Moving between states / South Carolina

Flag of MaineMainetoFlag of South CarolinaSouth Carolina, CNA

Moving from Maine to South Carolina as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Maine has to do to work in South Carolina, what the move does to your pay, and who in South Carolina is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Maine certificate stays on the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers; to work in South Carolina you apply to the South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry (Department of Health and Human Services, administered by Credentia) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary South Carolina leaves you roughly $399 a year more than Maine does, because South Carolina's rate is lower.

SalaryMaine state taxSouth Carolina state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,002$1,736+$266
$60,000$3,003$2,604+$399
$90,000$4,505$3,906+$599

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Maine to South Carolina

Works on day one. Both Maine and South Carolina are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Maine is valid in South Carolina the day you arrive. Once South Carolina is your primary residence, apply there for a South Carolina multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Maine to South Carolina

Reciprocity likely. South Carolina licenses electricians at state level through the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, and Electrical contractors are state-licensed; journeymen are licensed by some cities and counties. Contractor reciprocity with a few states. Your Maine licence comes from the Maine Electricians' Examining Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Maine to South Carolina

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a South Carolina resident you surrender the Maine CDL at a South Carolina driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in South Carolina. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in South Carolina pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Maine has Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit. See moving from South Carolina to Maine.

Openings filed in South Carolina

78 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by South Carolina employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Maine to South Carolina

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for South Carolina employers.

Plan my move to South Carolina

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Maine to South Carolina · Electrician: Maine to South Carolina · Truck driver: Maine to South Carolina · All licences: Maine to South Carolina

From Maine to the states next to South Carolina

North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax)

To South Carolina from the states next to Maine

New Hampshire

Everything about working in South Carolina · All moves between states · All 50 states

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