South Carolina Liens Search | StateRecords.org

What is a Lien in South Carolina?

Liens in South Carolina are attached to real and personal properties. They are collateral claims on financed properties that lenders or creditors use to secure the payment of a debt or satisfaction of some duty. This legal claim affirms a creditor's right to retain full or part possession of a debtor's property until the satisfaction of a debt. This is to ensure that the creditor's risks and interests are protected. Lien claims can be initiated by individuals, financial institutions, tax authorities, and even the state courts on a creditor's behalf.

Although lien claims focus on real and personal property, they could be specific or general, depending on the agreement between the lender and borrower. Liens are "specific" when they are granted for a particular asset or property, and they are "general" when they are attached to all of the borrower's property. Additionally, depending on the assets involved and the specific circumstances surrounding a claim, a lien can be recorded or initiated in the South Carolina courts, county recorder's office, and the Office of the South Carolina Secretary of State.

Are Liens Public in South Carolina?

Yes, per South Carolina law, all liens are public record and anyone can request a copy of them. The process for requesting copies of liens may vary from county to county, but generally involves submitting a written request to the county clerk's office.

Types of Liens in South Carolina

There are different liens in South Carolina: agricultural liens, mining liens, state tax liens, mechanics' liens, etc. However, all types of liens in South Carolina typically fall under two categories.

General lien: In this situation, the creditor has access to the borrower's property or assets (house, vehicles, landed properties, etc.) since it is not attached to a particular piece of collateral. An example is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax lien. The IRS has the statutory right to put a lien on any property of a defaulter.
Specific lien: This type of lien is placed on a specific asset or property. An example would be a car loan financed by a bank. The car will serve as collateral for the loan. Therefore, the lien is specifically on the car and wouldn't extend to the borrower's other property.

Lien can also be characterized as voluntary and involuntary. A voluntary lien is the type of lien given with the borrower's consent. This is because the borrower voluntarily creates a lien on the house that is bought. Involuntary liens are placed without the consent of the property owner. Mechanics and judgment liens are typical examples of involuntary liens.

How Do I Check for Liens in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, State tax liens are available to the public to view at any time on the South Carolina Department Of Revenue (SCDOR) official page. Since liens are public records, it is easy to walk into any county office in South Carolina to check for liens on any property.

Most county offices even make this search possible remotely. So once logged into their websites, requestors can input relevant information into the search tool and view the results displayed.

In South Carolina, numerous other organizations remotely provide liens information on different properties.

Free Lien Search in South Carolina

Interested persons may obtain lien information in South Carolina for free. All properties listed on the South Carolina Department Of Revenue (SCDOR) state tax lien registry are subject to the lien. The lien registry can be searched by providing full name (or business name), social security number (or FEIN) etc.

Another free option is going to the offices of the relevant agencies to get the information.

What is a Property Lien in South Carolina?

South Carolina's property liens are legal claims on real or personal properties, including lands, vehicles, and equipment. Property liens are held by lenders/creditors to secure the payment of a loan or the performance of an obligation. This type of lien allows the holder to sell, seize, or foreclose a property when the debtor cannot make payment.

Creditors can initiate property liens in South Carolina - individuals, financial institutions, construction entities, state courts, as well as the federal, state, or local government. However, these claims do not give creditors automatic property ownership when a debtor defaults in repayment. Instead, creditors are expected to notify debtors that action will be taken to enforce the lien. Then, if the debtor does not fulfill their obligation, they can rightfully seize or foreclose the property to settle debts.

How Do You Know if a Property Has a Lien in South Carolina?

An effective way to know if a property in South Carolina has a lien is by checking with the South Carolina County Register of Deeds. The county offices have the duty of recording liens, land titles, plats, and other property documents.

On the other hand, a specific and voluntary lien would originally be known to the borrower since it was specified in the borrowing agreement.

Property Lien Search by Address in South Carolina

Liens are considered public records. As such, anyone can conduct a property lien search in South Carolina. The local and state agencies that maintain land records in the state also allow requestors to retrieve property lien information online or in person. For instance, the County Registrar of Deeds Offices in South Carolina has online tools where a requester can check liens on a property. However, a property lien search in South Carolina is restricted to names, book/page numbers, or instrument type. It would be difficult to find liens on a property using the property address. However, it might be possible to check for liens on a property using the address of such property by visiting the Registrar of Deeds Office in the county where the property is located.

