(a) Amendments. A party may amend his pleading once as a matter of course at any time before or within 30 days after a responsive pleading is served or, if the pleading is one to which no responsive pleading is required and the action has not been placed upon the trial roster, he may so amend it at any time within 30 days after it is served. Otherwise a party may amend his pleading only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party; and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires and does not prejudice any other party. A party shall plead in response to an amended pleading within the time remaining for response to the original pleading or within fifteen days after service of the named amended pleading, whichever period may be the longer, unless the court otherwise orders.
Rule 15.Amended and supplemental pleadings
Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15 sets the deadlines and standards for amending a pleading, lets amendments relate back to the original filing date when they arise from the same conduct, and allows supplemental pleadings for events that happen after the case begins.
Full Text of Rule 15
(b) Amendments to Conform to the Evidence. When issues not raised by the pleadings are tried by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings. Such amendment of the pleadings as may be necessary to cause them to conform to the evidence and to raise these issues may be made upon motion of any party at any time, even after judgment; but failure so to amend does not affect the result of the trial of these issues. If evidence is objected to at the trial on the ground that it is not within the issues made by the pleadings, the court may allow the pleadings to be amended and shall do so freely when the presentation of the merits of the action will be subserved thereby and the objecting party fails to satisfy the court that the admission of such evidence would prejudice him in maintaining his action or defense upon the merits. The court shall upon motion grant a continuance reasonably necessary to enable the objecting party to meet such evidence. Upon allowing any such amendment or evidence the Court shall state in the record the reason or reasons for allowing the amendment or evidence. In the event the Court should try issues not raised by the pleadings, it shall state in the record all such issues tried and the reason therefor.
(c) Relation Back of Amendments. Whenever the claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleadings, the amendment relates back to the date of the original pleading.
An amendment changing the party against whom a claim is asserted relates back if the foregoing provision is satisfied and, within the period provided by law for commencing the action against him the party to be brought in by amendment (1) has received such notice of the institution of the action that he will not be prejudiced in maintaining his defense on the merits, and (2) knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action would have been brought against him.
(d) Supplemental Pleadings. Upon motion of a party the court may, upon reasonable notice and upon such terms as are just, permit him to serve a supplemental pleading setting forth transactions or occurrences or events which have happened since the date of the pleading sought to be supplemented, whether or not the original pleading is defective in its statement of a cause of action or defense. If the court deems it advisable that the adverse party plead thereto, it shall so order, specifying the time therefor.
Notes
Note: This Rule 15(a) is substantially the same as the Federal Rule, and preserves present State practice under Code §§ 15-13-910 and 15-13-920. The Rule increases the time to amend a pleading without court order from 20 to 30 days, and the time to plead in response to an amended pleading from 10 to 15 days. It also adds the requirement that the court not allow amendment prejudicial to another party, which is a statement of existing case law.
Note: This Rule 15(b) broadens the court's power to allow amendments to conform the pleadings to the evidence under Code § 15-13-920; but this is necessary if the philosophy of the Rules, that the pleadings must state the issues, is to be consistent. The Rule also circumscribes the use of amendment at late stages in a trial by requiring the court to grant continuance of the trial as necessary, and stating in the record the reasons for allowing the amendment.
Note: This Rule 15(c) is the same as the Federal Rule.
Note: This Rule 15(d) is the same as the Federal Rule. State practice since 1870 has followed this procedure. McClaslan v. Latimer, 17 S.C. 123 (1882); Francis Marion Hotel v. Chicco, 131 S.C. 344, 127 S.E. 436 (1924).
Plain-English Summary
Pleadings rarely stay fixed once a case gets moving. New facts turn up, theories sharpen, and Rule 15 gives parties room to adjust. Rule 15(a) grants an automatic right to amend once, without asking the court, within 30 days after a responsive pleading is served — or, if no response is required and the case hasn't been placed on the trial roster, within 30 days after the original pleading itself was served. Beyond that window, a party needs either the other side's written consent or the court's leave, which the rule directs judges to grant freely when justice calls for it and no other party would be prejudiced.
Rule 15(b) deals with a different problem: what happens when the evidence at trial strays from what the pleadings raised. If both sides try an issue by consent, even without formal amendment, the rule treats that issue as if it had been pleaded all along. A party can also move to amend the pleadings to match the evidence, even after judgment, and failure to make that motion doesn't undo the trial's result on those issues. If one side objects that evidence goes beyond the pleaded issues, the court can allow the amendment anyway, so long as the objecting party isn't unfairly prejudiced in presenting their case, and the court must grant a continuance if the objecting party needs time to respond to the new issue.
Rule 15(c) addresses timing: an amendment relates back to the date of the original pleading when the new claim or defense grows out of the same conduct, transaction, or occurrence already described. That matters most when a statute of limitations has run in the interim — relation back can save a claim that would otherwise be time-barred. The rule extends this even to amendments that swap in a new party, so long as that party got timely notice of the suit and knew, or should have known, that a mistake in identifying the proper party — not a lack of notice — is why they weren't named sooner.
Rule 15(d) rounds things out with supplemental pleadings, which cover events that happened after the original pleading was filed, rather than facts that existed all along. A party needs the court's permission to file one, and the court can require the other side to respond to it on a schedule the court sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a party have to amend a pleading without the court's permission?
Rule 15(a) gives a party 30 days after a responsive pleading is served, or, if no response is required, 30 days after the original pleading is served, as long as the case hasn't yet been placed on the trial roster.
What if the 30-day window has passed?
The party needs either the written consent of the opposing party or leave of court. Rule 15(a) directs the court to grant leave freely when justice requires it and the amendment won't prejudice another party.
What is relation back and why does it matter?
Relation back means an amended pleading is treated as if it had been filed on the date of the original pleading, so long as the new claim or defense arises from the same conduct, transaction, or occurrence. It can rescue a claim that would otherwise be barred by a statute of limitations that ran out between the original filing and the amendment.
Can an amendment change who the defendant is after the statute of limitations has run?
Rule 15(c) allows it if the new party received notice of the suit in time to avoid prejudice to their defense and knew, or should have known, that they would have been named originally but for a mistake about identity.
What happens when evidence at trial doesn't match the pleadings?
Under Rule 15(b), if the parties try the issue by consent, it's treated as though it had been raised in the pleadings all along. If one side objects, the court may still allow the pleadings to be amended and must give the objecting party a continuance if needed to meet the new evidence.
What is a supplemental pleading, and how is it different from an amended pleading?
A supplemental pleading, allowed under Rule 15(d) with the court's permission, adds transactions, occurrences, or events that happened after the original pleading was filed. An amendment, by contrast, changes or adds to what was already true when the pleading was filed.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: amending a complaintrelation backamended pleading deadlinesupplemental pleadingleave to amend