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How to order a South Carolina death certificate

Who holds it: State: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county1

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. Older records and indexes
  5. Related records in South Carolina
  6. How South Carolina handles it
  7. Death 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 copy1

Who may order

Immediate family or their legal representative; others with a direct and tangible interest needing it for a personal or property right; everyone else gets only a statement of fact, date and county2

How to search and order

Online
Approved vendors only (GoCertificates $8.70 or VitalChek $8.75 vendor fee online, VitalChek by phone $12.85, plus the $17 state expedited search fee); only immediate family may order online1

Fees

Mail fee
Mail or drop-off options1

Who may order and what is restricted

Public access
After 50 years death records are public; anyone may obtain copies by application2

Older records and indexes

Indexes
DPH publishes Death Indexes 1915-1967: dph.sc.gov/…3
Archives copies
SC Archives keeps records of deaths 1915-1963 on microfilm, Reference Room, 8301 Parklane Road, Columbia3
Birth certificates: who holds it
State only: SC DPH Vital Records (formerly DHEC). Any Vital Records office can issue for any county; births since 19154
Birth certificates: fee
$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy5
Probate: who holds it
County Probate Court; an elected Probate Judge in each county has jurisdiction over estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships6
Older records: death records
Deaths 1915-1963 on microfilm3

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 days5

Death 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: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county7—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy7
Beaufort CountySC DPH Vital Records, Beaufort County office8—$12 search including one certified copy; $3 per additional copy9
Berkeley County———
Charleston CountyState-only record (SC DPH); same local office10——
Cherokee CountyState: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county11—$12 search including one certified copy, $3 each additional copy11
Dorchester CountyState only: SC Department of Public Health Vital Records (any office, any county)12——
Florence CountySC DPH Vital Records; any office can issue for any county13——
Greenville CountySC Department of Public Health Vital Records - Greenville County office14——
Horry CountySC DPH Vital Records, Horry County office (same fees as birth)15——
Lancaster CountyState: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county16—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy16
Lexington CountyState-held: SC DPH Vital Records; $12 search fee includes one certified copy, $3 each additional copy17——
Oconee CountyState: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county18——
Pickens CountyState: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county19—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy19
Richland CountySC DPH Vital Records, Richland County office20——
Spartanburg CountyState: SC DPH Vital Records; any Vital Records office can issue for any county21—$12 search including one certified copy; $17 expedited; $3 per additional copy21
Sumter CountySC DPH Vital Records, Sumter County office22——
York CountySC DPH Vital Records, York County office23——

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 processed4

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: death 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. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  2. SC Code Title 44 Chapter 63, Vital StatisticsSC Legislaturechecked November 4, 2026
  3. Death Indexes, GenealogySC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  4. Birth CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  5. Fees - Vital RecordsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  6. Probate CourtSC Judicial Branchchecked November 4, 2026
  7. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  8. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  9. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  10. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  11. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 7, 2026
  12. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  13. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  14. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  15. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  16. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  17. Death CertificatesSouth Carolina Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  18. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  19. Sc-dphdeathSouth Carolina (state record)checked November 8, 2026
  20. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  21. Death CertificatesSC Department of Public Healtharchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  22. Vital Records office locationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 7, 2026
  23. Vital Records Office LocationsSC Department of Public Healthchecked November 4, 2026