Free Property Lien Search by Address

Typically, an inquirer should be able to find liens on a property by visiting the Registrar of Deeds Office in the county where the property is located. A free property lien search address at the Office might be possible, especially if the requester wants to view or obtain uncertified copies of the property lien records.

What is a Tax Lien in South Carolina?

In South Carolina counties, all taxes are due and payable between the thirtieth day of September and the fifteenth day of January. When these taxes are not paid before the sixteenth day of January, the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) adds a three percent penalty to the amount due. If taxes remain unpaid after the first day in February, the department adds another seven percent penalty to the amount due. Finally, if the defaulting taxpayer does not still make the payment by the seventeenth day of March, a five percent penalty is added, and the tax bill is officially considered delinquent. At this point, the County Tax Collector issues a tax execution demand notice to collect unpaid taxes.

When taxpayers become delinquent, the Department of Revenue files tax liens to establish its priority or claim on a defaulting taxpayer's assets. South Carolina tax liens are legal claims against taxpayers' real and personal properties to secure payment. This claim gives the SCDOR the right to seize and sell the defaulting taxpayer's property to settle their tax debts.

After a tax bill is confirmed to be delinquent, the county tax collector issues an execution notice upon the property. Thirty days after, if the tax bill remains unpaid, a Notice of Seizure is issued upon the property. At this point, the County Tax Collector physically posts and advertises the seized property in a publication of general circulation within the county. This advertisement will carry the delinquent taxpayer's name and must be published once a week for three consecutive weeks before the real property is sold at a public auction.

After selling off properties, South Carolina allows defaulting taxpayers to redeem their assets within twelve months from the delinquent tax sale date. The redemption amount, payable to the Tax Collector, usually constitutes delinquent taxes, penalties, and interests.

Tax liens in South Carolina are public record. Hence, they are posted and updated on the SCDOR's registry. The registry lists tax liens maintained at the county level. The liens are published on this registry for ten years and removed only when expunged or expired. The registry allows the public to access information related to state tax liens for free. Individuals can conduct searches using a lien identification number, an individual's name, or a business' name. Search results show the following information:

Taxpayer's full name and address
Lien ID and status
County where issued
Tax
Tax type
Liened period(s)
Tax
Penalty
Interest
Costs/fees
Balance/payoff
Date filed

Tax Lien Lookup in South Carolina

Anyone can conduct a tax lien lookup in South Carolina at any County Registrar of Deeds Office because they are public records. For instance, a person who wants to check for a tax lien on a property in Spartanburg County can do so via the Document Search tool available on the Register of Deeds Office website. A requester can use this online tool to conduct a search by name, book/page, instrument number, and instrument type. To best search option is to conduct a search by instrument types. This helps requesters to select tax liens from the dropdown, and it narrows the search to only tax lien records. An instrument types search typically reveals tax information like index status, instrument type and number, recording date and time, book code, book and page number, legal description, lien information, and document image.

What is a Mortgage Lien in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, a mortgage lien gives a lender the right to a borrower's property, usually a home, if the borrower fails to pay debts. According to state laws, the lender is the mortgagor and the borrower, the mortgagee. Although the collateral property is financed and the lien voluntary, the mortgagee is deemed the real property's legal owner unless it is eventually foreclosed because debts were not paid. Mortgages are not precisely considered typical loans in South Carolina. Instead, a mortgage is interest on real property that a lienholder (mortgagor) keeps, which serves as protection if the borrower fails to pay back the loan.

What is a Mechanics Lien in South Carolina?

South Carolina mechanics' liens are statutory claims designed to protect individuals, businesses, and other entities that contributed to the construction, alteration, or repair of a building and are owed a debt for the labor performed or service rendered.

This lien ensures that contractors, subcontractors, or material suppliers obtain the value of the labor or materials they provided for the property owner's benefit, especially if the project gets liquidated. The lien claim is usually initiated or filed by these construction entities. Although a claim can be filed without an attorney, it is still advisable to hire one. This is because filing a lien could be a complicated and time-consuming task.

If filing without an attorney, a claimant must obtain and complete the appropriate lien form. Although South Carolina does not have specific statutory forms for filing a mechanics' lien, every claim must contain specific information. Failure to adequately provide this information may lead to a claim being declared invalid.

