Welcome To The South Carolina Genealogy Trails State Data Vital Records Page
- Each of South Carolinas counties has a vital records office in the county health department. Each office can search for birth and death records from January 01, 1915.
- Marriage records prior to 1950 may be available from the Probate Judge in the county where the license was issued.
- Divorce records since April 1949 should be available from the County Clerk in the county where the petition was filed.
Birth records
South Carolina did not require birth certificates until 1 January 1915. These records are still held by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). You can obtain some birth information through the following databases:
Federal records:
- Population Schedules, Federal Census , South Carolina - 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930. Indexed. The census schedules list the age of the individual, enabling the researcher to estimate an approximate year of birth. The 1900 schedule includes the month and year of birth.
State records:
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, Cherokee County Health Department. Birth Certificates, 1940. 1 bundle.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Aiken. Board of Health. Register of Births, 1909-1910. l v.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Charleston. Board of Health. Birth Certificates, 1877-1901. 15 mfm.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, Union County. Health Department. Index to Vital Records, 1921-1937. 1 ff.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Biostatistics. Spartanburg City Birth Register, 1895-1914. 1 mfm.
County records:
- Board of Health Barnwell County - Index to Births, 1915-1958. 1 mfm.
- Barnwell County - Clerk of Court Other Than Court or Mesne Conveyance Records. Book of Delayed Certificates for Births prior to 1915, n.d. 1 mfm.
- Greenville County - Clerk of Court Other Than Court or Mesne Conveyance Records. Delayed certificates for births prior to 1915; 7 v., 1940-1955.
- Horry County - Clerk of Court Other Than Court or Mesne Conveyance Records. Delayed Certificates for Births prior to 1915; 3 v., 1939-1960.
- Find your county/address here
Marriage records
The state required marriage licenses beginning 1 July 1911. The probate judge 's office in the county courthouse holds licenses issued before 1950. Both the Bureau of Vital Statistics and the county courthouse have copies of licenses issued after 1 July 1950. You can find addresses and telephone numbers for county courthouses in Elizabeth Petty Bentley, County Courthouse Book (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1990).
Federal Records:
- Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Marriage and Divorce Records, Beaufort and Charleston, 1866-1868. 1 ff.
State records:
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Aiken. Board of Health. Register of Marriages, 1909-1910. 1v.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Charleston. Board of Health. Marriage Certificates, 1877-1887. 5 mm. No index
- Secretary of State - Marriage Settlements, 1785-1902. 20v. 8mfm. Indexes, 1785-1887. 2v..
More information on scattered sources for marriages and a general history of record keeping on the subject can be found in Ruth S. Green and Charles H. Lesser, "South Carolina Marriage Records", South Carolina Historical Magazine 79 (April 1978): 155-62. Brent H. Holcomb has abstracted and published marriages listed in the Journal of the Court of Ordinary, 21 December 1764-29 August 1771, and many of the marriages recorded in the Miscellaneous Record series of the Secretary of State. See South Carolina Marriages, 3 vols (1688-1820), (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980).
County records:
- The Department of Archives and History holds microfilm of marriage licenses and marriage books or registers from many counties for the period 1911 through 1950. These records are listed under Probate Court for the various counties in the Summary Guide on their website.
- Related marriage records may be found in renunciations of dower and marriage settlements. Records of marriages may be found in county deed of conveyance books and estate record books; records of these marriages, usually unindexed.
- Find your county/address here
Divorce records
Although divorce before 1868 was not legal, a legislative act or the district courts of equity could grant divorce or separate maintenance but did so only rarely. From 1868 to 1878, when a legislative statute again outlawed it, divorce could be obtained in the courts of common pleas. Divorce was legalized in 1950, and the office of the clerk of court in the county where the divorce was granted holds those records. Since July 1962, duplicate divorce records have been filed with DHEC.
County records:
- Spartanburg County. Court of Common Pleas Equity Side. Divorce Proceedings, 1869-1871, 1877-1878. 14 items.
- Union County. Clerk of Court Other Than Court or Mesne Conveyance Records. Index to Divorces, 1962-1967. 1 item.
