South Carolina Dog Bite Law

How dog bite liability works in South Carolina

South Carolina dropped the one-bite rule in 1985. In Hossenlopp v. Cannon the Supreme Court adopted what it called the "California rule," a quasi-strict liability that needs no proof the owner knew of a vicious propensity². The General Assembly wrote the same rule into Section 47-3-110 in 1986, and the Court of Appeals has said the statute "codified the holding" of Hossenlopp^1,2.

The statute reaches further than many strict-liability laws. It covers a person "bitten or otherwise attacked," not only bites, and it names two defendants: the owner and the "person having the dog in the person's care or keeping"¹. In Harris v. Anderson County Sheriff's Office (2009), a veterinary technologist mauled by a boarded police dog was allowed to sue the dog's owner, the sheriff's office, and the Supreme Court refused to create a kennel-worker exception³. South Carolina has no veterinarian's rule.

The limits are narrow. The victim must be in a public place or lawfully on private property, which the statute defines as there by express or implied invitation or to perform a legal duty, such as a mail carrier¹. Provocation that was the proximate cause of the attack defeats the claim, and a 2013 amendment exempts police dogs only when six conditions are met, never for a bystander¹.

Landlords sit outside the statute. A landlord who does not care for or keep a tenant's dog is not liable, even knowing the dog is dangerous^4,5. Compare South Carolina with its neighbors on the national table: North Carolina imposes strict liability only for dogs already found dangerous, and Georgia uses a narrower statute.

The South Carolina dog bite statute

If a person is bitten or otherwise attacked by a dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the dog owner's own property, the owner or the person having the dog in their care or keeping is liable for the damages suffered¹. A person is lawfully on private property when there by express or implied invitation of the owner, a lawful tenant or a resident, or to perform a duty imposed by state, local or federal law, including postal rules¹. The statute does not apply when the victim provoked or harassed the dog and that was the proximate cause of the attack, or to a qualifying police dog¹. The injured person may sue the owner even while someone else was keeping the dog³.

• Law: S.C. Code Ann. § 47-3-110 (Liability for attacks by dogs), enacted 1986; last changed 2013 (Act No. 62, eff. June 12, 2013: police-dog exemption with six conditions)
• Injuries covered: Any injury the dog causes (bites, knock-downs, chases)
• Where: Public places, or lawfully on private property
• Who is liable: The owner, or a keeper or harborer
• Damages: All damages, under the ordinary rules

Other ways to prove liability

Before 1985, South Carolina required proof that the dog had a dangerous propensity the owner knew or should have known about². Hossenlopp v. Cannon, 285 S.C. 367, 329 S.E.2d 438 (1985), replaced that rule with quasi-strict liability, but kept a requirement of ownership and control of the dog or the premises when the injury happens on private property². Negligence remains available alongside the statute: in Nesbitt the jury heard both negligence and § 47-3-110 claims against the owners². A keeper who breaks a county or city ordinance that adopted the state's running-at-large or vicious-dog penalties commits a misdemeanor, which can support a negligence per se argument¹. The statute is the main route for a lawful visitor; common law matters for trespassers and claims against people who are not owners or keepers.

Defenses owners raise

Provocation

No statutory liability if the person attacked provoked or harassed the dog and the provocation was the proximate cause of the attack¹. Whether a visitor provoked the dog is a jury question; in Nesbitt v. Lewis there was no evidence of provocation and the statute "mandates awarding" damages².

Trespassing

The statute protects only people in a public place or lawfully on private property¹. A visitor who is at least a licensee, present with the owner's consent, is lawfully there². A trespasser falls outside § 47-3-110 and must rely on common law, under which a landowner owes a trespasser a much narrower duty.

Police dogs

Since June 12, 2013 a police dog is exempt only if it acted in direct compliance with a certified handler's lawful command, was certified to Law Enforcement Training Council standards, the agency had a written canine policy that was followed, the force was not excessive, and the victim was not a third-party bystander¹.

