South Carolina licenses tow operators as DMV Certificate-of-Compliance carriers: $750,000 per incident at 10,000+ lbs GVWR, $300,000 under, plus $5,000 cargo per vehicle. The state sets no tow-specific on-hook or garagekeepers minimum.
Weight / class variation: SC splits at 10,000 lbs GVWR (≥10,000 vs <10,000), unlike the federal 10,001 split — a wrecker at exactly 10,000 lbs GVWR falls in SC's $750,000 tier.
Tow operators are DMV Certificate-of-Compliance carriers, NOT PSC-certificated carriers: S.C. Code § 56-3-661 requires every for-hire motor-vehicle carrier of property except household-goods and hazmat-waste carriers to hold a Class E Certificate of Compliance from the DMV, and the DMV CoC Exhibit A schedule governs. The PSC regs. 103-172/103-173 govern PSC-certificated carriers only — 103-172's $500,000 schedule for under-10,000-lb carriers does not apply to tow operators, and 103-173's cargo schedule does not either. No statewide tow-specific on-hook or garagekeepers minimum (SCHP rotation-only figures under 38-600 are separate). The $50,000 garagekeepers claim circulated for SC does not appear in SC law. Verified 2026-10-14: all fields resolved (figure or confirmed absence).
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Message us on Messenger Typically responds within 15 minutes during business hours. Prefer to talk now? Call · Text Get a quote for South Carolina →Independent-contractor test: Common-law right-to-control test, 4 factors weighed with equal force — Wilkinson v. Palmetto State Transp. Co., 382 S.C. 295, 676 S.E.2d 700 (2009) (overruling Dawkins' pro-employment weighting). The WC statute itself (§ 42-1-130) defines "employee" broadly (contract of hire, express/implied) without listing IC factors; the test comes from WC case law. Unemployment insurance uses the same test and factors, but NOT the same weighting: under S.C. Code § 41-27-230(1)(b), "employment" turns on the usual common-law rules, and the SC Supreme Court in Kilgore Group v. S.C. Employment Security Commission applies the same four right-to-control factors as workers' comp — direct evidence of control, furnishing of equipment, method of payment, and right to fire — with no ABC test in the UI statute. (Weighting differs: in UI the "primary consideration" is whether the purported employer has the right to control the worker, and the four factors are "principal factors indicating the right of control" — indicators of control, not four coequal weights. The equal-force rule is WC-only (Wilkinson; Lewis v. L.B. Dynasty, 411 S.C. 637, 642, 770 S.E.2d 393, 395 (2015)).)
Not required doesn’t mean not liable: if you don’t carry workers’ comp — even where it isn’t required for you — an injured worker may be able to sue you in court instead of being limited to comp benefits, because the exclusive-remedy shield generally depends on having coverage.
Minimums are the legal floor, not a recommendation — most operators carry more. Your operation (light-duty, heavy-duty, repo, rotation, motor club) decides which coverages fit. Take the coverage quiz →
Rotation is a local contract, not state law. Rotation agreements commonly require auto liability around $1,000,000 CSL, on-hook/cargo $50,000–$100,000, garagekeepers $50,000–$500,000, and the agency named as additional insured — check your agency’s agreement for its exact terms. Rotation readiness checklist →
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Informational only — not legal advice and not a quote. Requirements change — confirm the exact limits with your state DOT / public utilities commission and your rotation agreement before you buy. Minimums are the legal floor, not a recommendation — most operators carry more.