Sulphur is located in the third period and group 16. The general electronic configuration of group 16 is [tex]ns^{2} np^{4}[/tex] therefore the maximum number of valency electrons in group 16 is 6. The electronic configuration of sulphur is [Ne] [tex]3s^{2} 3p^{4}3d^{0}[/tex]. Sulphur has six valency electrons whereas sulphur can have more than eight electrons in its valency shell as it have an empty d-shell electrons can accumulate in the empty d-shell. The complete d-shell and the [tex]P_{z}[/tex] orbital will be empty. As each orbital can accept 2 electrons, sulphur can have 12 valency electrons in its valency shell.