Death records
Death certificates were required beginning January 1, 1915 and are restricted from the public for fifty years. The South Carolina State Archives has the certificates from 1915 to the year before the fifty year restriction. DHEC holds certificates after the fifty year restriction. DHEC provides on-line access to death indexes from 1915 to 1954.
Federal records:
- Federal Census, Mortality Schedules, South Carolina, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880. Indexes, 1850, 1860. These census schedules list those persons who died during the twelve months preceding 1 June of the census year. The census, arranged by county, lists the name of the decedent, age, sex, race, marital status, birth place, occupation, cause of death, and month of death.
State records:
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Aiken, Board of Health, Register of Deaths, 1903-1915. 1 v.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, City of Charleston, Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1821-1867, 1872-1886. 49 mfm. (Index is available at the Charleston Public Library, 404 King Street, Charleston, S.C. 29403, (803) 723-1645.)
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Biostatistics. Death Certificates, 1915 to year before the fifty year restriction. mfm. Indexes, 1915-1949 on fiche and 1950- on CD ROM.
- Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Biostatistics. Spartanburg City. Death Register, 1895-1915. 1 mfm.
County Records:
- Board of Health Barnwell County. Index to Deaths, 1915-1958. 1 mfm.
- Union County Death Register, 1900-1914
- Additional death records may be found in individual county estate papers, will books, and estate record books; usually, however, these records give only an approximate date of death.
Church records
Parish registers from churches can provide information on birth and death dates, and marriages. Parish registers of a few early South Carolina churches are extant and some have been published. Published histories of churches occasionally include lists of births, marriages, or deaths. For these sources, check the card catalog in the Reference Room of the South Carolina State Archives and History, and other libraries.
- For the catalog of the Archives holdings of church records, please consult the web version of The Guide to Church Records or the List of Church Records in the Summary Guide to Private Records notebook in the Reference Room of the South Carolina State Archives and History. The South Caroliniana Library, also has a few church records. For a list of the library 's holdings please consult Allen H. Stokes, Jr., A Guide to the Manuscript Collection of the South Caroliniana Library (Columbia, S.C.: South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, 1982) or their on-line finding aid.
Childs, Margaretta and Leland, Isabella G. "South Carolina Episcopal Church Records." South Carolina Historical Magazine 84 (October 1983): 250-63.
Clayton, J. Glen. "South Carolina Baptist Records." South Carolina Historical Magazine 85 (October 1984): 319-27.
Cote, Richard N. "South Carolina Presbyterian Records." South Carolina Historical Magazine 85 (April 1984): 145-52.
Cote, Richard N. "South Carolina Religious Records: Other Denominations." South Carolina Historical Magazine 86 (January 1985): 50-61. Includes the following churches: African Methodist Episcopal Church; Congregational, Unitarian and Universalist Churches; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); French Protestant (Huguenot) Church; Jews; Lutheran Church; Roman Catholic Church; Society of Friends (Quakers)
Abbeville Public Health Department
905 West Greenwood
Abbeville, SC 29620
(864) 366-2131Aiken Public Health Department
828 Richland Ave, West
Aiken, SC 29801
(803) 642-1687 or 1-800 450-1687Allendale Public Health Department
P.O. Box 386
415 N. Memorial
Allendale, SC 29810
(803) 584-3818Anderson County Public Health Department
220 MeGee Rd.
Anderson, SC 29625
(864) 260-5667Bamberg Public Health Department
Log Branch Road
Bamberg, SC 29003-0150
(803) 245-5176Barnwell Public Health Department
P.O. Box 427
164 Calhoun St.
Barnwell, SC 29812
(803) 541-1061Beaufort Public Health Department
601 Wilmington Street
Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 525-7615Berkley - Moncks Corner Health Department
