Personal jurisdiction is the authority a court has to make legally enforceable orders related to a person or entity and the property of the person or entity, and usually arises when a person has been sued in a lawsuit. For a court to have personal jurisdiction, the person or entity generally (1) must be a resident of the state in which the court is located; (2) as a nonresident, must have initiated sufficient minimum contacts with the state in which the lawsuit is filed; or (3) must have agreed to be governed by the laws of the state (in a contract or website terms) in which the lawsuit is filed.

In South Carolina, personal jurisdiction refers to the power of a South Carolina court to bring a person or entity into its legal process and to make decisions that are binding upon them. For a South Carolina court to have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, the defendant must have sufficient connections to the state. This can be established if the defendant is a resident of South Carolina or if the nonresident defendant has engaged in activities that constitute 'minimum contacts' with the state, such as conducting business, owning property, or causing an event that led to the lawsuit within the state. Additionally, a person or entity can consent to the jurisdiction of South Carolina courts by agreeing to it in a contract, including website terms of service, or by appearing in court without contesting jurisdiction. The state's long-arm statute allows South Carolina courts to exercise jurisdiction over nonresidents in certain circumstances, provided that exercising jurisdiction complies with constitutional due process requirements.