Abstract Controlling the electrical properties of SiC requires knowledge of the nature and properties of extended defects. We have employed orthodox defect-selective etching and photo-etching methods to reveal typical and new structural defects in commercial SiC wafers. For photo-etching, the etch rate increases as the free carrier concentration decreases. The etch rate can be used to estimate the free carrier concentration with higher precision, and over a larger lateral and depth range than that accessed by Raman scattering. The logarithmic dependence of the etch rate on the free carrier concentration has been characterized.