The form must include:

The lien claimant's identity details, including full legal or business name and services provided
The claim amount, with specific and detailed value or costs of the labor and materials provided to the construction project
Claimants should be careful of providing the wrong information because the lien will be considered a frivolous lien if discovered. The South Carolina judiciary considers this an offense punishable with a fine not above $5,000. Guilty parties may also lose their professional licenses.
A sufficient legal description of the property makes it possible to identify the property accurately.
Property owner(s) information.
Claimant's professional/contractor license or registration number. This information is necessary because the state requires all construction entities to be licensed or registered before providing their services and filing a mechanics lien. Therefore, the registration or license number is required to make the lien claim valid.
A verified statement of account with relevant payment terms in the construction contract; this includes the original contract price, the payments already received, and the outstanding balance.
Signature & notarization.

After filing a valid mechanics lien claim, the claimant must serve the property owner within the 90-day period in which the lien was filed. This step is vital because some counties in the state insist on proof that the owner received a lien notice before accepting a filing. The county sheriff does the personal service. If the owner is unavailable, the lien can be served on the person overseeing the property. Still, the claimant must file an "affidavit of the sheriff" stating that the owners were not available or found.

The lien must be filed within the first 90 days after the last day the claimant provided services to the project. If the claimant is called back for more work, the 90-day clock restarts. It should be filed with the register of deeds or clerk of court of the county where the project is. Lienholders can contact the recorder's office ahead of time to ensure that they have the required information.

Typically, filing a lien claim should prompt payment. But if there's a delay, the claim is valid for six months and can be enforced during this period. To enforce payment, a notice must be filed to notify the property owner of the pending lawsuit that will follow if payment is not made.

What is a UCC Lien?

A Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) lien is a financing statement that lenders in the state file with the South Carolina Secretary of State against a borrower's business. Examples of lenders that file UCC liens in South Carolina include banks, mortgage companies, and other lending institutions. The UCC statements can be filed against individuals, businesses, or any legal entity. When a borrower takes a loan, the lenders file a lien to protect their interests in the collateral assets that the borrower committed to secure the loan. These assets may be real or personal property such as houses, lands, vehicles, equipment, etc. In some cases, the liens could be blanket in nature, allowing the lenders to lay claim to all of the borrower's assets.

How to File a UCC Lien in South Carolina

Per the Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the South Carolina Secretary of State's Office is the principal filing office for the state's financing statements. Primarily, UCC filings are completed online using the following forms.

The forms may appear confusing because they serve different purposes, but the Secretary of State provides online support to answer every filing party's questions. Also, filing parties are advised to seek legal assistance from experienced business lawyers to avoid costly mistakes.

UCC filings are public records. They inform other creditors that a creditor has a secured lien against a debtor's collateral. Providing this information helps avoid confusion when a debtor may pledge an already claimed collateral for a loan. Hence, the Secretary of State's office provides an online database where UCC filings searches may be conducted via the internet.

Regardless, UCC statements do not prevent additional loans secured by the same collateral. In terms of lien priority, the subsequent lender is behind the creditor who filed the first UCC lien. Therefore, if the debtor cannot pay the debts, the creditor who filed first has priority to seize the debtor's collateral and sell it to satisfy debts.

How to Conduct a UCC Lien Search

A South Carolina resident can conduct a UCC lien search at the Secretary of State’s Office (SOS). An inquirer can make a UCC lien records request online by performing a name or filing number search. UCC lien search typically comes with a fee. Alternatively, a UCC lien search can be done by visiting the SOS office at:

South Carolina Secretary of State.
Edgar Brown Building
1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525
Columbia, SC 29201

What is a Judgment Lien in South Carolina?

One means of collecting civil debts in South Carolina is by filing a judgment lien. In South Carolina, judgment liens are court decisions that state with finality the status and identity of judgment creditors and debtors in a civil case. In such cases, the court orders the debtor to pay what they owe. However, this court order does not always guarantee that the debtor will obey; therefore, the creditor can enforce payment using judgment liens.