109 West Main Street
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
(843) 723-3800Calhoun Public Health Department
410 Herlong Ave.
St. Matthews, SC 29155
(803) 874-2037 or 531-3032Charleston County Public Health Department
4050 Bridgeview Drive, Suite 475
North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 746-3801
For marriage certificates back to 1879 write to:
Charleston County Judicial Center
2144 Melboure Street
North Charleston, SC 29405-6665
Phone: (843) 740-5823
$5.00 Money Order per request.Cherokee Public Health Department
400 S. Logan St
P. O. Box 338
Gaffney, SC 26342
(864) 487-2705Chester County Public Health Department
P.O. Box 724
129 Wylie St
Chester, SC 29706
(803) 385-6152Chesterfield Public Health Department
203 North Page Street
Chesterfield, SC 29709
(843) 623-2117Clarendon Public Health Department
110 East Boyce Street
Manning, SC 29102
(803) 435-8168Colleton Public Health Department
P.O. Box 229
219 South Lemacks
Walterboro, SC 29488
(843) 549-1516Darlington Public Health Department
305 Russell Street
Darlington, SC 29532
(843) 398-4400Dillon Public Health Department
203 W. Hampton Street
Dillon, SC 29536
(803) 774-5611Summerville Health Department
500 North Main Street
Summerville, SC 29483
(843) 832-0041Edgefield County Public Health Department
21 Star Road
Edgefield, SC 29824
(803) 637-4035
Probate Judge
129 Courthouse Square
Suite 212
Edgefield, SC 29824
(803) 637-4076Fairfield Public Health Department
P.O. Box 270
1136 Kincade Bridge Rd
Winnsboro, SC 29180
(803) 635-6481Florence Public Health Department
145 E. Cheves Street
Florence, SC 29506
(843) 661-4835Georgetown County Vital Records
531 Lafayette Circle
Georgetown, SC 29440
(843) 546-0174Greenville County Public Health Department
200 University Ridge
Greenville, SC 29602
(864) 282-4100Greenwood Public Health Department
1736 South Main Street
Greenwood, SC 29646
(864) 942-3600Hampton Public Health Department
P.O. Box 37
531 West Carolina Ave
Hampton, SC 29924
(803) 943-3878Horry County Vital Records
1511A Ninth Avenue
Conway, SC 29526
(843) 248-3958Jasper Public Health Department
359 East Wilson St.
Ridgeland, SC 29936
(843) 726-7788Kershaw Public Health Department
1116 Church
Camden, SC 29020
(803) 425-6012Lancaster Public Health Department
P.O. Box 817
1833 Pageland Hwy
Lancaster, SC 29721
(803) 286-9948Laurens Public Health Department
93 Human Services Road
Clinton, SC 29325
(864) 933-0000Lee Public Health Department
810 Brown Street
Bishopville, SC 29010
(803) 484-6612Lexington County Public Health Department
112 W. Hospital Drive
Lexington, SC 29169
(803) 791-3580Marion Public Health Department
206 Airport Rd, Suite B
Marion, SC 29574
(843) 423-8295Marlboro Public Health Department
117 Parsonage Street Ext.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
(843) 479-6801McCormick County Public Health Department
204 Hwy 28
McCormick, SC 29835
(864) 852-2511Newberry County Public Health Department
2111 Wison Rd
Newberry, SC 29108
(803) 321-2170Oconee County Public Health Department
609 N. Townville St
P.O. Box 488
Seneca, SC 29679
(864) 882-2245Orangeburg Public Health Department
1550 Carolina Avenue
Orangeburg, SC 29116-0100
(803) 533-7221 or 533-7236Pickens County Public Health Department
200 McDaniel Avenue
Pickens, SC 29671
(864) 889-5965Richland County Public Health Department
2000 Hampton Street
Columbia, SC 29204
(803) 576-2980Saluda Public Health Department
613 Newberry Highway
Saluda, SC 29138
(864) 445-2141Spartanburg Public Health Department
151 E. Wood Street
P. O. Box 4217
Spartanburg, SC 29305
(864) 596-3337Sumter Public Health Department
105 N. Magnolia
Sumter, SC 29150
(803) 773-5511Union Public Health Department
115 Thomas Street
P. O. Box 500
Union, SC 29379
(864) 427-1690Williamsburg County Vital Records
520 Thurgood Marshall Blvd, Suite C
Kingstree, SC 29556
(843) 355-9378York Public Health Department
P.O. Box 149
116 N. Congress St
York, SC 29745
(803) 684-7004
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