Exhibit 31.1 Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of the Chief Executive Officer I, R. Arthur Seaver, Jr., chief executive officer, certify that:  1.
                           
                           
                           I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Southern First
                              Bancshares, Inc.2.
                           
                           
                           Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue
                              statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
                              necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
                              under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
                              the period covered by this report;3.
                           
                           
                           Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
                              information included in this report, fairly present in all material
                              respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
                              flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
                              report;4.
                           
                           
                           The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
                              establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
                              defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
                              control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
                              13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
                              disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
                              supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
                              registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
                              us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
                              which this report is being prepared;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
                              such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
                              our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
                              reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
                              statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
                              accepted accounting principles;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                              controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
                              about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures as
                              of the end of the period covered by this report based on such
                              evaluation; andd) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
                              control over financial reporting that occurred during the
                              registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
                              fiscal quarter in the case of this annual report) that has materially
                              affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
                              registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and5.
                           
                           
                           The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
                              on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
                              reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of
                              the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
                              equivalent functions):a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
                              or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are
                              reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
                              record, process, summarize and report financial information; andb) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
                              other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
                              internal control over financial reporting.   Date: March 5, 2013
                           
                           
                           By:
                           
                           
                           /s/R. Arthur Seaver, Jr.R. Arthur Seaver, Jr.Chief Executive Officer(principal executive officer)