S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-5 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-5
SECTION 30-5-5. Qualifications for eligibility to serve as register of deeds; quo warranto actions to determine eligibility.
Status: in_force

(A) In order to be eligible to serve or continue to serve as the register of deeds, a person must: (1) be a citizen of the United States and of this State; (2) be a qualified elector of the applicable county; (3) have: (a) a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited post-secondary institution; or (b) at least four years' experience: (i) in the fields of law, real estate, or accounting; or (ii) as an employee in a register of deeds office in this State; or (iii) as a register of deeds in this State; and (c) for an appointed register of deeds, a person must comply with any county requirements not conflicting with the qualifications in this section and the Constitution of South Carolina; and (4) not have a pattern of failing to properly record in the time and manner prescribed in Section 30-5-90. (B) A quo warranto action may be brought in accordance with Section 15-63-60 to determine a person's eligibility to seek the position of register of deeds or continue to serve as register of deeds. Editor's Note 2022 Act No. 213, SECTIONS 3, 4, provide as follows: "SECTION 3. Section 30-5-5(A)(3)(a) and (b), as added by this act, do not apply to a person who holds the office of register of deeds on the effective date of this act and during his tenure in office. "SECTION 4. If a quo warranto action is brought in accordance with Section 15-63-60 alleging (a) a register of deeds has a pattern of failing to record in the time and manner prescribed in Section 30-5-90, and (b) the pattern of failing to record occurred only prior to the effective date of this act, then the register of deeds may assert as an affirmative defense to the action that, on the date the action is filed and for thirty consecutive days thereafter, no properly delivered and executed document remains unrecorded in the office for more than thirty days after its receipt."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-35 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-35
SECTION 30-9-35. Filings against present or former government officials or employees; notice of invalid judgment or lien; liability of filing attorney; removal of judgment or lien; remedies for persons injured by wrongful filing.
Status: in_force

(A) A clerk of court or register of deeds may not accept for filing a judgment or other lien against a present or former federal, state, or local official or employee unless the judgment or other lien is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or appropriate governmental entity, or the judgment or other lien is otherwise authorized by statute. (B)(1) If a judgment or other lien is accepted for filing against an individual in contravention of subsection (A), the clerk of court or register of deeds shall accept for filing a notice of invalid judgment or lien. The notice must be signed by the: (a) assistant United States attorney or other attorney representing the federal agency of which the individual is an official or employee; (b) assistant attorney general or other attorney representing the state agency, board, commission, department, or institution of higher education of which the individual is an employee or official; or (c) attorney representing the political subdivision or unit of local government of the State which the official or employee serves if the individual is a local official or employee. (2) Within thirty days of filing of a notice of invalid judgment or lien, a copy of the notice of invalid judgment or lien must be mailed by the appropriate attorney to the person shown as the judgment or lien creditor or obligee at the return address provided in the judgment or lien. If no name or return address is provided in the judgment or lien, no notice must be given. (3) An attorney who files a notice of invalid judgment or lien pursuant to this subsection is not liable for damages as a result of filing the notice of invalid judgment or lien. (4) In addition to the procedure provided in this subsection, the clerk of court or register of deeds may remove a judgment or other lien pursuant to Section 30-9-30. (C)(1) The filing of a notice of invalid judgment or lien voids the judgment or other lien retroactively to the date it was filed. (2) A person who challenges the claim of invalid judgment or lien must commence suit in a state court of competent jurisdiction within thirty days after the date of mailing of the notice of invalid judgment or lien or the filing of the notice is binding and conclusive as to the invalidity of the judgment or other lien. (D) A person who is injured by the filing of a judgment or other lien in contravention of subsection (A), has the following civil remedies against the person who filed the judgment or other lien: (1) actual damages; (2) punitive damages; (3) costs; and (4) reasonable attorney's fees. (E) For purposes of this section: (1) "State or local official or employee" means an appointed or elected official or an employee of a state agency, board, commission, department, in a branch of state government, institution of higher education, other school district, political subdivision, or other unit of government of this State. (2) "Federal official or employee" means an employee or official of the United States government or a federal agency as defined for purposes of the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. Section 2671 (1988).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-110 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-110
SECTION 30-1-110. Destruction or other disposition of records.
Status: in_force

The director may approve the destruction or other disposition of accessioned records of any agency or subdivision which are in the custody of the department and which, after due appraisal according to archival principles, are determined not to be of archival or continuing administrative, legal, or fiscal value.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-60 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-60
SECTION 30-7-60. Assignment, satisfaction, or release of lien.
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided by statute, assignments, satisfactions, releases, and contracts in the nature of subordinations, waivers, and extensions of landlords' liens, laborers' liens, sharecroppers' liens, and other liens on personal property, created by law or by agreement of the parties, contracts in the nature of subordinations, waivers, and extensions of liens on real property, created by law or by agreement of the parties, made or entered into by the original mortgagee, lien creditor, or trustee, or his legal representative or any assignee under an assignment recorded as herein or otherwise provided, are good and effectual, both in law and in equity, for the protection of any subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration of the property affected by the mortgage or other instrument or lien created by law or any subsequent creditor obtaining a lien upon the property, notwithstanding any other assignment, transfer, satisfaction, release, subordination, waiver, or extension contract of the mortgage or other lien, or the obligation secured thereby, unless the other assignment, satisfaction, release, subordination, waiver, or extension contract of the mortgage or other lien or the obligation secured thereby, has been recorded as herein or otherwise provided or the purchaser or creditor has had actual notice thereof before the purchaser or lien creditor acquired any interest in or lien upon the property so encumbered.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-60 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-60
SECTION 30-13-60. Sharecroppers' rights.
Status: in_force

