South Carolina Death Records

South Carolina is one of the states with the highest death rate in the United States, with an estimated 57,859 deaths recorded each year. The state's mortality rate of 918.8 per 100,000 people is notably higher than the United States' average of 793.7 deaths per 100,000 total population. The number of deaths recorded in South Carolina over the last few years continues to be on an upward trend.

Statewide recording of deaths in South Carolina started in 1915 following the passage of a law that mandated the filing of death certificates on September 1, 1914. The most common type of death record in the state is the death certificate. A death certificate is a legal document containing important information about the death of an individual, including the date of death, time of death, cause of death, and the deceased person's personal information. The following types of death certificates are issued in South Carolina:

• Long Form Death Certificate - This document has all the information about a death event, including the cause of death.
• Short Form Death Certificate - This certificate type has limited information, excluding the cause of death, but it contains the manner of death.
• Death Statement - A South Carolina death statement contains the name of a decedent, the date of death, and the county of death.

Original death certificates for deaths that occur in South Carolina are completed by funeral homes and certified by medical certifiers. Afterward, the original death certificates are filed electronically with the state's Department of Health, through the Bureau of Vital Statistics, as required by S.C. H3325. Generally, an original death certificate remains permanently in the file of the Bureau of Vital Statistics. However, eligible persons who need copies of the certificate may request certified copies, which are verified copies of the original certificate and may be used for numerous legal and administrative purposes.

How Do I Get a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate in South Carolina?

An eligible person can obtain a certified copy of a South Carolina death certificate from the state's Department of Health (DPH), through the Vital Records Office in any of the following ways:

• Mail Request - Anyone intending to get a certified copy of a death certificate in South Carolina should take the following steps:

  • Fill out the Vital Records Death Application Form.
  • Make a photocopy of a valid government, employer, or school-issued photo ID.
  • Pay a $12 standard searching fee (non-refundable) and $3 for each additional copy of the certificate in the same order. Acceptable means of payment for mail applications are a cashier's check or money order made payable to SC DPH.

  • Mail the completed form, payment, and ID to the Vital Records Office at:

    South Carolina Department of Public Health

    Vital Records Section

    P.O. Box 2046

    West Columbia, SC 29171

    The average processing time for mail-in death certificate requests in the state is about 4 weeks.

• In-Person Application - To request a certified copy of a South Carolina death certificate in person, do the following:

  • Complete the Vital Records Death Application Form.
  • Have a valid government, employer, or school-issued photo ID

  • Submit the completed application form and present the valid ID in person at any Regional Vital Records Office or the State Vital Records Office between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday at:

    South Carolina Department of Public Health

    Vital Records Office

    2600 Bull Street

    Columbia, SC 29201

    While at the Vital Records Office, the requester must pay a $17 non-refundable expedited search fee and $3 for each additional copy of the death certificate if requesting additional copies. Payment can be made by check, cash, or money order. The average processing time for most in-person requests is 30 to 45 minutes.

• Drop-Off Request - Only the state Vital Records Office in Richland County accepts drop-off applications for certified copies of South Carolina death certificates. Anyone opting to drop off their request should complete the application form and pay the applicable non-refundable fee ($12 for a processing time of 4 weeks or $17 for expedited service, typically with a 5-business-day or less processing time). Additional copies attract a $3 fee (for each additional copy).

  The completed application form and all other necessary documentation should be dropped off at the DPH Vital Records Office at Bull Street, Columbia. Typically, the Vital Records Office will give the requester a receipt after dropping off their request. The requester will decide whether to pick up the certified copy of the requested death certificate at the Columbia State Office or have it mailed to them.

Are South Carolina Death Records Public?

In South Carolina, death records become public records after 50 years have passed since the death event. However, all death records under 50 years are considered confidential and access is restricted to certain individuals, including immediate relatives, persons with direct and tangible interests in the record, and the decedent's family legal representatives.

Who Can Request an Original Death Certificate in South Carolina?

Nobody can request an original death certificate in South Carolina because all original death certificates are filed with the state Vital Records Office, where they are kept indefinitely. Anyone who requires a copy of a death certificate in the state may obtain a certified copy of the original. Per Section 44-63-84 of the South Carolina Code of Laws Unannotated, only the following persons may get certified copies of a death certificate:

• Immediate members of the deceased person's family, including the spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and siblings.
• Legal representatives of any immediate member of the decedent's family.
• Any individual who can prove that they have a direct and tangible interest in a property or personal right, and the death certificate is required to settle it.

While other members of the public cannot request certified copies of a South Carolina death certificate, they can apply for a death statement, which generally includes the date and the county of death. In addition, anyone may request an uncertified copy of a death certificate in the state once the record becomes public.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Death Certificate in South Carolina?

The duration it takes to get a certified copy of a South Carolina death certificate depends on the method of request and the nature of the death event. If a death occurred naturally and an eligible person requests a certified copy of the death certificate, the Vital Records Office can process the application within 4 weeks for a mail-in request. While in-person requests are processed on the same day, it may take between 5 business working days (expedited applications) to about 4 weeks (regular requests) to process drop-off applications.

When a death occurs under unusual circumstances, an autopsy is usually required to ascertain the cause and manner of death. This usually takes a while and generally delays the completion of a final death certificate, which in turn impacts how long it takes to get a certified copy of the death certificate. In South Carolina, when toxicology testing is required to determine the cause of death, it may take as long as 16 weeks before the final autopsy report is ready.

Once the final autopsy report is ready, the original death certificate is prepared and the coroner files it electronically with the Vital Records Office. Eligible persons may then submit their requests to obtain certified copies of the death certificate from the Vital Records Office.

Can I view South Carolina Death Records online for free?

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has a death index for deaths that occurred between 1950 and 1961 in the state. Interested parties may filter the list with decedents' last names to view important information about their records. Online resources like Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are also great resources for looking up historical death records in South Carolina.

While they charge a small fee, reliable third-party sites such as SouthCarolinapublicrecords.us also offer online search services where interested persons may view public death records in the state. In addition, social media and online obituaries are reliable sources or substitute records to obtain information about death events in South Carolina. Other substitute records from which anyone may retrieve information about death events in the state include cemetery records, newspapers, probate records, church records, census, and tax records.

When Would You Require A Death Certificate in South Carolina?

An individual would be required to obtain certified copies of a death certificate in South Carolina if they need to do the following:

• Transfer a decedent's assets, including real estate and vehicles, to another person.
• Notify certain government agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), about a person's death.
• Close a decedent's bank accounts and cancel all credit cards in the deceased person's name.
• Claim certain benefits, including pension benefits, life insurance payouts, veterans' benefits (if applicable), and other retirement benefits of a deceased person.
• Disposition of the deceased person, either by burial or cremation.
• Notify a decedent's creditors or mortgage lenders of the death event.

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need in South Carolina?

Based on expert recommendation, anyone requesting certified copies of a South Carolina death certificate should consider getting between 8 and 12 copies. However, the actual number of copies needed varies depending on several factors. These include the number of agencies that need certified copies of a death certificate for certain legal or administrative purposes and the size of a deceased person's estate. To ascertain the number of copies to request, it is best to come up with a list of all agencies and entities requiring them, while not forgetting to have a copy for personal use.