Veterinarians and dog professionals

No veterinarian's or kennel-worker exception. In Harris v. Anderson County Sheriff's Office (2009), the Supreme Court held that a clinic employee bitten by a boarded dog could sue its owner and said any such exception is for the Legislature³.

Other defense

Not the owner or keeper. A relative who part-owns the house but does not care for, keep or control the dog is not liable, under the statute or at common law^2,4.

Shared fault

Modified comparative fault (barred at 51%) (Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991)).

For claims arising on or after July 1, 1991, a plaintiff in a negligence action may recover if their negligence "is not greater than that of the defendant"; damages are reduced by the plaintiff's share and a plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing⁶. This is court-made, not a statute. Section 47-3-110 names only provocation that proximately caused the attack as a defense, and no South Carolina appellate court has decided whether a victim's ordinary carelessness that falls short of provocation reduces a statutory award¹. In a negligence claim it does.

How the five fault systems compare: provocation, trespass and shared fault.

South Carolina dog bite statute of limitations

3 years (S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5))

An action for any injury to the person must be brought within three years⁷. Damage to property, such as a pet hurt by a dog, also has a three-year period under § 15-3-530(4)⁷. A claim against a state agency, county or city under the Tort Claims Act must be filed within two years, or three years if a verified claim was first filed with the agency⁸.

Children. Time while the child is under 18 is not counted, but the deadline cannot be extended to more than one year after the 18th birthday, so a child has until the later of three years after the bite or age 19⁷. The same rule applies to Tort Claims Act cases^7,8.

Work out your own date with the dog bite claim checker, or compare deadlines in every state.

Damages

The statute makes the owner or keeper liable for "the damages suffered," with no cap: medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, scarring and other actual damages¹. Punitive damages require clear and convincing proof of willful, wanton or reckless conduct; Nesbitt reversed an award against owners whose dogs were kept in a fenced yard and left open whether punitive damages are ever available under § 47-3-110². Where allowed, punitive damages are generally capped at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000⁹. A claim against a government entity is capped at $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence, with no punitive damages⁸. A person convicted under the dangerous-animal article must also pay the victim's medical expenses¹.

Landlords and property owners

South Carolina is one of the clearest no-liability states for landlords. In Mitchell v. Bazzle (1991) the Court of Appeals refused to hold a landlord liable for a tenant's dog even where the landlord knew of its vicious propensities and could end the lease, and in Fair v. United States (1999) the Supreme Court held that the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act's "fit and habitable" duty covers only the physical premises, not a tenant's dog⁴. The Supreme Court answered that question for a dog bite on leased premises at a military base⁵. Bruce v. Durney (2000) applied the same rule to a parent who let his daughter's family live on his land: he did not care for, keep or control the dog, so he was not liable under § 47-3-110 either⁴. A landlord who takes over the care and keeping of the dog can be liable as a keeper^1,3.

Insurance

We found no South Carolina statute that limits insurers' use of dog breed in homeowners or renters underwriting. The owner of an animal that meets the state's "dangerous animal" definition must register it with county law enforcement and show liability insurance or a surety bond of at least $50,000¹.

More on coverage, breed exclusions and renters policies: dog bite insurance.

Bitten at the vet, groomer or kennel

Many states bar or limit claims by veterinarians, groomers and kennel staff bitten by dogs in their care. South Carolina does not. In Harris v. Anderson County Sheriff's Office, 381 S.C. 357, 673 S.E.2d 423 (2009), a police dog with a history of attacks was boarded at a veterinary clinic while its handler was on vacation and severely injured a veterinary technologist³. The trial court held that only the clinic, as keeper, could be liable. The Supreme Court reversed: the statute's "owner ... or other person having the dog in his care or keeping" lets the injured person sue the owner even while someone else is keeping the dog³. It declined to adopt a California-style "kennel worker exception," calling that a policy choice for the Legislature, and none has been enacted^1,3. The 2013 amendment that followed exempts police dogs on duty only under six conditions; a boarded dog at a clinic is not working¹. Whether the worker's employer, as keeper, also bears liability and how fault is split between owner and keeper were left open³.