South Carolina judgment liens allow creditors to seize or sell the debtor's property if the party refuses to pay the debt. South Carolina laws allow judgment liens to be attached only to real property such as houses, condos, land, etc. To file a judgment lien, the judgment creditor can file a transcript of the judgment with the court clerk of common pleas where the property is located. However, if the initial judgment was entered in a court outside of South Carolina, the creditor must "domesticate" the judgment. Creditors may domesticate a judgment by filing a copy with the county's circuit court where they want to enforce the judgment.

These liens do not last forever. They remain attached to the debtor's property for ten years and must be executed within this period before expiration. Creditors require a document called a writ of execution to execute a judgment. The writ document must be prepared and attested to by the court clerk and delivered to the local sheriff. It empowers the sheriff with the authority to take possession of a debtor's non-exempt real property. The acquired property can then be sold at a local sheriff's sale, and the proceeds can be used to clear the debt.

What is a Federal Tax Lien

A federal tax lien is a legal right the federal government has to seize a person’s assets (such as property, securities, and vehicles) due to unpaid property taxes (Per IRC § 6321). A person in this context simply means individuals, estates, corporations, partnerships, trusts, companies, and associations (IRC 7701(a)(1). Per IRC § 6323, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gains priority against certain third parties by filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien to alert them that they have a legal right to the taxpayer’s property. Per IRC § 6320, IRS must notify the taxpayer in writing of the filing of a notice of lien within 5 business days after the date of filing. The notice can be given in person, left at the taxpayer’s home or workplace, or sent by certified/registered mail to the taxpayer’s address.

The IRS has only 10 years to collect the tax from the taxpayer (per IRC § 6502). If the 10-year collection period lapses, the lien would be removed except if certain circumstances occur that extend the collection period (per IRC § 6502). Individuals who want to avoid a federal tax lien must cultivate the habit of paying their taxes in full before the due date. Individuals who cannot pay the full amount of their taxes should take advantage of payment options the IRS provides to help settle their unpaid property taxes over time.

What is a Lien Title?

A lien title is a legal right a lienholder (a person, bank, or other financial institution) has to possess a person’s property until a debt is paid or an agreement is met. Typically, the lienholder hold’s the property's title until the loan is fully paid.

Where and How to Do a Title Search in South Carolina

A real property title search can be done at the Register of Deeds Office in the county where the property is located. However, the Register of Deeds staff cannot perform real property title searches for people. They recommend that interested persons hire either title researchers or attorneys to help with title searches.

On the other hand, a vehicle title search can be conducted at the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). An inquirer can request a vehicle title in person at the Department at:

South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles
10311 Wilson Boulevard
Building C
Blythewood, SC 29016

Voluntary Lien vs. Involuntary Lien in South Carolina?

When debtors refuse to pay or settle their liabilities, liens become unavoidable because creditors must secure their payments. Therefore, debtors can have liens attached to their properties with their consent or against their will. A voluntary lien (for example, a mortgage) is contractual or consensual. It is a legal claim created by an action taken by the debtor. It is attached with the debtor's consent.

In contrast, an involuntary lien (for example, tax liens) are not consensual. Instead, they are attached against a debtor's will.

How Creditors Collect Payment Through a Lien

Creditors can collect payment through a lien using collateral to secure the debt. The collateral can be repossessed by the creditor and/or sold to clear off the debt. Additionally, the lienholder can enforce their right to payment through a foreclosure action in South Carolina.

How to Get a Lien Removed in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, there are a few steps you can take to remove a lien. The first and most obvious step will be to pay off the debt. Once the debt owed is paid, the lienholder will remove the lien. For example, a state tax lien in South Carolina will be removed 30days after the tax has been paid and confirmed.

It is also a possibility to negotiate with the lien holder the amount you'd have to pay (different from the original amount owed) for the lien to be removed.

In South Carolina, a lien can also be removed by disputing it in court. In this case, disputing the lien in the court of law can have it removed. However, a state tax lien can't be appealed in South Carolina. This is because a state tax lien is only issued after the time of appealing it has elapsed.

How Long Does a Lien Stay on Your Property in South Carolina?

According to South Carolina laws, a lien can be on a property for ten years, after which it will expire. However, creditors may renew it for another ten years but before the expiration of the first judgment. This is peculiar to judgment liens.

For voluntary or specific liens, the lien will remain on the property until the debt is cleared. While state tax liens are cleared from the official registry 30 days after the debt is paid off.