Acquire Free South Carolina Marriage Records & Certificates

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Free South Carolina Marriage Record Search

Access anyone's marital information in South Carolina, free of charge.

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Search free South Carolina marriage records on anybody today.

A marriage record is a legal document providing information related to the union, including the full names of each spouse, the date the ceremony was performed, and the name of the county and state where the certificate or license was issued.

This resource can help you better understand the types of information available online and how you can conveniently find the information you’re seeking.

Accessing Marriage Records in South Carolina

Marriage licenses in the state of South Carolina are public records as mandated by the State’s Code of Laws. Marriage licenses have been required for individuals to marry in the state since July 1, 1911.¹

The information contained in a marriage record in the state of South Carolina is very streamlined. It includes the license number, the name of one of the applicants for the marriage license, the name of the partner, and the date the ceremony was conducted. The first applicant listed could be the husband or the wife, or vice versa.

While information related to a marriage is available for viewing online, a certified copy is only a physical, printed copy obtained from the government sources listed below. In other words, an individual viewing the marriage record online cannot simply print the page and consider that a valid, certified copy. Additionally, the state of South Carolina does not offer certified vs. non-certified versions of marriage records.

The rate of marriage in the state of South Carolina is 6.5 per 1,000 individuals, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.²

How To Look Up South Carolina Marriage Records & See Who the Spouse Is

While marriage licenses in the state of South Carolina are public records, it is important to note that while inquiries via public databases are free, copies of the marriage license typically carry a small fee.

Copies are certified by the custodian or recordkeeping body; there is no option to receive a “non-certified” copy of a marriage license.

Certified copies of marriage licenses can be obtained from two sources: (1) the Probate Court of the county in which the marriage license was obtained; or (2) from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)’s Vital Records Division.³

The DHEC’s Vital Records division only has marital records available between July 1950 and December 2022 and is the closest thing to a marriage index for the entire state of South Carolina.

For records before or after these dates, seekers will need to contact the Probate Court of the county that originally issued the marriage license. There are five ways to obtain a copy of a marriage license via the DHEC’s Vital Records division: in-person (same-day service), by mail, drop-off, online, or by phone.⁴

In-person is the fastest option, as the average processing time is only 30-45 minutes. However, it can only be performed at one location:

DHEC State Vital Records
2600 Bull St.
Columbia, S.C. 29201

Phone: (803)-898-3630
Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

A completed Vital Records Marriage/Divorce Application form and a valid government-issued ID are required, and fees include a $17 non-refundable expedited searching fee and $3 for each additional copy.⁵

Individuals who wish to obtain copies of South Carolina marital records by mail from the DHEC State Vital Records office will need to wait approximately 4 weeks for their request to be processed.

A completed application form (linked above) and a valid government-issued ID are required, and fees include a $12 non-refundable standard searching fee and $3 for each additional copy. The mailing address is the same as above.

Dropping off an application to request a copy of a marriage record also requires a completed application form and a valid government-issued ID, and fees are the same as what would be paid if you requested copies by mail, though there is also a $17 expedited searching fee that can be paid for faster service.

The state office in Richland County is the only location that accepts and processes drop-off applications and is the same address and office hours listed above.

For drop-off service, you must pay with exact cash, money order, or cashier’s check made payable to S.C. DHEC. Upon payment, the representative will give you a receipt. You also have a choice of whether to receive your requested record by mail or you can return to the same office to pick up the copy of the record.

Online or by phone is the most convenient option, as the average processing time is 5-7 business days. The state of South Carolina uses a third-party processor for this service, VitalChek.

Fees are as follows: $17 non-refundable expedited searching fee; $3 for each additional copy; $12.85 additional charge by VitalChek; additional shipping fees if you choose to have your record sent by UPS rather than the U.S. Postal Service.

However, it is important to note that only the person named on the marriage certificate, their adult children, or a present or former spouse may order through VitalChek. If you’re not one of these individuals, then you will need to visit the website for the Probate Court of the county in which the marriage license was issued.