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to affect the rights of a sharecropper as they now exist under the laws of this State.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-30
SECTION 30-4-30. Right to inspect or copy public records; fees; notification as to public availability of records; presumption upon failure to give notice; records to be available when requestor appears in person.
Status: in_force

(A)(1) A person has a right to inspect, copy, or receive an electronic transmission of any public record of a public body, except as otherwise provided by Section 30-4-40, or other state and federal laws, in accordance with reasonable rules concerning time and place of access. This right does not extend to individuals serving a sentence of imprisonment in a state or county correctional facility in this State, in another state, or in a federal correctional facility; however, this may not be construed to prevent those individuals from exercising their constitutionally protected rights, including, but not limited to, their right to call for evidence in their favor in a criminal prosecution under the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure. (2) A public body is not required to create an electronic version of a public record when one does not exist to fulfill a records request. (B) The public body may establish and collect fees as provided for in this section. The public body may establish and collect reasonable fees not to exceed the actual cost of the search, retrieval, and redaction of records. The public body shall develop a fee schedule to be posted online. The fee for the search, retrieval, or redaction of records shall not exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training to perform the request. Fees charged by a public body must be uniform for copies of the same record or document and may not exceed the prevailing commercial rate for the producing of copies. Copy charges may not apply to records that are transmitted in an electronic format. If records are not in electronic format and the public body agrees to produce them in electronic format, the public body may charge for the staff time required to transfer the documents to electronic format. However, members of the General Assembly may receive copies of records or documents at no charge from public bodies when their request relates to their legislative duties. The records must be furnished at the lowest possible cost to the person requesting the records. Records must be provided in a form that is both convenient and practical for use by the person requesting copies of the records concerned, if it is equally convenient for the public body to provide the records in this form. Documents may be furnished when appropriate without charge or at a reduced charge where the agency determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public. Fees may not be charged for examination and review to determine if the documents are subject to disclosure. A deposit not to exceed twenty-five percent of the total reasonably anticipated cost for reproduction of the records may be required prior to the public body searching for or making copies of records. (C) Each public body, upon written request for records made under this chapter, shall within ten days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of its determination and the reasons for it; provided, however, that if the record is more than twenty-four months old at the date the request is made, the public body has twenty days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt to make this notification. This determination must constitute the final opinion of the public body as to the public availability of the requested public record, however, the determination is not required to include a final decision or express an opinion as to whether specific portions of the documents or information may be subject to redaction according to exemptions provided for by Section 30-4-40 or other state or federal laws. If the request is granted, the record must be furnished or made available for inspection or copying no later than thirty calendar days from the date on which the final determination was provided, unless the records are more than twenty-four months old, in which case the public body has no later than thirty-five calendar days from the date on which the final determination was provided. If a deposit as provided in subsection (B) is required by the public body, the record must be furnished or made available for inspection or copying no later than thirty calendar days from the date on which the deposit is received, unless the records are more than twenty-four months old, in which case the public body has no later than thirty-five calendar days from the date on which the deposit was received to fulfill the request. The full amount of the total cost must be paid at the time of the production of the request. If written notification of the determination of the public body as to the availability of the requested public record is neither mailed, electronically transmitted, nor personally delivered to the person requesting the document within the time set forth by this section, the request must be considered approved as to nonexempt records or information. Exemptions from disclosure as set forth in Section 30-4-40 or by other state or federal laws are not waived by the public body's failure to respond as set forth in this subsection. The various response, determination, and production deadlines provided by this subsection are subject to extension by written mutual agreement of the public body and the requesting party at issue, and this agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld. (D) The following records of a public body must be made available for public inspection and copying during the hours of operations of the public body, unless the record is exempt pursuant to Section 30-4-40 or other state or federal laws, without the requestor being required to make a written request to inspect or copy the records when the requestor appears in person: (1) minutes of the meetings of the public body for the preceding six months; (2) all reports identified in Section 30-4-50(A)(8) for at least the fourteen-day period before the current day; (3) documents identifying persons confined in a jail, detention center, or prison for the preceding three months; and (4) all documents produced by the public body or its agent that were distributed to or reviewed by a member of the public body during a public meeting for the preceding six-month period. (E) A public body that places the records in a form that is both convenient and practical for use on a publicly available Internet website is deemed to be in compliance with the provisions of subsection (D), provided that the public body also shall produce documents pursuant to this section upon request. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 1, rewrote the section, providing that electronic transmissions are included among the record formats available for inspection, providing certain limitations applicable to prisoners, providing that public bodies are not required to create electronic versions of public records to fulfill records requests, revising requirements concerning records request fulfillment fees, permitting public bodies to charge certain deposits before searching and copying public records in response to records requests, and revising the time limits and manner for responding to records requests.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-190 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-190
SECTION 30-5-190. Recordation of proceedings in bankruptcy.
Status: in_force

A certified copy of a petition, with schedules omitted, commencing a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Act of the United States, of the decree of adjudication in such proceeding or of the order approving the bond of the trustees appointed in such proceeding may be filed, indexed and recorded in the office of the register of deeds or clerk of court in those counties in which the office of register of deeds has been abolished in the same manner as deeds. The register of deeds or the clerk of court in those counties in which the office of register of deeds has been abolished shall file, index under the name of the bankrupt and record such certified copies filed for record in the same manner as deeds, for which services he shall be entitled to the same fees as are provided by law for filing, indexing and recording deeds. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-90 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-90
SECTION 30-7-90. Notice of unrecorded instrument.
Status: in_force

