South Carolina Building Codes Council

Twenty-four (24) hours of approved continuing education are required to be completed for every two-year registration cycle. Per SC Code of Regulations 8-150, if the first period of registration is less than twenty-four (24) months, continuing education required for the first registration renewal must be based on the following:

1. For registrations issued one (1) to four (4) months before expiration, no hours.

   B. For registrations issued four (4) to eight (8) months before expiration, four (4) hours.

   C. For registrations issued eight (8) to twelve (12) months before expiration, eight (8) hours.

   D. For registrations issued twelve (12) to sixteen (16) months before expiration, twelve (12) hours.

   E. For registrations issued sixteen (16) to twenty (20) months before expiration, sixteen (16) hours.

   F. For registrations issued twenty (20) to twenty-four (24) months before expiration, twenty (20) hours.

   G. For each subsequent registration, a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours will be required.

Continuing education courses must come from the List of Approved Courses in order for registrants to receive credit.

Registrants seeking to get approval for a course must submit the Course Attendance Registration Form prior to the course registration date. Additional information can be found in the Reimbursement section below.

One (1) hour of continuing education shall be awarded for each hour of active participation in any course, seminar, workshop, session or other training medium approved by Council.

ICC examinations passed during the licensing cycle may count as one continuing education credit hour. Each licensee seeking continuing education credit for successfully passing one or more ICC examinations must submit proof of his or her examination result(s) to the Council to receive credit at contact.bcc@llr.sc.gov.

Continuing education accrued to qualify for registration reinstatement shall not count towards the required continuing education for the new registration cycle.

Proof of continuing education is by audit at the discretion of the Council. Registrants are responsible for keeping record of completed, approved continuing education hours to provide to the Council upon request.

The Council, by majority vote, may alter or waive any continuing education requirements during a state of emergency.

A registrant experiencing physical disability, illness or other extenuating circumstances may apply for waiver of continuing education requirements on a Council-approved form with supporting documentation. Such request for a waiver is subject to review and approval by the Council or its designated representative.

Self-paced Online Courses

Self-paced online Continuing Education (CE) courses from the approved course list may be used for up to twelve (12) hours per two-year registration cycle, per the Council's decision on August 17, 2021.

One correspondence or home study course approved for continuing education, excluding code books, will be eligible for payment by the Council. Approved correspondence or home study courses are limited to one per jurisdiction and will be ordered and purchased by the Council, in the name of the building official.

Continuing education courses will be reevaluated periodically to ensure quality and applicability of the information.

Prerequisites for Reimbursement

• Registrants must have an active registration in code enforcement to seek reimbursement of Continuing Education costs from the Council.
• Continuing education that is not approved in advance by the Council will not be eligible for reimbursement. Council staff must receive the Course Attendance Registration Form requesting to attend the course prior to the course registration date. Approved requests will be forwarded to the course provider with the understanding that the Council will pay for the advance registration fee. Any additional or late fees must be paid by the attendee/jurisdiction.
• Courses must be selected from the List of Approved Courses in order to be eligible for continuing education credit and reimbursement.

Requirements

In order to receive reimbursement for a course, you must submit the completed Payment Reimbursement Request Form, with a paid receipt, to Council staff within LLR's fiscal year, which ends on June 30 of each year. After the current fiscal year has passed, reimbursement will no longer be available.

Completed reimbursement forms may be submitted to contact.bcc@llr.sc.gov.

The Council may limit payment of continuing education to a maximum of 12 hours per registrant per year; however, no more than the required 24 hours will be eligible for reimbursement.

The Council may establish a maximum payment per credit hour. For courses with a higher cost per hour, the costs in excess of the per-hour maximum, must be paid by the attendee/jurisdiction. As of November 16, 2021, the following is approved for maximum payment per credit hour:

$30/per CE hour; $180 maximum per day for 6 hours

Individuals or companies that wish to have a course approved for use as continuing education for building codes enforcement officers must complete the Request for Course Approval Form and attach the below documentation. To qualify for continuing education credit, a course must be approved before presentation to registrants. Changes to an approved course will require that a new request for course approval be submitted to the Council.

