South Carolina / State / 126th General Assembly, 2025-2026

2026 Act No. 211 (S.695) Enacted the South Carolina Safeguarding American Veterans’ Benefits Act

Catalog reconciledEnactedProgram createdScope changed

Signed 2026-05-19 · Takes effect 2026-05-19

Added Article 8 to Chapter 11, Title 25 at Sections 25-11-810, 25-11-820 and 25-11-840, and skipped 25-11-830 entirely. No person may receive compensation for preparing, advising, presenting or prosecuting a veterans benefits claim except as federal law permits; referral fees are barred except between licensed attorneys under a joint representation contract complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct; guaranteeing a specific benefit, level, percentage or amount is barred; upfront and nonrefundable fees are barred; any lawful fee must be in a written agreement signed before services, must be contingent on an increase in benefits awarded, and must not exceed five times the monthly increase or twelve thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is less, with any instalment plan interest free and no longer than twelve months. No compensation at all for a claim filed within the one-year presumptive period after release from active duty unless the veteran signs a waiver declining the free services available. A twelve-point font disclosure in prescribed words must be signed by the claimant and retained for a year after the relationship ends. Using a veteran’s own log-in credentials is prohibited, employing a medical provider to conduct a medical examination is prohibited, and anyone with access to veterans medical or financial information must pass an identity and criminal records check. Accredited representatives, agents and attorneys under 38 C.F.R. 14.629, attorneys handling VA medical care liens, and South Carolina veterans home employees are exempt. A violation is a misdemeanour with each benefits matter a separate offence, supports a South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act action, and can be enjoined by the Attorney General with civil penalties deposited into the Veterans’ Trust Fund. Tracked because the Code of Laws served by the Legislative Services Agency still ends Chapter 11 at Section 25-11-730, so the largest change to South Carolina veterans law in years is invisible to anyone reading the code rather than the ratified act, and because subsections (A) and (D) are in tension: (A) forbids any compensation federal law does not permit, while (D) prescribes a cap for a fee that (A) will usually forbid outside the accredited exemption.