Payment Methods

Mail requests: Money order or cashier's check made payable to S.C. DHEC

Onsite customer service:

• Money order or cashier's check made payable to S.C. DHEC
• Credit and debit cards
• Cash (no bills larger than $50)

Records Search - $12 per Record Requested

We can search for birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. If we can locate the record you request, the search fee will pay for 1 certified copy. However, even when a record cannot be located, the search fee is nonrefundable.

Expedited Records Search - $17 per Record Requested

Effective October 1, 2023, an additional $5 expedite fee will be applied to all services with an expected turnaround time of 10 business days or less. Therefore, the cost for the initial copy and search will be $17 rather than $12. This includes on-site, online, and billable services. No expedite option is currently offered for requests sent to our office by mail.

Additional Copies - $3 per Copy

This is the fee you will be charged for additional copies of the same type of record involving the same person when ordered at the same time you make the original request.

Special Filing Fee -$15 per Record

We charge this special filing fee when a certificate is amended due to:

• Amendment affidavit
• Adoption
• Legitimation
• Paternity acknowledgment
• Parentage affidavit
• Court order, and
• For the establishment of delayed registrations.

Fee Authorization

DHEC is authorized by S.C. state statute to charge for the search of vital records and for other services, including the issuance of certified copies of birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. The fee amounts are outlined in SC Code of Regulations 61-19 Section 1300.

For more information, contact Constituent Services.