How to Get a Death Certificate in South Carolina

In South Carolina, certified death certificates come only from the SC Department of Public Health (DPH), Vital Records. DPH took over vital records from the former Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Probate courts and county clerks do not issue death certificates.

These people can order a certified copy:

• Immediate family members of the person who died. DPH does not define which relatives count as immediate family; state law (SC Code 44-63-84) says "members of the deceased's family"
• The legal representative of a family member
• A legal guardian (a box on the application form)
• Others who show a direct and tangible interest, when the record is needed to determine a personal or property right

Anyone else can get only a death statement (name, county and date of death), not a certified copy. Once 50 years have passed since the date of death, the record is public and anyone can request a copy.

On the application, you check your relationship to the person who died, and DPH uses that to decide whether you qualify. DPH's pages and form do not say what documents an executor, administrator or attorney must send to show they are a legal representative or have a direct and tangible interest. If you are an executor, have your proof of appointment from the probate court ready, and call DPH Vital Records at (803) 898-3630 to confirm what to send before you order.

Online and phone orders are open to immediate family only.

South Carolina has one issuing agency, DPH Vital Records, with several ways to order. DPH says all Vital Records offices can issue death certificates from any county in South Carolina.

In person (fastest)

Visit the DPH State Vital Records Office at 2600 Bull St., Columbia, SC 29201, or one of DPH's regional Vital Records offices in Beaufort, Charleston (North Charleston), Hampton, Orangeburg, Aiken, York (Rock Hill), Chesterfield, Florence, Georgetown, Horry (Conway), Sumter, Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood and Spartanburg counties. The Hampton County office is temporarily at the Allendale County Health Department, by appointment only. Find addresses and phone numbers on DPH's office locations page.

• Hours (all offices): Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wait: about 30-45 minutes on average, and most requests are done the same day. Mondays, Fridays and lunch hours are busiest; 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday is quieter.
• Cost: $17 for the first copy, $3 for each extra copy.

DPH describes its walk-in offices as issuing death certificates and statements from 2005 to the present. For a death before 2005, contact the office to confirm how to order.

Drop-off (Columbia state office only)

You can drop off a request at the Columbia office. It costs $12 with about a 4-week turnaround, or $17 for 5 business days or less. The certificate is mailed to you or picked up in Columbia.

Online (immediate family only)

DPH approves two online vendors: GoCertificates and VitalChek. DPH says it cannot guarantee orders from other websites will be processed.

• Cost: $17 for the first copy and $3 for each extra copy, plus a vendor fee of $8.70 (GoCertificates) or $8.75 (VitalChek). GoCertificates charges more vendor fees for extra copies. Expedited shipping costs extra. Credit or debit card only.
• Wait: about 5-7 business days, plus shipping.

By phone (immediate family only)

Call VitalChek at 1-877-284-1008, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The cost is $17 for the first copy and $3 for each extra copy, plus a $12.85 VitalChek service charge. Expedited shipping costs extra. Processing averages 5-7 business days.

By mail

Mail the application form (D-2594) to:

S.C. Department of Public Health, Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171

DPH asks that the envelope be addressed to "Vital Records." Mail requests are accepted only at the state office.

• Cost: $12 for the first copy, $3 for each extra copy. Pay by money order or cashier's check payable to S.C. DPH.
• Wait: about 4 weeks. There is no expedite option by mail.

Phone line for questions: (803) 898-3630, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays.

Application: the Certified Copy of a Death Certificate application (D-2594). A Spanish version (D-2594S) is on DPH's forms page. The form asks your relationship to the person who died and the purpose of the request.

Photo ID: DPH requires a valid, current government, school or employer-issued photo ID before it will search. Requests without proper ID are rejected and not processed. Accepted IDs include:

• A U.S. DMV-issued driver's license, ID card or learner's permit (unexpired)
• A current school or employer photo ID
• A military ID card
• A U.S. or foreign passport (unexpired)
• A permanent resident card or certain other immigration documents
• A federal, state or municipal weapon or gun permit (unexpired)

See the full list on DPH's ID requirements page. By mail, send a photocopy. In person, show your ID. Online, you upload a copy (VitalChek may verify your identity online instead).