Bite reports and quarantine

Every physician who treats a bite by a pet or other animal must report it to the county health department by the end of the next working day¹⁰. If no physician treats the bite, the bitten adult, or the parent or guardian of a bitten child, must report it by the end of the next working day¹⁰. The Department of Public Health repeats that duty on its reporting page¹². The South Carolina Department of Public Health takes reports through county offices, an after-hours line and an online form^11,12.

The county health department serves notice on the owner of a dog, cat or ferret that bit or attacked a person to quarantine it for at least 10 days, at the owner's expense, on the owner's premises or at a shelter or other place named in the notice¹⁰. A veterinarian or rabies control officer may examine the animal at any time, daily if desired, and no one may obstruct that¹⁰. Refusing to comply is a misdemeanor tried in magistrate's court¹⁰.

Dangerous-dog hearings, euthanasia orders and criminal penalties are covered on South Carolina dangerous dog law.

Questions about South Carolina dog bite law

Is South Carolina a one-bite state?

No. The Supreme Court abandoned the one-bite rule in Hossenlopp v. Cannon in 1985, and § 47-3-110, enacted in 1986, makes the owner or keeper liable without any proof the dog had bitten before or that the owner knew it was dangerous^1,2. The victim must have been in a public place or lawfully on private property and must not have provoked the dog¹.

Does the law cover a dog that knocks someone down without biting?

The statute applies when a person is "bitten or otherwise attacked"¹. An attack that knocks someone down is covered even with no bite. A dog that injures someone through play, such as jumping up in greeting, is less clearly an attack, and no published South Carolina appellate decision found for this page settles that; such cases can be brought in negligence^1,2.

Can I sue the owner if a dog sitter or kennel was watching the dog?

Yes. The Supreme Court held in Harris (2009) that a person injured by a dog may sue the owner even when the dog was in another person's care or keeping, and the keeper is also liable under the statute³.

My child was bitten by the neighbor's dog in a rental house. Is the landlord liable?

Usually not. South Carolina courts hold that a landlord is not liable for a tenant's dog, even when the landlord knew it was dangerous and could have ended the lease^4,5. The claim runs against the dog's owner or keeper, and the child has until the later of three years after the bite or the 19th birthday to sue^1,7.

What if a police dog bit me?

Since 2013 a police dog is exempt from § 47-3-110 only if all six statutory conditions are met, including that the handler's command was lawful, the force was not excessive and the person bitten was not a bystander¹. A claim against a sheriff's office or city goes under the Tort Claims Act, with a two-year deadline (three if a verified claim is filed first) and a $300,000 per-person cap⁸.

Official contacts

Sources

1. S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 3 (Animals: §§ 47-3-20, -50, -110, -710 to -770), South Carolina Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Nesbitt v. Lewis, 335 S.C. 441, 517 S.E.2d 11 (Ct. App. 1999), Op. No. 2978, South Carolina Judicial Branch. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Harris v. Anderson County Sheriff's Office, 381 S.C. 357, 673 S.E.2d 423 (2009), Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Bruce v. Durney, 341 S.C. 563, 534 S.E.2d 720 (Ct. App. 2000), Op. No. 3208, South Carolina Judicial Branch. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Fair v. United States, Op. No. 24905 (S.C. Feb. 22, 1999), South Carolina Judicial Branch. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. Davenport v. Cotton Hope Plantation, Op. No. 24850 (S.C. 1998), quoting Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co. (1991), South Carolina Judicial Branch. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. S.C. Code Title 15, Chapter 3 (§§ 15-3-40, 15-3-530), South Carolina Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
8. S.C. Code Title 15, Chapter 78, Tort Claims Act (§§ 15-78-110, -120), South Carolina Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. S.C. Code Title 15, Chapter 32 (§ 15-32-530, punitive damages), South Carolina Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. S.C. Code Title 47, Chapter 5, Rabies Control (§§ 47-5-90, -100, -200), South Carolina Legislature. Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Rabies, South Carolina Department of Public Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Rabies Contacts and Reporting, South Carolina Department of Public Health. Checked 17 October 2026.