No possession of real property described in any instrument of writing required by law to be recorded shall operate as notice of such instrument. Actual notice shall be deemed and held sufficient to supply the place of registration only when such notice is of the instrument itself or of its nature and purport.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-20
SECTION 30-6-20. Definitions.
Status: in_force

In this chapter: (1) "Document" means information that is: (a) inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and (b) eligible to be recorded in the land records maintained by the register. (2) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. (3) "Electronic document" means a document that is received by the register in an electronic form. (4) "Electronic Recording Committee" means a committee composed of seven members and charged with developing the standards to implement this chapter. The Secretary of State shall serve as the chairman of the committee and the Governor shall appoint six members as follows: (a) one register from a county with a population greater than 100,000 according to the last decennial census, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds; (b) one register from a county with a population greater than 33,000 and less than 100,000 according to the last decennial census, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds; (c) one register from a county with a population less than 33,000 according to the last decennial census, upon recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds; (d) one representative of the title insurance industry, upon the recommendation of the Palmetto Land Title Association; (e) one real estate professional, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Realtors Association; and (f) one attorney whose practice includes the real estate area of the law, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Bar Association. (5) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. (6) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. (7) "Register" means the official, including the register of deeds, register of mense conveyances, or clerk of court, charged with the recording and indexing duties in Chapter 5 of Title 30. (8) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-20
SECTION 30-1-20. Custodians of records; records officer.
Status: in_force

The chief administrative officer of any agency or subdivision or any public body in charge of public records or creating, filing, or keeping public records is the legal custodian of these records and is responsible for carrying out the duties and responsibilities of this chapter which are assigned to public agencies, bodies, offices, or subdivisions. He may appoint a records officer to act on his behalf.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-70
SECTION 30-6-70. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
Status: in_force

This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-220 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-220
SECTION 30-5-220. Use of photostatic or photo recording in any county.
Status: in_force

Photostatic copies or photo-recording copies, duly authenticated by the signature of the clerk of court, or other proper official charged with the duty of recording legal papers, of any county in this State shall be sufficient compliance with the law with reference to the recording of all legal papers. Such recording shall have all of the legal incidents and effect otherwise provided by the recording laws of this State and copies of legal papers so recorded shall be admissible in evidence as such record.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-12 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-12
SECTION 30-5-12. . Appointment of register of deeds for certain counties.
Status: in_force

(A) The governing bodies of Anderson, Beaufort, Cherokee, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Oconee, Orangeburg, and Pickens counties shall appoint the register of deeds for its county under terms and conditions as it may agree upon. (B) The governing body of Georgetown County may appoint a register of deeds only after advertising the information concerning the appointment for two weeks before action is taken in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws. Effect of Amendment The 2006 amendment added Colleton County. The 2008 amendment added Clarendon county. The 2010 amendment made subsection (A) and (B) designations and in subsection (A) added Lancaster county. The 2013 amendment, in subsection (A), added the reference to Cherokee county. 2024 Act No. 197, SECTION 2, in (A), inserted "Florence,".
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-40
SECTION 30-4-40. Matters exempt from disclosure.
Status: in_force