The State of South Carolina Judicial Branch has made available a list of Probate Courts for all of the counties in the state.⁶

Searching the County or City in South Carolina Where the Marriage Occurred (Free)

As cited above, there are two ways to obtain a marriage record. While the state’s DHEC office provides a broad, state-wide option to locate copies of the documents, individuals interested in marriage records can also contact the Probate Court for the county in which the license was obtained.

By knowing the county of license, a searcher can simply visit the website of the county Probate Court and begin the process of accessing a copy of the marriage license. This Probate Court option typically also enables a searcher to save on search and processing fees.

Below are three of the most populous counties in the state of South Carolina, along with the name, address, and contact information for the Probate Court in each county so you can begin a formal request for a marriage record. Searching for information is free of charge, though obtaining certified physical copies of public South Carolina marital records usually carries a small fee.

Greenville County is the most populous county in South Carolina. The Probate Court of Greenville County offers a free marriage license search tool, where seekers of South Carolina marital records can begin their search.⁷

To conduct a search, you must enter at least one of the following: (1) the Applicant Name in the format Last, First, Middle, and/or (2) the License Year. The search tool suggests entering the maiden name of the bride, and entering the License Year in order to improve search results.

Click the blue Search button and your results will appear.

The search results will yield, in list format, the License Number, Applicant 1 Name, Applicant 2 Name, and Date Married. The search results yield additional options.

To the right of the Date Married in the search results list will be two buttons: Opt-Out and Request Copy. Out of the privacy concerns of its citizens, Greenville County, South Carolina offers individuals this Opt-Out feature, in which either party to a marriage can apply to have their marriage license information removed from the publicly-available database.

To take advantage of this privacy feature, click on Opt-Out, and on the next screen, enter the last four digits of your Social Security number, your birthplace (State or County), and your email address. This process is not automatic; you must be either the husband or wife listed in the record, and you will be notified if and when this information will be removed.

To request a certified copy of a marriage record, click Request Copy, the leftmost button on the search results page. On the next page, you will be prompted to enter the number of copies you need; 5 is the maximum number.

Additionally, it is important to note that while using the inquiry tool is free, obtaining certified copies—even if you are one of the two individuals named on the marriage certificate—still carries fees. For marriage certificates filed for the years 1911 through 1970, the fee is $5.50 per certified copy.

For those filed from 1971 through the present, the fee is $5.25 per certified copy. Greenville County uses a third-party processor, GovPayNet, which charges a $1.50 processing fee.

It is also important to note that you cannot obtain a digital copy of a marriage license in South Carolina. While the search lookup tool returns results with information related to the marriage, the certified copy of the marriage certificate is delivered via hard copy via the U.S. Postal Service.

If you performed a search on the Greenville County Probate Court marriage license search page and did not find the result you were looking for (called a “Search Shows No Record”), you can fill out and submit a Marriage License Certified Copy Request Form, with the names of the applicants and the address to which you would like your certified copy mailed.⁸ The fee for this service is $5.

Richland County is the second most populous county in South Carolina. Like the Probate Court of Greenville County, the Probate Court of Richland County offers a marriage license lookup tool through which searchers can locate the information they are seeking and then request certified copies of the record.⁹

The tool for Richland County differs a bit from that of Greenville County. Four blank fields must be filled in for a search to be completed: Party A First Name, Party A Last Name, Party B First Name, and Party B Last Name.

As with Greenville County, digital copies are not provided. Requests for certified copies will be processed within 2 businesses and mailed via the U.S. Postal Service to the address provided by the searcher. Fees are $8 per copy.

To obtain certified copies of marriage licenses in Charleston County, the third-most populous county in South Carolina, seekers can visit the website for the Probate Court of Charleston County.

The Probate Court Marriage License Division for Charleston County offers a lookup and certified copy request form; however, for marriage licenses issued in Charleston County prior to 1999, searchers will need to contact the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC)’s Vital Records Division.

