S.C. Code Ann. § 44-7-200 – Application for Certificate of Need

(A) An application for a Certificate of Need must be submitted to the department in a form established by regulation. The application must address all applicable standards and requirements set forth in departmental regulations, Project Review Criteria of the department, and the State Health Plan. The application must include the payment of a nonrefundable initial application fee of five hundred dollars. The department shall deduct this fee from the Certificate of Need filing fee which is payable in accordance with departmental regulations when the application is determined to be complete.
(B) Within twenty days before submission of an application, the applicant shall publish notification that an application is to be submitted to the department in a newspaper serving the area where the project is to be located for three consecutive days. The notification must contain a brief description of the scope and nature of the project. No application may be accepted for filing by the department unless accompanied by proof that publication has been made for three consecutive days within the prior twenty-day period and payment of the initial application fee has been received.
(C) Upon publication of this notice and until a contested case hearing is requested pursuant to Section 44-7-210:
1. (1) members of the board and persons appointed by the board to hear appeals from department staff decisions may not communicate directly or indirectly with any person in connection with the application; and
2. (2) no person shall communicate, or cause another to communicate, as to the merits of the application with members of the board and persons appointed by the board to hear appeals from department staff decisions.
  A person who violates this subsection is subject to the penalties provided in Section 1-23-360.
(D) After receipt of an application with proof of publication and payment of the initial application fee, the department shall publish in the State Register a notice that an application has been accepted for filing. Within thirty days of acceptance of the application, the department may request additional information as may be necessary to complete the application. The applicant has thirty days from the date of the request to submit the additional information. If the applicant fails to submit the requested information within the thirty-day period, the application is considered withdrawn.