(a) A public body may but is not required to exempt from disclosure the following information: (1) Trade secrets, which are defined as unpatented, secret, commercially valuable plans, appliances, formulas, or processes, which are used for the making, preparing, compounding, treating, or processing of articles or materials which are trade commodities obtained from a person and which are generally recognized as confidential and work products, in whole or in part collected or produced for sale or resale, and paid subscriber information. Trade secrets also include, for those public bodies who market services or products in competition with others, feasibility, planning, and marketing studies, marine terminal service and nontariff agreements, and evaluations and other materials which contain references to potential customers, competitive information, or evaluation. (2) Information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute unreasonable invasion of personal privacy. Information of a personal nature shall include, but not be limited to, information as to gross receipts contained in applications for business licenses, information relating to public records which include the name, address, and telephone number or other such information of an individual or individuals who are handicapped or disabled when the information is requested for person-to-person commercial solicitation of handicapped persons solely by virtue of their handicap, and any audio recording of the final statements of a dying victim in a call to 911 emergency services. Any audio of the victim's statements must be redacted prior to the release of the recording unless the privacy interest is waived by the victim's next of kin. This provision must not be interpreted to restrict access by the public and press to information contained in public records. (3) Records, video or audio recordings, or other information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information: (A) would interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding; (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication; (C) would constitute an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy; (D) would disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, by an agency conducting a lawful security intelligence investigation, or information furnished by a confidential source; (E) would disclose current techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose current guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure would risk circumvention of the law; (F) would endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; (G) would disclose any contents of intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communications not otherwise disclosed during a trial. (4) Matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute or law. (5) Documents of and documents incidental to proposed contractual arrangements and documents of and documents incidental to proposed sales or purchases of property; however: (a) these documents are not exempt from disclosure once a contract is entered into or the property is sold or purchased except as otherwise provided in this section; (b) a contract for the sale or purchase of real estate shall remain exempt from disclosure until the deed is executed, but this exemption applies only to those contracts of sale or purchase where the execution of the deed occurs within twelve months from the date of sale or purchase; (c) confidential proprietary information provided to a public body for economic development or contract negotiations purposes is not required to be disclosed. (6) All compensation paid by public bodies except as follows: (A) For those persons receiving compensation of fifty thousand dollars or more annually, for all part-time employees, for any other persons who are paid honoraria or other compensation for special appearances, performances, or the like, and for employees at the level of agency or department head, the exact compensation of each person or employee; (B) For classified and unclassified employees, including contract instructional employees, not subject to item (A) above who receive compensation between, but not including, thirty thousand dollars and fifty thousand dollars annually, the compensation level within a range of four thousand dollars, such ranges to commence at thirty thousand dollars and increase in increments of four thousand dollars; (C) For classified employees not subject to item (A) above who receive compensation of thirty thousand dollars or less annually, the salary schedule showing the compensation range for that classification including longevity steps, where applicable; (D) For unclassified employees, including contract instructional employees, not subject to item (A) above who receive compensation of thirty thousand dollars or less annually, the compensation level within a range of four thousand dollars, such ranges to commence at two thousand dollars and increase in increments of four thousand dollars. (E) For purposes of this subsection (6), "agency head" or "department head" means any person who has authority and responsibility for any department of any institution, board, commission, council, division, bureau, center, school, hospital, or other facility that is a unit of a public body. (7) Correspondence or work products of legal counsel for a public body and any other material that would violate attorney-client relationships. (8) Memoranda, correspondence, and working papers in the possession of individual members of the General Assembly or their immediate staffs; however, nothing herein may be construed as limiting or restricting public access to source documents or records, factual data or summaries of factual data, papers, minutes, or reports otherwise considered to be public information under the provisions of this chapter and not specifically exempted by any other provisions of this chapter. (9) Memoranda, correspondence, documents, and working papers relative to efforts or activities of a public body and of a person or entity employed by or authorized to act for or on behalf of a public body to attract business or industry to invest within South Carolina; however, an incentive agreement made with an industry or business: (1) requiring the expenditure of public funds or the transfer of anything of value, (2) reducing the rate or altering the method of taxation of the business or industry, or (3) otherwise impacting the offeror fiscally, is not exempt from disclosure after: (a) the offer to attract an industry or business to invest or locate in the offeror's jurisdiction is accepted by the industry or business to whom the offer was made; and (b) the public announcement of the project or finalization of any incentive agreement, whichever occurs later. (10) Any standards used or to be used by the South Carolina Department of Revenue for the selection of returns for examination, or data used or to be used for determining such standards, if the commission determines that such disclosure would seriously impair assessment, collection, or enforcement under the tax laws of this State. (11) Information relative to the identity of the maker of a gift to a public body if the maker specifies that his making of the gift must be anonymous and that his identity must not be revealed as a condition of making the gift. For the purposes of this item, "gift to a public body" includes, but is not limited to, gifts to any of the state-supported colleges or universities and museums. With respect to the gifts, only information which identifies the maker may be exempt from disclosure. If the maker of any gift or any member of his immediate family has any business transaction with the recipient of the gift within three years before or after the gift is made, the identity of the maker is not exempt from disclosure. (12) Records exempt pursuant to Section 9-16-80(B) and 9-16-320(D). (13) All materials, regardless of form, gathered by a public body during a search to fill an employment position, except that materials relating to not fewer than the final three applicants under consideration for a position must be made available for public inspection and copying. In addition to making available for public inspection and copying the materials described in this item, the public body must disclose, upon request, the number of applicants considered for a position. For the purpose of this item "materials relating to not fewer than the final three applicants" do not include an applicant's income tax returns, medical records, social security number, or information otherwise exempt from disclosure by this section. (14)(A) Data, records, or information of a proprietary nature, produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of state institutions of higher education in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on commercial, scientific, technical, or scholarly issues, whether sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private concern, where the data, records, or information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted, or patented. (B) Any data, records, or information developed, collected, or received by or on behalf of faculty, staff, employees, or students of a state institution of higher education or any public or private entity supporting or participating in the activities of a state institution of higher education in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on medical, scientific, technical, scholarly, or artistic issues, whether sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private entity until the information is published, patented, otherwise publicly disseminated, or released to an agency whereupon the request must be made to the agency. This item applies to, but is not limited to, information provided by participants in research, research notes and data, discoveries, research projects, proposals, methodologies, protocols, and creative works. (C) The exemptions in this item do not extend to the institution's financial or administrative records. (15) The identity, or information tending to reveal the identity, of any individual who in good faith makes a complaint or otherwise discloses information, which alleges a violation or potential violation of law or regulation, to a state regulatory agency. (16) Records exempt pursuant to Sections 59-153-80(B) and 59-153-320(D). (17) Structural bridge plans or designs unless: (a) the release is necessary for procurement purposes; or (b) the plans or designs are the subject of a negligence action, an action set forth in Section 15-3-530, or an action brought pursuant to Chapter 78 of Title 15, and the request is made pursuant to a judicial order. (18) Photographs, videos, and other visual images, and audio recordings of and related to the performance of an autopsy, except that the photographs, videos, images, or recordings may be viewed and used by the persons identified in Section 17-5-535 for the purposes contemplated or provided for in that section. (19) Private investment and other proprietary financial data provided to the Venture Capital Authority by a designated investor group or an investor as those terms are defined by Section 11-45-30. (b) If any public record contains material which is not exempt under subsection (a) of this section, the public body shall separate the exempt and nonexempt material and make the nonexempt material available in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. (c) Information identified in accordance with the provisions of Section 30-4-45 is exempt from disclosure except as provided therein and pursuant to regulations promulgated in accordance with this chapter. Sections 30-4-30, 30-4-50, and 30-4-100 notwithstanding, no custodian of information subject to the provisions of Section 30-4-45 shall release the information except as provided therein and pursuant to regulations promulgated in accordance with this chapter. (d) A public body may not disclose a "privileged communication", " protected information", or a "protected identity", as defined in Section 23-50-15 pursuant to a request under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. These matters may only be disclosed pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 23-50-45. (e) A public body only may disclose information concerning lottery prize claims as provided in Section 59-150-145. Effect of Amendment The 2006 amendment added subsection (d) relating to certain disclosures by a public body. 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 2, amended (a)(2) and (a)(3), revising provisions concerning law enforcement records. 2024 Act No. 106, SECTION 2, added (e).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-30
SECTION 30-15-30. Assistance from American Legion.
Status: in_force

