains no such separating punctuation." Rule 3.3(a). In that case, the Bluebook says to "separate the subsection designations using parentheses." That would look like (A)(3).
The complete citation to that specific provision would be S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 44-20.20(A)(3) (2011).
Remember the Bluebook rule on short citation forms is Rule 4, and specifically the rule on using id. is Rule 4.1. Neither the Bluebook nor Rule 268 provide detail on short forms for South Carolina regulations, so we turn to A Guide to South Carolina Legal Research and Citation (the green book) for this example of a short form for a South Carolina regulation: R. 71-1.11. An R for regulation is used; not a section sign.
Suppose you had just used the complete citation above to subsection 3, and immediately after that, you need to cite subsection 4.
That short form would look like Id. at R. 44-20.20(A)(4).
The guide numbers at the top of each page help you locate R. 44-70 in the main volume, between R. 44-50.20 and R. 44-80.
Step 2. Check whether the regulation is in the supplement.
The annual supplement may be:
When you open the supplement and try to look up R. 44-70, you can't find it because it isn't there. R. 44-70 is in Chapter 44, but this supplement skips Chapter 44 entirely and starts with Chapter 47.
When a regulation does not appear in the supplement, that means the version in the main volume is still current; there have been no changes to that regulation, up through the date of the supplement.
Step 3. Check the State Register.
If there have been changes to a regulation after the date of the latest annual supplement, then you can't make a Bluebook-correct citation to the current version of that regulation in the Code of Regulations; you'll have to cite to the State Register version. Citing to the State Register is fairly uncommon, so you don't need this skill for LRAW; just know that the instructions are in the Green Book, A Guide to South Carolina Legal Research and Citation by Paula Gail Benson (S.C. Bar C.L.E. Division).
For R. 44-70, when you follow all the steps for updating to the current version from the date of the annual supplement to the date of the latest State Register, you discover that there have been no changes to the regulation in the State Register. That means the version in the main volume is still current as of today.
Step 4. Get the date right.
Going through steps 1-3 confirmed that in order to cite the version of R. 44-70 that is current as of today, you should cite to the main volume in the Code of Regulations (not the supplement, and not the State Register).
When you look for the date to cite a statute in the SC Code of Laws, you can look on the spine, but there are no dates on the spine of SC Code of Regulations volumes.
To find out what date you should put in parentheses, look at the copyright page, toward the beginning of the main volume.
The correct citation is: S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 44-70 (2011).