1. Course Outline: A complete course outline to include an overall course summary, which should include detailed information about the proposed subject matter and the benefit the course will provide to the target audience.
2. Instructor/Moderator Qualifications: Submit a bio for all course instructors or moderators to include:
   1. Name
   2. Current title or position
   3. For structured courses, experience in the course subject matter; or for in-house training, proof of a Building Official Registration, Commercial Registration or Single Discipline Registration in the field being taught (individuals registered in the Limited or Provisional classifications will not be recognized as instructors or moderators).

Providers will be contacted by Council staff prior to the start of each new registration cycle, beginning on July 1st, to determine if approved courses are still being offered and should be carried over to the new cycle, or removed from the list of approved courses. Providers that do not respond to the Council's request for verification of courses will have them automatically removed from the approved courses list.

Types of Courses:

Continuing education courses may be submitted in one of two formats: Structured Course or In-house Training. Structured Course means a formal course, which may be presented to registrants in one of the three formats below. When completing the Request for Course Approval Form, please select all formats that apply.

1. In-person: course is offered in a classroom setting with an instructor/moderator present.
2. Live Webinar: course has various elements of live instructor/moderator interaction throughout.
3. Self-paced Online: course must be less than four (4) credit hours and the course provider must have mechanisms in place to assess registrant participation.

For structured courses, the instructor or provider is fully responsible for certifying the attendance of each registrant in the manner prescribed by the Council below under Course Verification.

In-house Training means informal training of a technical nature approved by the Council and given by a building inspection department or entity by a member (moderator) of that department; or an entity that holds a Building Official Registration, Commercial Registration or Single Discipline Registration in the field being taught. Two or more building inspection departments or entities may conduct in-house training as a joint project. For in-house training, the moderator is fully responsible for certifying the attendance of each registrant in a manner prescribed by the Council below under Course Verification.

In-house training must be of an instructive nature and must reference specific building codes sections, customarily accepted construction practices, plan review, inspection techniques or alternate methods or materials acceptance and code relevance. Debates, personal philosophy, or individual theory will not be given credit.

Course Content:

A course must provide information within a license category that is useful to its target audience on a day-to-day basis. Information to assist registrants in obtaining certification in any of the registration classifications may be acceptable. Courses may focus on code provisions, code administration, plan review, inspection techniques, treatment or testing of materials, the use of referenced standards, etc.

Information that is related to the registration categories, but is of no practical use will not be considered for credit. Providers associated with manufacturing, representing, promoting or selling a specific product, service, component or system must provide course information in generic form. Courses containing logos, advertising, or any information that promotes a product, service, component or system will not be approved. Information that is deemed to potentially influence a code enforcement officer to give preference to or otherwise provide an unfair advantage of one product, service, component or system over another will not be approved.

Course Credit:

Course credit will be allowed in increments of one-half credit for each 30 minutes and one credit for each 60 minutes of educational time. Segments of courses longer than 30 minutes must extend to the next full 30-minute increment before credit will be allowed (i.e., 30 to 59 minutes = one half credit hour; 60 to 89 minutes = one credit hour).

Course credit is only allowed for the actual time allotted to education. Introductions longer than five minutes, breaks, lunches, etc. will not qualify as educational time. Credit will not be allowed for courses less than 30 minutes in total length. The maximum allowable education time per day is limited to six (6) hours.

Course Verification:

The instructor or moderator must verify the attendance of each registrant who completes a course by offering a certificate, letter, or the Council approved Continuing Education Verification Form.

If the provider elects to create a verification form, the document must contain the name of the registrant, name of the course, date the course was given, number of hours approved by the Council, and the signature of the instructor. All information, including the registrants name must be on the course verification document prior to the instructor's signature.

Appeal:

A provider whose course is not approved may appeal the decision to the Council, provided the appeal is in writing and received by Council staff within 10 business days after the decision is rendered.

Course Evaluation:

A course participant has the right to challenge the value of the course content or the ability of the instructor. A challenge must be submitted in writing to the Council and must state the reason for which the allegation is based.

Courses may be monitored by Council staff for content and consistency, with or without notice.