Practice Agreement · RN
Registered Nurse Practice Agreement in South Carolina
South Carolina law does not require a Registered Nurse to hold a named agreement with a physician. Practices still use one to define the working relationship; here is what it covers and what the state does require.
General RN licensure (S.C. Code Title 40, Ch. 33) is not subject to physician supervision or a practice agreement — RNs work within physician orders, standing orders, and facility protocols, categorically distinct from the APRN practice-agreement regime above.
What a Registered Nurse practice agreement covers in South Carolina
Governed by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. Each numbered item is a statutory requirement the agreement must satisfy.
The Registered Nurse ("RN") shall practice under the orders, standing orders, or delegation of the Physician, consistent with the South Carolina Nurse Practice Act, S.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 33. Unlike the written practice agreement required of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, South Carolina law does not require a Board-filed collaboration agreement for this Registered Nurse's general scope of practice; the Physician shall instead be available to the Registered Nurse for consultation regarding clinical and patient care issues arising under any order or delegation.
- The agreement on file also carries 2 scope, 2 education, 2 registration clauses, generated in the document itself.
Statutes and rules cited
- 2026 S.C. Act No. 166 (S.449), codified at S.C. Code §§ 40-43-245 and 40-47-205statute
Authorizes collaborative practice agreements between a South Carolina pharmacist and physician, effective May 18, 2026, but provides that such agreements may not be implemented until the South Carolina Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medical Examiners adopt implementing regulations.
Terms it has to carry
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing terms the agreement has to carry, from the state's supervision rules.
Proximity
Not codified — left to the agreement
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Covered by the practice agreement · no controlled-substance authority
RNs do not have independent prescriptive authority in SC; they administer medications per physician/APRN orders.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — general RN licensure is never subject to physician supervision or a practice agreement in SC, unlike the APRN/PA categories above.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional Corporation under Title 33, Chapter 19 for nursing services; non-clinical businesses an RN might own fall outside this regime entirely.
Legal sources for these rules (1)
About South Carolina's rules
A physician may not hold practice agreements/scope-of-practice guidelines with more than a COMBINED 6 full-time-equivalent PA+NP+CNM+CNS at once (§40-47-195(D)(1)(c)) — a single shared cap, not four separate ones. A widely-repeated '3 PA' cap was repealed in 2019 (Act 32). SC remains restricted-practice for APRNs; a 2,000-hour full-practice-authority bill (S.45/H.3580) is pending, not yet law.
Other clinicians in South Carolina: see the state overview.