S.C. Code Ann. § 47-9-380: Unlawful branding.

It is unlawful for any person to brand, or to cause to be branded, any livestock:

(1) With any brand unless it has been registered with and certified by the Secretary of State as his brand and has been recorded with the clerk of court in each county where he has livestock;

(2) With any brand which is registered, certified and recorded as the brand of another; or

(3) With any brand which has been abandoned or the registration of which has been canceled, unless the brand has thereafter been granted to him.