S.C. Code Ann. § 40-47-610: Licensure of practitioners of other states; educational and examination requirements.

(A) The board may license as a respiratory care practitioner, upon payment of the fee set by the board, an applicant who is a respiratory therapist or a respiratory therapy technician of another state, territory, or the District of Columbia, if the requirements were substantially equal to the requirements of this State as determined by the board;

(B) The committee initially shall waive the professional education and examination requirements and issue a license to any person who can demonstrate to the committee, through evidence verified under oath, that the person was employed as or actively performing the duties of a respiratory care practitioner in South Carolina in November and December of 1998; however, within three years of applying for initial licensure, the person must have complied with the educational and examination requirements provided for in Section 40-47-600. The applicants shall produce proof of high school graduation or the equivalent and shall apply within ninety days after public notification by the department.