Are Death Certificates Public in South Carolina?
No, death certificates are not public in South Carolina because they are vital records.
What Shows Up on Death Records in South Carolina?
In South Carolina, death records are official documents showing information about dead persons in the state. Registration of deaths in South Carolina started in 1915. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control provides statewide access to death records as well as other South Carolina vital records. Information on a South Carolina death record includes:
- Personal information of the deceased, i.e., the name, birth date, birthplace, spouse name, etc.
- Death information, i.e., time of death, death place, and death cause
- Other relevant information like the deceased's religious status, the decedent's social security number, occupation, name of employer, physician-in-charge before death, etc.
Generally, a death certificate is the only legal proof that an individual is dead. As such, the decedent's immediate friends and families are required to provide death records when seeking insurance benefits or transferring properties of the decedents. The government also uses death records to stop pension benefits and social security payments of the deceased.
How are Death Records Created in South Carolina?
A licensed funeral director or embalmer in South Carolina is responsible for filing a death certificate for a death that occurred in the state. According to Section 44-63-74 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, the filing of death records must be done electronically with the Department of Health and Environmental Control in South Carolina. Generally, the licensed embalmer or funeral director collects the decedent’s personal information from a close relative or next of kin. On the other hand, medical information, which shows the cause or nature of death, is provided by the physician in charge of the patient's illness.
The law requires that the physician submits the deceased’s medical report to the funeral director within 48 hours from the time of death. However, this may be delayed if the medical examiner or coroner requests an autopsy report. A death record in South Carolina is completed within less than 5 days after a person's death. The licensed embalmer or funeral director must place his signature, name, and license number on the certificate as required by law.
What is the Difference Between a Death Certificate and Other Death Records?
The difference between South Carolina death certificates and other death records is that a death certificate is legal proof of death issued to a decedent's spouse or close relative. When a person dies, the medical personnel in charge must issue a legal document containing the cause of death, time of death, and every other crucial information about the death. A death record, on the other hand, is a document containing information about a person's death. The government uses these records for health statistics, public health records, and even to stop the pension of the deceased. Public death records can be found easily by conducting death record searches on the appropriate databases.
How to Find Death Records Online in South Carolina
Requesters cannot look up death records online through the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control website. However, death records can be ordered online through third-party vendors. Note that only the deceased's immediate family members and relatives can access death records through online vendors. In South Carolina, online death record requests are processed within five to seven days from the request time. Death record searches can be done in two ways.
Death Record Search by Name in South Carolina
Death record searches can be done by name in South Carolina. You have to input the decedent's name and date of death, and the results will be produced from the database.
Death Record Search by Address
Another way to conduct a death record search is by inputting the last location of a decedent into the database. It could be the city or county they were last seen or the place they were assumed to have died.
In South Carolina, public records are available through traditional government sources and third-party websites and organizations. In many cases, third-party websites make the search more accessible as they are not limited geographically or by technological limitations. They are considered an excellent place to start when looking for a specific record or multiple records. To gain access to these records, interested parties must typically provide:
- The name of the person listed in the record. Juveniles are typically exempt from this search method.
- The last known or assumed location of the person listed in the record. This includes cities, counties, and states.
While third-party sites offer such services, they are not government-sponsored entities, and record availability may vary on these sites compared to government sources.
How to Find Death Records for Free in South Carolina
Generally, death records are not free in South Carolina. However, interested persons can look up free death indexes from 1915 to 1967. The death index database, provided by the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control, contains log files in pdf format. The free death index database contains information on deceased persons' names, death certificate numbers, the county where each person died, and dates of death.
How to Obtain Death Records in South Carolina
Requesters can get death records or certificates at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Vital Records Department, which serves as the state's central repository. Each county or city in South Carolina also has a vital record section within the local health department. Requesters can only obtain computer-generated death certificates at the state repository dated from January 1, 1915, to date. However, each County Health Department's Vital Records Office provides access to the most recent death certificates of individuals who died in the last five years.
Note that South Carolina death certificates are available in different forms, depending on the individual making the request. Individuals legally entitled to obtain death records can access death long certificates or death short certificates. While the death-long certificate contains all information (personal and medical), the death short certificate does not include information on the cause of death. Non-relatives of the deceased may obtain only death statements that show only the deceased's name, death location, and death date.
