South Carolina Vital Records

From Rootsweb
Jump to: navigation, search

This entry was originally written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of
SouthCarolina sil.png
the South Carolina Family History Research series.
History of South Carolina
South Carolina Vital Records
Census Records for South Carolina
Background Sources for South Carolina
South Carolina Maps
South Carolina Land Records
South Carolina Probate Records
South Carolina Court Records
South Carolina Tax Records
South Carolina Cemetery Records
South Carolina Church Records
South Carolina Military Records
South Carolina Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
South Carolina Archives, Libraries, and Societies
South Carolina Immigration
African Americans of South Carolina
South Carolina County/District Resources
Map of South Carolina


A law mandating registration of all births and deaths in South Carolina was signed into law on 1 September 1914. Actual registration began in 1915, and South Carolina achieved ninety percent compliance within a few years. Original copies of birth and death certificates are filed with the state, and copies can be obtained by writing to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Office of Vital Records and Public Health Statistics, 2600 Bull St., Columbia, SC 29201. The above office accepts Visa or MasterCard for payment for urgent requests made by phone. There is an additional fee for this service including postal costs.

Each South Carolina county has a copy of the state's records, and a few cities have records pre-dating the statewide registration requirement: Charleston began keeping birth records in 1877 and death records in 1821, and Georgetown was authorized to establish a vital records registration system in 1883. The Church of England parishes created in 1706 recorded christenings, marriages, and burials, and these registers can serve as vital records for much of the colonial period (see South Carolina Church Records).

South Carolina had no law requiring marriage licenses or registration until 1911. Assembly Act No. 70, 'An Act to Require Marriage Licenses and Regulate Their Issuances,' became effective on 1 July 1911. Licenses are on file with the judge of probate in each county. Prior to 1911, marriages were legal if performed according to canonical law; common law marriages also were recognized. Many churches recorded marriages, but when compared with the vast number of marriages that took place, the number of documented marriages is small. Marriage settlements, made by a widow and her second husband to protect the heirs of her first husband, and premarital agreements, not necessarily involving widows, were popular for a while. These records date from about 1760 to about 1890, and may be found in county conveyance books or the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and on microfilm at the The Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City. Newspapers accounts of marriages from 1732 to the present are a primary source of marriage documentation (see South Carolina Newspapers).

Until 1949, divorce was illegal in South Carolina. Since then, divorces are the province of the county court, and all inquiries should be directed to the county clerk of court.

FamilySearch.org has a variety of collections available for free online:

External Links