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How to order a South Carolina birth certificate

Who holds it: State only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC). Any Vital Records office can issue for any county; births since 19151

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Fees
  3. Who may order and what is restricted
  4. More details
  5. Related records in South Carolina
  6. How South Carolina handles it
  7. Birth certificates in South Carolina counties with a full guide
  8. Official warnings
  9. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  10. Sources

Fee

$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy2

Who may order

The person named (18+), parents named, legal guardian or legal representative; immediate family if the registrant is deceased, with a certified death record1

How to search and order

By mail
S.C. DPH Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171; $12 standard processing about 4 weeks, requires photo ID1
Online
Approved online vendors only: GoCertificates ($8.70 vendor processing fee) or VitalChek online ($8.75 vendor processing fee), each with the $17 state expedited search fee and $3 per additional copy; VitalChek by phone (1-877-284-1008) adds $12.85. Only the person named may order online or by phone1

Fees

Amendment fee
$15 special filing fee per record2
Statutory fee basis
Fee set by DPH; cannot exceed the cost of services3
Vendor fee
VitalChek: $8.75 processing fee online; $12.85 for phone orders. GoCertificates: $8.701

Who may order and what is restricted

Public access
Records become viewable by the public 100 years after birth3

More details

Issued by statute
Issued only by the state registrar, only to the registrant if of legal age, a parent or guardian, or a legal representative3
Additional copies
$3 per copy of the same record ordered at the same time2
Death certificates: who holds it
State: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county4
Death certificates: fee
$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy4

How South Carolina handles it

  • Since Nov. 17, 2025 the Richland County Vital Records office no longer does same-day amendments; most in-person amendments at regional offices take 1-2 business days2

Birth certificates in South Carolina counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Aiken County———
Anderson CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC)5—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy6
Beaufort CountySC DPH Vital Records, Beaufort County office7—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy8
Berkeley County———
Charleston CountyState-only record (SC DPH); local DPH Vital Records office at 3685 Rivers Ave., North Charleston9——
Cherokee CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue; births since 191510—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy11
Dorchester CountyState only: SC Department of Public Health Vital Records12——
Florence CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records; births since 191513——
Greenville CountySC Department of Public Health Vital Records - Greenville County office14——
Horry CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (Horry office, 1931 Industrial Park Road, Conway)15——
Lancaster CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC)16—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy17
Lexington CountyState-held: SC Department of Public Health Vital Records issues birth certificates for SC births since 191518——
Oconee CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC)19—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy20
Pickens CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC)21——
Richland CountySC DPH Vital Records, Richland County office22——
Spartanburg CountyState only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC)23—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy24
Sumter CountySC DPH Vital Records, Sumter County office25—$12 search incl. one certified copy; $17 expedited26
York CountySC DPH Vital Records, York County office27——

For any other county, see the county list on the South Carolina guide.

Official warnings

  • DPH: use only its approved vendors for vital records; orders from other websites may not be processed1

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any South Carolina office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: birth certificates in every state. Everything else in South Carolina: South Carolina public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  2. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  3. SC Code Title 44 Chapter 63, Vital StatisticsSC Legislaturechecked November 4, 2026
  4. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  5. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  6. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  7. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  8. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  9. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  10. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 7, 2026
  11. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 7, 2026
  12. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  13. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  14. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  15. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  16. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  17. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  18. Birth CertificatesSouth Carolina Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  19. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  20. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  21. Sc-dphbirthSouth Carolina (state record)checked November 8, 2026
  22. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  23. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  24. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  25. Vital Records office locationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 7, 2026
  26. Vital records feesSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 7, 2026
  27. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026