In South Carolina, death certificates become public documents after 50 years. Requesters can get the public death certificates at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History located at:
SC Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, SC 29223
Phone: (803) 896-6104
Fax: (803) 896-6198
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History accepts mail, email, and telephone requests. To send mail or email requests, requesters can fill and submit Genealogy Research Request Forms to:
Reference Services
SC Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, SC 29223
The SC Department of Archives and History usually responds to public death certificate requests within two or three weeks. If a death certificate is found, the response should consist of an order form and the total cost for copies of the death certificates. Requesters are expected to return the order form with payment so the order can be processed. Call-in requests can be made by calling (803) 896-6104. Note that this service is unavailable on state holidays, Mondays, and Sundays.
The State's Division of Vital Records offers different methods of purchasing copies of death certificates.
In-Person Request
A requester should visit the state office or any regional Vital Records office with the required fee and a valid ID issued by the government, school, or employer. The state office and other regional offices are open from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. every business day. On arrival, the requester is provided with a Vital Record Death Application Form to fill and submit on the same day. The state office is located at:
DHEC State Vital Records Office
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: (803) 898-3630
Mail Request
You can send a mail request for a South Carolina death record to the state office. A completed Vital Record Death Application, the required fee, and a valid photo ID should be mailed to:
DHEC Vital Records
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Drop-off Request
Requesters can drop off their requests for death certificates at the state’s vital records office. To drop off a request, the requester must complete the Vital Record Death Application and provide a valid ID. Alternatively, requesters can pick up the death records at the state office after the two-days processing period.
Phone Request
Phone requests for death certificates are only granted to immediate relatives of descendants. Requesting parties should call (877) 284-1008 to order death certificates via phone requests. The phone service is available 24 hours every day. After requesting via phone, you should get the requested death record within five to seven business days.
Can Anyone Get a Copy of a Death Certificate in South Carolina?
No, not everyone has access to copies of South Carolina death certificates until 50 years from death. You can only have access to death records in South Carolina if you are the spouse (not divorced), child, sibling, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or legal representative of the deceased. Other persons with legal proof showing a genuine interest in the deceased's properties or personal rights may be granted access to the death records. Applicants that are not related to decedents may request death statements.
How Much Does a Death Certificate Cost in South Carolina?
The death certificate cost in South Carolina varies with the type of request. An expedited online request costs $17 per copy, while an extra copy costs $3. In-person, mail-in, and drop-off requests submitted to the SCDHEC cost $12 for each certified copy of the death certificate. Each additional document requested at the same time costs $3. Note that all payments are non-refundable. The state's department of health accepts money orders, cash (for only in-person requests), or a cashier's check, payable to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Death Certificate in South Carolina?
The time taken to get a death certificate in South Carolina depends on the request. Generally, requests for South Carolina death certificates should be granted within 30 days after submission. However, if there is a delay in the processing time, requesters may call (803) 898-3630 or email vrrequeststatus@dhec.sc.gov to get an update on the status of your request. Generally, the state's Vital Records Division processes in-person requests for death records within 30 to 45 minutes on the same day. Mail requests are processed within two or four weeks, while drop-off requests are processed within two business days.
How Long to Keep Records After Death
It is advisable to keep vital records like birth or death certificates indefinitely. This is because vital records are valid evidence that may be required when securing, managing, or transferring estates. However, it is possible to obtain records from the approved record custodians if the documents go missing. Also, it is best to make extra copies of the records so that you can keep them for a long time.
How to Expunge Death Records in South Carolina?
Expunged records in South Carolina are destroyed and are not obtainable by any person in the state. In South Carolina, only arrest records may be expunged. The state constitution does not recognize the expungement of death records.
How to Seal Death Records in South Carolina?
There is no law approving the sealing of death records in South Carolina. A death certificate is typically restricted from public view until after 50 years from the time of death. In South Carolina, restricted records are only open to record holders and law enforcement agencies. Other requesters may be granted access to sealed records if they obtain court orders.
How to Unseal Death Records in South Carolina?
While some records can be unsealed in South Carolina, death records cannot be unsealed. This is because no laws support the unsealing of South Carolina death records. Note that death certificates are automatically accessible to the public after 50 years.
How to Find an Obituary for a Specific Person in South Carolina
A South Carolina obituary search can be done quickly on the genealogy bank database. This organized database system makes it easy to locate the obituaries of specific people in a short time. To conduct any South Carolina obituary search, you must input the full name, the date of death, and the location of death into the database, after which your results will be displayed.