The clerk of court shall call to his assistance the head officer of the posts of American Legion in his county to furnish a perfect list of the persons entitled to registration.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-70
SECTION 30-5-70. Recording of instrument when affidavit of subscribing witness cannot be procured.
Status: in_force

When the affidavit of a subscribing witness cannot be had by reason of the death, insanity or absence from the State of such witness, any such instrument may be recorded upon proof of such fact and of the handwriting of the parties who signed the instrument and of the subscribing witnesses by proper affidavit, the proof in every case to be recorded with the instrument.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-140 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-140
SECTION 30-1-140. Penalties for refusal or neglect to perform duty respecting records.
Status: in_force

A public official or custodian of public records who refuses or wilfully neglects to perform any duty required of him by Sections 30-1-10 through 30-1-140, including the transfer of records to storage facilities approved by the Archives, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-230 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-230
SECTION 30-5-230. Recordation of plats or copies of plats of real property.
Status: in_force

It shall be lawful for the owner of any real property or any interest therein or for any holder of a lien thereon to have a plat thereof, or a blueprint, tracing, photostatic or other copy of a plat thereof recorded in the office of the register of deeds or in the office of the clerk of court in those counties in which the office of register of deeds does not exist, of the county in which such property, or any part thereof, is situated. When any such plat or blueprint, tracing, photostatic or other copy of such plat is affixed or filed in the book provided by any such officer for that purpose and duly indexed, it shall be deemed a recording thereof. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-700 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 7 / Section 30-2-700
SECTION 30-2-700. Definitions.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. For the purpose of this article: (1) "Personal contact information" means the home address, personal cellular telephone number, or tax map number, if applicable, of the eligible requesting party. (2) "Eligible requesting party" means an active or a former judge who has filed a formal request under the provisions of this article. (3) "Disclosed records" means records accessible by a database or image of an official record, that are placed on a publicly available internet website maintained by or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency. Disclosed records for the purpose of this article do not include records available for purchase or through an account, by registration or subscription, from a state or local government agency. Editor's Note 2024 Act No. 220 SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. The effective date of Act No. 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement and Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Privacy Protection Act', is delayed from July 1, 2024, until July 1, 2025." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request." Effect of Amendment 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 2, in (1), substituted "address, personal cellular telephone number, or property tax map number, if applicable" for "address or, personal cellular telephone number"; and added (4).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-40
SECTION 30-15-40. Inquiry as to validity of discharge; oath of person seeking registration.
Status: in_force

If any clerk of court shall be in doubt as to whether or not any paper so presented for registration is an official discharge from the Army, Navy or Marine Corps of the United States or an official certificate of lost discharge, he may examine, under oath, the person so presenting such discharge or otherwise inquire into its validity. And every clerk of court to whom a discharge or certificate of lost discharge is presented for registration shall administer to the person offering such discharge or certificate of lost discharge for registration the following oath, to be recorded with and form a part of the registration of such discharge or certificate of lost discharge: "I, __________, being duly sworn, depose and say that the foregoing discharge (or certificate of lost discharge) is the original discharge (or certificate of lost discharge) issued to me by the government of the United States and that no alterations have been made therein by me or by any person to my knowledge. _ "Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of ____________ 19___ _"
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-715 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 7 / Section 30-2-715
SECTION 30-2-715. Compliance; liability.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. Any eligible requesting party may petition the court for an order directing compliance with this article. Liability may not accrue to a state or local government employee or to his agents for claims or damages that arise from personal contact information on the public record. Editor's Note 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-130 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-130
SECTION 30-1-130. Microfilming or photocopying records; preservation or disposition of copies.
Status: in_force

Any custodian of public records as defined by Sections 30-1-10 through 30-1-140 is authorized to photocopy, microfilm, or reproduce on film or by electrostatic method any part of the records kept by the office concerned unless otherwise prohibited by law or withheld from reproduction in the public interest. These copies may be used only in equipment or systems which accurately reproduce and preserve the original record in all details in a durable form. Each agency or subdivision shall preserve these photocopies, electrostatic copies, or films in conveniently accessible files and shall provide for preserving, examining, and using them. If the records are of permanent value to the agency or subdivision concerned or are determined to be of archival value by the Archives, one master copy of each record filmed must meet standards approved by the Archives and be deposited there. Custodians of public records may destroy the original records from which the photographs, microphotographs, films, or electrostatic copies have been made, or any part of them if the records are of no value to the agency concerned, and the Archives certifies that the records may be destroyed through this procedure or retention schedules approved by the Archives. The records microfilmed or reproduced and approved for destruction must be reported to the Archives in such manner as it may direct.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 1 / Section 30-2-50
SECTION 30-2-50. Obtaining personal information from state agency, local government, or other political subdivision for commercial solicitation; penalty.
Status: in_force

(A) A person or private entity shall not knowingly obtain or use personal information obtained from a state agency, a local government, or other political subdivision of the State for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State. (B) Each state agency, local government, and political subdivision of the State shall provide a notice to all requestors of records pursuant to this chapter and to all persons who obtain records pursuant to this chapter that obtaining or using public records for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State is prohibited. (C) All state agencies, local governments, and political subdivisions of the State shall take reasonable measures to ensure that no person or private entity obtains or distributes personal information obtained from a public record for commercial solicitation. (D) A person knowingly violating the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year, or both. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 6, amended the section, extending the prohibition against knowingly obtaining or using personal information to information obtained from local governments and political subdivisions of the State.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-70
SECTION 30-11-70. Validation of recordation of certain instruments.
Status: in_force

