South Carolina § 38-53-90 - Qualifications for licensure of professional bondsman, surety bondsman or runner.

§ 38-53-90. Qualifications for licensure of professional bondsman, surety bondsman or runner.

(A) Before a license is issued to an applicant permitting him to act as a professional bondsman or runner, the applicant shall furnish to the director or his designee a complete set of his fingerprints and a recent passport size full-face photograph in the manner prescribed by the director. Before a license is issued to a new or renewal applicant permitting him to act as a professional surety bondsman or runner, the applicant must undergo a state criminal records check, supported by his fingerprints, by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and a national criminal records check, supported by his fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The results of these criminal records checks must be reported by the department. The cost associated with the criminal history record must be borne by the applicant. The applicant's fingerprints must be certified by an authorized law enforcement officer.

(B) Before being issued the license, every applicant for a license as a professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner shall certify to the director that he:

(1) is eighteen years of age or older;

(2) is a resident of this State;

(3) is a person of good moral character and has not been convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude within the last ten years;

(4) has knowledge, training, or experience of sufficient duration and extent to satisfy reasonably the director or his designee that he possesses the competence necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a licensee.

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code SECTION 38-63-100 [1985 Act No. 189, SECTION 1]; recodified as SECTION 38-53-90 by 1987 Act No. 155, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 689; 1998 Act No. 425, SECTION 2; 2013 Act No. 67, SECTION 1, eff June 13, 2013.