The online request form for Charleston County requires the requester to enter the following information: the first and last names of both parties of the marriage, the number of copies requested, the date of the marriage, and the email address, street address, and telephone number of the requester. The fee for each copy is $5.

Charleston County uses AllPaid, a third-party processor to handle these online document requests. Orders are processed the next business day and mailed to the parties via the U.S. Postal Service. If you need to access the website for the Probate Court in a county in South Carolina other than these three, the South Carolina Judicial Branch offers a complete list of the websites for the courts in each county.

How To Check South Carolina Archives for Ancestral Marriage Records

Additional resources to obtain records of marriage licenses exist. The South Carolina Department of Archives & History offers the ability for searchers to request historical records.¹⁰ To help people understand the information available in this archive, a summary guide is available, in addition to a search function.¹¹

However, the information you might be seeking might be unavailable, restricted, or only available for viewing in person. For assistance, contact the Research Room at 803-896-6104 or visit in person.

South Carolina Department of Archives & History
8301 Parklane Rd.
Columbia, SC 29223

Other than the State Archives, older marriage records can also be obtained in local public genealogy sections, the church where the marriage occurred, newspaper archives, and county and historical societies.

Does South Carolina Recognize Common Law Marriages?

The South Carolina Supreme Court abolished common law marriage on July 24, 2019.¹² As a result of the ruling in that case, Stone v. Thompson, new common law marriages could not be formed after that date. However, individuals who entered into existing common law marriages before this date have not been not affected.

After July 24, 2019, a couple can no longer claim or obtain a common-law marriage in the state of South Carolina. Instead, the parties will need to legally apply for a marriage license and participate in a ceremony in order to be considered married.

How To Search Common Law Marriages in South Carolina

Common law marriages do not include the issuance of a license. Therefore, there are no official South Carolina records for common law marriages, and as a result, it might be a bit tricky to determine the marital status of such individuals.

Strategies to search for common law marriages that were recognized before the July 2019 ruling include looking up records related to divorce, the dissolution of joint assets, or the separation of jointly owned property.

Newspaper clippings announcing a couple’s nuptials—even in the absence of a formal license—could also point to clues about a marriage. Accountants and financial professionals can also seek tax filings to determine whether certain parties considered themselves married via common law marriage rather than via a marriage license.

How To Obtain a Marriage License in South Carolina

A couple planning to marry in the state must apply for a license at a South Carolina County Probate Court. The application for a marriage license can be in person and for some counties, can even be carried out online.

For example, Richland County, South Carolina only offers marriage licenses online.¹³

It’s also important to note that a marriage license must be obtained first before a wedding ceremony can take place. In fact, it is a misdemeanor in the state of South Carolina for an officiant to conduct a wedding ceremony if no marriage license has first been obtained. Additionally, wedding ceremonies are not performed in the Probate Court office.

Each county in South Carolina handles the issuing of marriage licenses a bit differently. However, below are the general steps that couples need to take to obtain a marriage license.

Application: Applications are available at the Probate Court or can be downloaded online. The application or “worksheet” for Greenville County, for example, is available while Charleston County offers a Live Online Virtual E-Application (LOVE).^{14, 15}

Payment can also be made online when submitting the application; fees vary by county and range from $30 to $100.

Verification: The bride and groom must each provide government-issued identification and their Social Security cards (or other documents that verify a Social Security number). Individuals must be at least 18 years of age to marry without parental consent in the state of South Carolina.

Wait: There’s a mandatory 24-hour waiting period from the time of application for the license to the time the marriage license can be issued.

Pick Up: The marriage license can be picked up in person or mailed to one of the applicants. A photo ID is required for the license to be released in person.

Sign & Record: Couples will receive 3 identical copies: one for the spouses, one for the Probate Court for the county in which the application was made, and one for the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC).

Couples must ensure that these two additional copies are received by the Probate Court and DHEC offices promptly, usually within 15 days of the ceremony.

In sum, whether accessing the state’s DHEC Vital Records division or visiting the website for the county Probate Court, those searching for South Carolina marriage records have several options.