Should I register my Etsy shop as a 'business' or an 'individual' if I have a South Carolina LLC?

If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your South Carolina Articles of Organization. A single-member South Carolina LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.

What happens if I do not complete Etsy's seller verification?

Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.

I do not live in South Carolina. Can I still use a South Carolina LLC on Etsy?

Etsy does not check where you live, only that the South Carolina entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match South Carolina's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of South Carolina's $110. Forming in South Carolina while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

Do I need a South Carolina sales-tax permit before my first sale through Etsy?

Not for your Etsy orders themselves. South Carolina charges a 6% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own South Carolina registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in South Carolina or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year.

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Etsy verification with a South Carolina LLC

What Etsy asks for at signup, and which South Carolina LLC documents satisfy each requirement.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.

A South Carolina LLC is generally eligible for Etsy verification — you will need to provide your Articles of Organization, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in South Carolina blocks approval, and nothing about it guarantees approval either: the final call is Etsy's.

Etsy requires sellers using Etsy Payments to complete identity and tax verification before receiving payouts. For a South Carolina LLC registered as a business (not a disregarded entity), Etsy collects the entity name as it appears on your Articles of Organization, the legal address, the EIN or other taxpayer number, and verifies this information against the IRS database. Etsy also requires a government photo ID and selfie via its identity-verification partner Persona, plus a bank account linked to receive Etsy Payments disbursements.

In South Carolina the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $110. South Carolina does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Etsy review. Because South Carolina names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Etsy asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

South Carolina has 31,507 solo retail trade businesses with no employees, averaging $61,289 in annual receipts (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics (NES), 2023).

Not legal advice: Verification requirements change, and so do South Carolina's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Etsy, and current filing rules with the South Carolina filing office, before you file. Etsy's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and South Carolina's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Etsy requires, and how a South Carolina LLC meets each

Requirement	How your South Carolina LLC satisfies it
LLC entity name verified against IRS	Use the exact LLC name as South Carolina recorded it on your Articles of Organization; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)	Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of South Carolina.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification	Complete the tax interview. A South Carolina LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity South Carolina LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your South Carolina filings. South Carolina names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements	Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your South Carolina Articles of Organization.

South Carolina-specific things to watch

South Carolina names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Etsy's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records — you still upload a government ID for each owner. (South Carolina requires managers to be listed on the Articles of Organization when the LLC is manager-managed, a public record.)

South Carolina sales tax & nexus rules for Etsy sellers

South Carolina charges a 6% state sales-tax rate, and like every state with a sales tax it has a marketplace-facilitator law — Etsy collects and remits South Carolina sales tax on your marketplace orders for you. You still need your own South Carolina registration if you also sell off-marketplace (your own site, invoices) and either have physical presence in South Carolina — an in-state location, inventory, or employees — or cross the state's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year.

South Carolina has no transaction count threshold — only the $100,000 revenue trigger. The state's 6% rate is supplemented by local taxes of up to 3% in some counties. South Carolina does not generally tax services or SaaS, which simplifies compliance for technology companies. Register through MyDORWAY, the South Carolina Department of Revenue's online portal.

How to verify your South Carolina LLC on Etsy

LLC entity name verified against IRS. Use the exact LLC name as South Carolina recorded it on your Articles of Organization; it must match your bank account holder name.
Employer Identification Number (EIN). Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool) — independent of South Carolina.
Taxpayer information and IRS verification. Complete the tax interview. A South Carolina LLC owned by US persons typically submits a W-9 using its EIN; non-US owners of a disregarded-entity South Carolina LLC generally use a W-8 form instead.
Government photo ID and selfie (via Persona). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your South Carolina filings. South Carolina names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
Bank account for Etsy Payments disbursements. Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your South Carolina Articles of Organization.

Non-US founders with South Carolina LLCs

Non-US sellers can use Etsy Payments in supported countries, but a South Carolina LLC's seller account must be linked to a US bank account or an eligible payment method. Non-US beneficial owners of a South Carolina LLC must still complete identity verification via Persona with a valid government ID.

Frequently Asked Questions

: If you have an EIN and file taxes as a business entity (not a disregarded entity), register as a business. Etsy then verifies the entity name and EIN against IRS records, so the name has to match your South Carolina Articles of Organization. A single-member South Carolina LLC taxed as a disregarded entity can register as an individual and provide an SSN or ITIN.
: Etsy withholds payouts until verification is complete, whichever state the shop's LLC comes from. If you miss the deadline shown in your Shop Manager dashboard, you have 90 days before the shop may be closed.
: South Carolina charges $110 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. South Carolina does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Etsy review. Etsy charges nothing for verification itself, so the $110 filing fee and South Carolina's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a South Carolina entity.
: Etsy does not check where you live, only that the South Carolina entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match South Carolina's record. The catch is not Etsy, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of South Carolina's $110. Forming in South Carolina while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Not for your Etsy orders themselves. South Carolina charges a 6% state rate and, like every sales-tax state, has a marketplace-facilitator law that makes Etsy collect and remit it for you. You need your own South Carolina registration once you also sell off-marketplace and either have physical presence in South Carolina or cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year.