South Carolina SCDES
South Carolina environmental lab certification, SCDES and R.61-81.
Which South Carolina office certifies your lab, what Regulation 61-81 requires, how out-of-state labs qualify through an equivalent program, and where your calibration criteria come from.
At a glance
How environmental lab certification works in South Carolina.
South Carolina is not a NELAP state. One office certifies labs across program areas under a single state regulation, R.61-81, and has done so under the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services since July 1, 2024.
State program (non-NELAP)
- Program
- Office of Environmental Laboratory Certification, South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES). SCDES was created effective July 1, 2024, when DHEC was restructured under 2023 S.C. Act 60.
- Regulation
- Regulation 61-81, State Environmental Laboratory Certification Program, effective January 1, 1981, and amended to reflect the restructuring of DHEC with non-substantive changes (State Register, May 23, 2025)
- Who needs it
- R.61-81 Section E requires certification before the Department will accept data for any parameter required by the state Safe Drinking Water Act, Pollution Control Act, Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste rules. Its scope also names air, wastewater and bioassays.
- Program areas
- The SCDES application lists Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, Solid and Hazardous Waste, and Shellfish Waters and Meats parameters. Certification is issued for the evaluated parameters.
- Methods
- Labs must use EPA-approved methodologies or other methods specifically approved by SCDES, and organic parameters are listed by method and analyte.
- Out-of-state labs
- Eligible if certified under an equivalent program, as determined by the Certification Officer, with a notarized copy of the certificate. Labs in states without an equivalent program may be evaluated for a fee.
- NELAP status
- Not a NELAP accreditation body as of October 2026. R.61-81 does not mention NELAP; reciprocity turns on an equivalent program.
The accreditation cycle
The R.61-81 certification cycle.
The steps below summarize Section G of R.61-81 and the SCDES proficiency testing requirements. Your certificate and SCDES correspondence govern the specifics for your lab.
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Apply by parameter
Submit the SCDES application for the parameters and methods you report, with the documentation checklists for your method types. Organic parameters are listed by method and analyte.
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On-site evaluation
After the application is reviewed, an on-site evaluation is scheduled, and certification is issued for the evaluated parameters. Further on-site evaluations may occur during the certification period, with advance notice.
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Proficiency testing
At least one performance audit sample per parameter each year where technically feasible (R.61-81 G(2)(a)). SCDES requires PT for each certified method, with acceptable WS and WP results received from the PT vendor by December 31 each year.
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Three-year renewal
Labs are evaluated for renewal every three years. For in-state labs, the renewal on-site evaluation is scheduled about two to three months before the certificate expires.
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
R.61-81 does not set calibration criteria of its own. Labs certify to EPA-approved methods, so the acceptance criteria come from the method version on the certificate, and the evaluator asks the same questions any program would.
A range that brackets what you report
The lowest standard should sit at or below your reporting limit and the highest at or above the top concentration you report. Results outside the calibrated range need to be qualified.
Error at the low end, not r² alone
A correlation coefficient of 0.999 can still hide a low standard that back-calculates 30 percent off. Auditors look at relative error, especially at the lowest levels.
Records that rebuild the curve
Raw responses, the model and weighting used, any excluded points with the reason, and the verification that followed. An auditor should be able to reconstruct every initial calibration from the record.
The certified method sets the criteria
R.61-81 has no calibration rule. Labs must use EPA-approved methods or methods SCDES specifically approves, organics are certified by method and analyte, and Section F has the Department inform labs of requirements for methodology, quality control and records keeping.
Source: R.61-81 Section F; SCDES application instructions, DES 2802
Method versions matter. When the office incorporated SW-846 Update VI, Phase II in 2019, labs certified for 8260B and 8270D had to update SOPs for 8260D and 8270E, which carry updated initial calibration and calibration verification acceptance criteria.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for a South Carolina assessment?
Tick what your lab could show an auditor today. Nothing you select is saved or sent anywhere.
6Checks to work through
Select each item your lab could show an auditor today.
A self-assessment to help you prepare, not a compliance determination.
South Carolina specifics
One office, one regulation, every program area.
South Carolina keeps lab certification in a single program. The Office of Environmental Laboratory Certification moved to the new South Carolina Department of Environmental Services when DHEC was restructured on July 1, 2024. SCDES then amended R.61-81 to reflect the restructuring, describing the changes as non-substantive, and the regulation’s history lists a State Register entry dated May 23, 2025.
Out-of-state labs qualify through their home program. R.61-81 accepts certification under an equivalent program, as the Certification Officer determines, and the SCDES application states that a parameter not on the home state certificate cannot be approved. The SCDES renewal page states that an out-of-state lab’s certificate follows the expiration date of its certifying authority.
Certification is tied to the method. The application asks labs to name the EPA-approved method for each parameter, and the 2024 SCDES proficiency testing requirements state that results for one method cannot be substituted for another. A curve built to the wrong method version is a curve built to the wrong criteria.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for a South Carolina evaluation.
WLTR independently reviews the calibration your instrument software produced. Your analyst still makes the final call. What changes is that the evidence is complete, consistent across analysts, and ready before the auditor asks for it.
- Each analyte reviewed one at a time in the instrument software.
- The model and weighting are whatever the batch was processed with.
- r² is the number most people look at, even though it does not measure error at the low end.
- QA signs off without an independent check on the curve.
- Every analyte and every candidate model side by side in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard.
- Diagnostics run automatically and the best fit curve is identified, with the reasons recorded.
- Relative error at every level, including the lowest standard, shown on one screen.
- A traceable record your QA manager can review, sign and hand to an SCDES evaluator.
See how your own ICAL data looks when every analyte and model is laid out for review.
Questions
South Carolina accreditation FAQs
Is South Carolina a NELAP state?
No. SCDES is not on TNI’s list of NELAP accreditation bodies as of October 2026. South Carolina certifies labs under its own regulation, R.61-81.
Who certifies environmental labs in South Carolina?
The Office of Environmental Laboratory Certification at the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, under Regulation 61-81. The office moved from DHEC to SCDES on July 1, 2024.
Does South Carolina offer reciprocity to out-of-state labs?
Yes. Under R.61-81 Section L, labs certified under an equivalent program, as determined by the Certification Officer, may be eligible after submitting a notarized copy of the certificate. Labs from states without an equivalent program may be evaluated for a fee.
How often is certification renewed?
R.61-81 states that labs are evaluated for renewal every three years. Labs must also analyze at least one performance audit sample per parameter each year where technically feasible.
Does South Carolina have its own calibration rule?
No. R.61-81 sets no calibration criteria. Labs must use EPA-approved methods or methods SCDES specifically approves, so the calibration criteria come from the certified method.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- SCDES, Environmental Laboratory Certification (opens in a new tab)
- SCDES, Regulation 61-81, State Environmental Laboratory Certification Program (opens in a new tab)
- R.61-81 Section G, certification (Justia, secondary copy) (opens in a new tab)
- SCDES, application instructions (DES 2802) (opens in a new tab)
- SCDES, Proficiency Testing Requirements (2024) (opens in a new tab)
- SCDES, Certification Renewal (opens in a new tab)
- SCDES, notice of proposed amendments to R.61-81 (opens in a new tab)
- TNI, NELAP accreditation bodies (opens in a new tab)
This page summarizes public program information to help labs prepare. Requirements change, and the agency’s current rules and guidance always take precedence. WLTR is not affiliated with or endorsed by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your South Carolina ICALs the way an evaluator will.
Bring a recent initial calibration. We will walk you through every analyte and candidate model in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard, the best fit, and the record your QA manager would sign.
Request a demoHow the methodology works
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