Moving between states / South Carolina

Flag of MichiganMichigantoFlag of South CarolinaSouth Carolina, RN or LPN

Moving from Michigan to South Carolina as a registered or practical nurse

What a registered or practical nurse licensed in Michigan 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.

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Michigan is not in the compact, so your Michigan licence is single-state. Apply to the South Carolina board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because South Carolina is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

What the move does to your paycheck

Michigan and South Carolina take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryMichigan state taxSouth Carolina state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,700$1,736-$36
$60,000$2,550$2,604-$54
$90,000$3,825$3,906-$81

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. In Michigan: Detroit and some cities add a local income tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Michigan to South Carolina

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Michigan certificate stays on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs); 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.

Electrician: Michigan 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 Michigan licence comes from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Electrical Administrative Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Michigan 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 Michigan 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.

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 Michigan 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

CNA: Michigan to South Carolina · Electrician: Michigan to South Carolina · Truck driver: Michigan to South Carolina · All licences: Michigan to South Carolina

From Michigan 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 Michigan

Ohio · Indiana · Wisconsin

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

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