The act entitled "An Act to Amend Sections 705, 706 and 707 of the Code of 1912, Volume I, by substituting the words 'filed in duplicate' wherever the word 'recorded' occurs," approved March 10 1920 shall not affect or apply to deeds of conveyance of railroad beds, tracks and rights of way, cars, locomotive engines, rolling stock and other railway equipment, leases and mortgages or other conditional sale of, or other instruments in writing relating to, such property which were duly recorded pursuant to the law as it existed prior to March 10, 1920 and the records thereof are hereby declared to be legal and valid according to the terms of the law existing when such recordations were made.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-330 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 3 / Section 30-2-330
SECTION 30-2-330. Removal of social security numbers and other identifying information from official records filed by register of deeds or clerk of court or county.
Status: in_force

(A) A person preparing or filing a document to be recorded or filed in the official records by the register of deeds or the clerk of court of a county may not include an individual's social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords in that document, unless otherwise expressly required by law or court order or rule adopted by the state registrar on records of vital events. A loan closing instruction that requires the inclusion of an individual's social security number on a document to be recorded is void. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation. (B) Notwithstanding Section 30-1-30, or another provision of law, an individual or his attorney-in-fact or legal guardian may request that a register of deeds or clerk of court remove, from an image or copy of an official record placed on a publicly available Internet web site or a publicly available Internet web site used by a register of deeds or court to display public records by the register of deeds or clerk of court, the individual's social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords contained in that official record. The request must be made in writing, legibly signed by the requester, and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission, or delivered in person to the register of deeds or clerk of court. The request must specify the identification page number that contains the social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords to be redacted. The register of deeds or clerk of court has no duty to inquire beyond the written request to verify the identity of an individual requesting redaction. A fee must not be charged for the redaction pursuant to the request. (C) A register of deeds or clerk of court immediately and conspicuously shall post signs throughout his offices for public viewing and a notice on any Internet web site or remote electronic site made available by the register of deeds or clerk of court and used for the ordering or display of official records or images or copies of official records a notice, stating, in substantially similar form, the following: "A person preparing or filing a document for recordation or filing in the official records may not include a social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords in the document, unless expressly required by law. An individual has a right to request a register of deeds or clerk of court to remove, from an image or copy of an official record placed on a publicly available Internet web site or on a publicly available Internet web site used by a register of deeds or clerk of court to display public records, any social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords contained in an official record. The request must be made in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission or in person, to the register of deeds or clerk of court. The request must specify the identification page number that contains the social security, driver's license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, debit card number, or personal identification (PIN) code, or passwords to be redacted. There is no fee for the redaction pursuant to request."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-70
SECTION 30-1-70. Protection and restoration of records.
Status: in_force

The legal custodian of public records shall protect them against deterioration, mutilation, theft, loss, or destruction and shall keep them secure in vaults or rooms having proper ventilation and fire protection in such arrangement as to be easily accessible for convenient use. They must be kept in the buildings in which they are ordinarily used except in cases where they may be transferred for retention or disposal in accord with Sections 30-1-10 to 30-1-140 or for special public display by the appropriate authority. The director may order the removal of public records from any facility which does not meet records storage standards approved by regulations promulgated by the Archives. If public records of long term or archival value are in danger of loss due to negligence, deterioration, theft, or unauthorized disposal or destruction, the director may order that the records be transferred to suitable storage for the purpose of security microfilming or other necessary preservation measures. Records must be maintained, copied, or repaired, renovated, rebound, or restored in accordance with standards required by regulation and approved by the department if they are worn, mutilated, damaged, difficult to read, or in danger of loss at the expense of the public body having custody or responsibility if these records are of long term or archival value as determined under the provisions of this chapter.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-35 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-35
SECTION 30-5-35. Derivation clause and address of grantee or mortgagee on deeds and mortgages.
Status: repealed

(a) All deeds conveying an interest in land and all mortgages of real estate executed after July 1, 1976, must include a derivation clause in the property description and there must be inscribed on the deed or mortgage the mailing address of the grantee or mortgagee. When the grantor's or mortgagor's title was acquired by deed, the derivation clause must include the name of the grantor and the recording date of that deed. However, when the deed of derivation has been simultaneously executed and delivered and has not then been recorded it is sufficient to set forth in the deed or mortgage the name of the grantor of the deed of derivation and its date and that it is to be recorded. When the grantor's or mortgagor's title was obtained by inheritance or devise, the derivation clause must include the name of the person from whom the title was acquired, the approximate date of acquisition, and, in the case of property acquired under a probated will or administered estate, the probate court in which such estate was filed. However, a derivation clause is not required on a deed or mortgage of property devoted to a utility or railroad purpose of any private or public utility or railroad. Further, a derivation clause is not required on a quitclaim or non-warranty deed of real property. (b) A clerk of court or register of deeds shall not record any deed or mortgage after July 1, 1976, unless it contains a derivation clause as prescribed in subsection (a); provided, however, that he may record a deed or mortgage without such clause upon a showing satisfactory to him that the necessary information for such clause was not available. (c) The provisions of this section are intended to be regulatory in nature and will not affect the legality, force, effect or record notice of any instrument recorded in violation hereof. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1 directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the Code. Editor's Note 1976 Act No. 463, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "All acts requiring derivation clauses for particular counties are repealed."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-100 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-100
SECTION 30-1-100. Additional powers and duties of Archives.
Status: in_force