Payment: by mail, a money order or cashier's check payable to S.C. DPH. For in-person orders, DPH's pages disagree: the death certificate page says exact cash, money order or cashier's check, while the fees page and the form say on-site service also takes credit and debit cards and cash. To be safe, bring exact cash or a money order, or call the office first.

If you are an executor or representative: bring proof of your role, such as your letters from the probate court, and call (803) 898-3630 to confirm what DPH accepts.

South Carolina offers three types to people who qualify:

• Death Long Certificate: all information, including the cause of death
• Death Short Certificate: leaves out the cause of death but does show the manner of death
• Death Statement: only the person's name, county and date of death. This is all that people who do not qualify for a certified copy can get

Families settling an estate generally need certified copies. Some banks, insurers and agencies want the cause of death, so ask each one whether it needs the long form before you order.

Death records become public 50 years after the date of death. For those older records, DPH issues non-certified copies unless a qualifying person asks for a certified one. They can also be viewed at the SC Department of Archives and History in Columbia.

You can order copies once the death certificate has been filed and registered.

The funeral home files it. The funeral director who first takes custody of the body collects the person's details from the family using the SC Funeral Home Worksheet and starts the record in DPH's electronic system. By law (SC Code 44-63-74), the funeral director must file it within 5 days after the burial-removal-transit permit is issued or the funeral director takes custody of the body, whichever is later.

The doctor in charge of the person's care must complete the cause of death within 48 hours of being notified, unless the coroner or medical examiner is investigating. If the cause can't be determined yet, it is entered as pending and added later.

DPH does not publish a typical number of days after death before copies can be ordered. Its process notes that certified copies are available for purchase from the funeral home or the family, so ask your funeral home whether it will order copies for you.

If there was no funeral home (a natural burial), the family member who takes custody of the body files the certificate using DPH's Non-Funeral Home Worksheet. Contact DPH at WebDeath@dph.sc.gov or (803) 898-3409 for help.

Many banks, insurers and agencies want their own certified copy, and some keep it. In South Carolina, extra copies cost only $3 each when ordered at the same time as the first, so ordering several at once usually costs less than going back later. See our guide on how many copies to estimate your number.

DPH has four ways to fix a death certificate:

• Correction: the family gave the funeral home the right information, but it was entered wrong, and you ask within one year of the death. DPH can check the original paperwork, such as the family's worksheet.
• Administrative amendment: the information given was wrong, or more than a year has passed. You provide evidence, such as a birth certificate, marriage license or DMV record, and DPH prepares an affidavit.
• Court-ordered amendment: needed when evidence isn't available or isn't approved, or the item was already changed before. A certified court order is required.
• Medical amendment: the cause of death and other medical information can only be changed by the doctor who certified the death or the county coroner. Contact them, not Vital Records.

Fees: a $15 amendment fee, plus the $12 search fee (includes one copy) and $3 for each extra copy. If the original application was within the past year, DPH asks you to return the old certificates.

Apply at any Vital Records office or by mail to S.C. DPH Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171. No office does same-day amendments. Most in-person requests are finished in 1-2 business days, and court-ordered amendments can take up to 2 weeks. Details are on DPH's death certificates page.

The only official ways to order a South Carolina death certificate are:

• DPH Vital Records in person, at the Columbia state office or a DPH regional office
• By mail to DPH Vital Records in West Columbia
• DPH's two approved online vendors, GoCertificates and VitalChek (VitalChek also takes phone orders)

DPH says it cannot guarantee that orders from other websites will be processed. Start from DPH's death certificates page and follow its links.

Older copies of the application form carrying the DHEC name may still circulate online. Download the current form from DPH's forms page.