**Exhibit 31.1  **

 

Rule13a-14(a) Certification of the Principal Executive Officer.

 

 

 

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| **Exhibit  31.1**                                                 |
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| Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of the Principal  Executive Officer. |
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| I,  R. Arthur Seaver, Jr., certify that:                          |
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| 1.                                                                | I  have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Southern First  Bancshares, Inc.; |
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| 2.                                                                | Based on my knowledge, this quarterly 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; |
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| 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; |
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| 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: |
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|                                                              | 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; |
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|                                                              | 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; |
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|                                                              | 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; and |
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|                                                              | d)  | 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 an annual report) that has materially affected, or is  reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control  over financial reporting; and |
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| 5.                                                                | The registrant’s other certifying officers 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): |
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|                                                              | 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; and |
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|                                                              | b)  | Any fraud, whether or not material, that  involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the  registrants’s internal control over financial reporting. |
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| Date: November 14, 2008                                           | By: | /s/ R. Arthur Seaver, Jr.                      |
|                                                              |   | R. Arthur Seaver, Jr. |
|                                                              |   | Chief Executive Officer |

 

 

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