(A) In cooperation with the executive officer of each public agency or body and the governing body of each subdivision, the Archives shall establish and maintain a program for the selection and preservation of public records considered essential to the operation of government, for the protection of the interests of the public, and for the preservation of the state's documentary heritage. The Archives has the authority to determine in what medium records or archival value must be retained and transferred to the department. Within the limits of available funds, the Archives shall require preservation duplicates to be made of essential or historical records including those retained on electronic or optical disc systems or designate as preservation duplicates existing copies of these records including security copies on microfilm, computer output microfilm, or other media acceptable by the department or select certain original records for permanent preservation. (B) In order to make public records more available for research the Archives must honor reasonable requests for copies of public records of research value by reproducing and selling them as provided by Section 30-4-30. All monies received from the sale of such copies must be deposited with the State Treasurer to be used for making available copies of other public records of research value as determined by the Archives; provided, that their reproduction is not otherwise prohibited by law. (C) Any public official having records and official correspondence in his custody may turn over to the Archives any public records no longer in current official use, and the Archives may in its discretion receive the records and provide for their proper administration, preservation, reproduction, or disposition; provided, that any record placed in the custody of the Archives under special terms or conditions restricting their use shall be made accessible only in accordance with such terms and conditions. Upon receipt of the records, unless otherwise prohibited by law, copies of them may be made and certified under the seal of Archives, which certification has the same force and effect as if made by the official or agency which transferred them. The Archives may charge reasonable fees for such copies. (D) The Archives may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of Sections 30-1-10 to 30-1-140. The director may withhold from public access records restricted under the provisions of Chapter 4 of this title or restrict use of original records in danger of damage or loss from handling and use when in the opinion of the director the physical condition of the public records or other documents is such that they would be damaged by handling. Any decision of the director to withhold public records or other documents from inspection may be appealed to the Archives and History Commission, or through the relief procedures outlined in Section 30-4-100. (E) When any public records have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the procedure authorized in Sections 30-1-90 and 30-1-110, any liability that the custodian of the records might incur as a result of the official action shall cease.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-500 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 5 / Section 30-2-500
SECTION 30-2-500. Definitions.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. For the purposes of this article: (1) "Personal contact information" means the home address, personal cellular telephone number, or property tax map number, if applicable, of the eligible requesting party. (2) "Eligible requesting party" means an active or former law enforcement officer who has filed a formal request under the provisions of this article. (3) "Law enforcement officer" means an active or former federal, state, or local certified law enforcement officer or corrections officer. (4) "Disclosed records" means records accessible by a database or an image of an official record, that are placed on a publicly available internet website maintained by or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency. Disclosed records for the purpose of this article do not include records available for purchase or through an account, by registration or subscription, from a state or local government agency. Editor's Note 2024 Act No. 220 SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. The effective date of Act No. 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement and Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Privacy Protection Act', is delayed from July 1, 2024, until July 1, 2025." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request." Effect of Amendment 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 1, in (1), substituted "address, personal cellular telephone number, or property tax map number, if applicable" for "address or, personal cellular telephone number"; and added (4).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-75 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-75
SECTION 30-9-75. Second or backup copy of indices maintained by electronic or computer means.
Status: in_force

In all cases where indices affecting real property are required to be maintained in the offices of the clerk of court or register of deeds and where these indices are maintained by electronic or computer means, the clerk of court or register of deeds shall provide at least a second or backup copy of the indices which must be available for use by the public in the event of destruction or unavailability of the electronic indices. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-510 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 5 / Section 30-2-510
SECTION 30-2-510. Option for law enforcement officers to make personal contact information confidential; exceptions; procedures.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. (A) An eligible requesting party's personal contact information in a disclosed record shall be restricted on a publicly available internet website maintained by or operated on behalf of the state or local government agency if the law enforcement officer: (1) notifies the individual state or local government agency of the law enforcement officer's choice to restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records by submission of the designated form and any supplemental information requested by the state or local government agency; and (2) provides a notarized affidavit affirming current employment or previous employment as a law enforcement officer. The affidavit must include contact information for the employer. (B) A choice made under this article remains valid with the following exceptions: (1) the law enforcement officer rescinds the request in writing and provides notice to the state or local government agency; (2) the state or local government agencies disclose personal contact information related to violations of law or regulation as permitted by law; (3) the law enforcement officer requests release of the law enforcement officer's personal contact information from a state or local government agency for a specific purpose and for a limited time; (4) the personal contact information is included in a collision report or uniform traffic ticket maintained and provided by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles as permitted by law; (5) the personal contact information is included on a business filing or Uniform Commercial Code filing recorded with the South Carolina Secretary of State; or (6) the eligible requesting party's request to restrict information does not apply to a subsequent home address. The eligible requesting party is responsible for notifying through the designated form each state or local government agency of a subsequent home address of the eligible requesting party, and any documents filed after the original request to restrict personal contact information including, but not limited to, changes to the mortgage on a property, or any change in personal contact information. (C) Personal contact information protected under the provisions of this article may be disclosed under subpoena, by order of the court, upon written consent of the eligible law enforcement officer, or to a government agency. (D)(1) Personal contact information restricted from disclosed records under this section must remain within the official records held or maintained by a state or local government agency, but may not be included in an index or displayed on an image of an official record on a publicly available internet website maintained or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency. (2) In the event that a home address or tax map number cannot be restricted from a disclosed record within an index or from being displayed on an image of an official record on a publicly available internet website maintained or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency, then the image of the official record shall not be displayed and the state or local government agency must restrict the home address or tax map number portion from the display within the index, regardless of the location within the index. (E) Any personal contact information must be restricted, if requested by an eligible requesting party, from any disclosed record, including the designated form used to notify the state or local government agency and supplemental information requested by the state or local government agency, otherwise eligible to be released under any other provision of law. The provisions of this article must not be construed to prevent the disclosure of any other otherwise public information allowed by law. (F) A governmental agency that restricts or withholds information under this article shall provide to a requestor a description of the restricted or withheld information and a citation to this article. (G) Personal contact information restricted pursuant to this article may be disclosed to: (1) a title insurer or its affiliate; (2) a title insurance agent or agency; (3) a personal representative of a deceased eligible requesting party; (4) an attorney duly admitted to practice law in the State of South Carolina and in good standing with the South Carolina Bar or a person appointed in writing by said attorney to receive the restricted information on his behalf; or (5) a professional engineer or professional surveyor, as defined under Section 40-22-20, or a person appointed in writing by said professional engineer or professional surveyor to receive the restricted information on his behalf. (H) The restricted status of a home address contained in the official records within a county register of deeds is maintained only during the period when an eligible requesting party resides at the dwelling location. Upon the conveyance of real property that no longer constitutes an eligible request in the party's home address, the eligible requesting party must submit the designated form to release the restriction on personal contact information, including the home address information, and a notarized affidavit affirming the designated form to the county register of deeds. (I) Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit access to otherwise protected information in public records by applicable law including, but not limited to, the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. Section 2721, et seq.) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681, et seq.). Editor's Note 2023 Act No. 56, SECTION 2, provides as follows: "SECTION 2. The South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall create a form for law enforcement officers to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access or posting of personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following information: legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license number, personal email address, law enforcement identification number, law enforcement agency, federal employee number (if applicable), dates of service, service status, and an exception section to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose for a limited time." 2024 Act No. 220 SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. The effective date of Act No. 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement and Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Privacy Protection Act', is delayed from July 1, 2024, until July 1, 2025." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request." Effect of Amendment 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 1, rewrote the section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-70
SECTION 30-4-70. Meetings which may be closed; procedure; circumvention of chapter; disruption of meeting; executive sessions of General Assembly.
Status: in_force

(a) A public body may hold a meeting closed to the public for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Discussion of employment, appointment, compensation, promotion, demotion, discipline, or release of an employee, a student, or a person regulated by a public body or the appointment of a person to a public body; however, if an adversary hearing involving the employee or client is held, the employee or client has the right to demand that the hearing be conducted publicly. Nothing contained in this item shall prevent the public body, in its discretion, from deleting the names of the other employees or clients whose records are submitted for use at the hearing. (2) Discussion of negotiations incident to proposed contractual arrangements and proposed sale or purchase of property, the receipt of legal advice where the legal advice relates to a pending, threatened, or potential claim or other matters covered by the attorney-client privilege, settlement of legal claims, or the position of the public agency in other adversary situations involving the assertion against the agency of a claim. (3) Discussion regarding the development of security personnel or devices. (4) Investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct. (5) Discussion of matters relating to the proposed location, expansion, or the provision of services encouraging location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the area served by the public body. (6) The Retirement System Investment Commission, if the meeting is in executive session specifically pursuant to Section 9-16-80(A) or 9-16-320(C). (b) Before going into executive session the public agency shall vote in public on the question and when the vote is favorable, the presiding officer shall announce the specific purpose of the executive session. As used in this subsection, "specific purpose" means a description of the matter to be discussed as identified in items (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of this section. However, when the executive session is held pursuant to Sections 30-4-70(a)(1) or 30-4-70(a)(5), the identity of the individual or entity being discussed is not required to be disclosed to satisfy the requirement that the specific purpose of the executive session be stated. No action may be taken in executive session except to (a) adjourn or (b) return to public session. The members of a public body may not commit the public body to a course of action by a polling of members in executive session. (c) No chance meeting, social meeting, or electronic communication may be used in circumvention of the spirit of requirements of this chapter to act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. (d) This chapter does not prohibit the removal of any person who wilfully disrupts a meeting to the extent that orderly conduct of the meeting is seriously compromised. (e) Sessions of the General Assembly may enter into executive sessions authorized by the Constitution of this State and rules adopted pursuant thereto. (f) The Board of Trustees of the respective institution of higher learning, while meeting as the trustee of its endowment funds, if the meeting is in executive session specifically pursuant to Sections 59-153-80(A) or 59-153-320(C).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-10
SECTION 30-11-10. Recordation of deeds and other instruments.
Status: in_force

All deeds of conveyance of railroad beds, tracks and rights of way, cars, locomotive engines, rolling stock and other railway equipment, all leases and conditional sales of, and all other instruments in writing relating to, such property in this State, other than mortgages and deeds of trust, delivered or executed on or after January 1 1894 shall be valid, so as to affect from the time of such delivery or execution the rights of subsequent creditors or purchasers for valuable consideration without notice, only when filed in duplicate within forty days from the execution and delivery thereof in the office of the Secretary of State. But the above-mentioned deeds, leases, mortgages and other conditional sales and instruments in writing, if filed subsequent to the expiration of such period of forty days, shall be valid to affect the rights of subsequent creditors and purchasers for valuable consideration without notice from the date of such record only, one of the copies of any such instrument so filed shall be given its proper file number, indexed and retained in the office of the Secretary of State and the other shall be properly endorsed, giving the file number under which it is to be found and returned.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-90 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-90
SECTION 30-4-90. Minutes of meetings of public bodies.
Status: in_force

(a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all of their public meetings. Such minutes shall include but need not be limited to: (1) The date, time and place of the meeting. (2) The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent. (3) The substance of all matters proposed, discussed or decided and, at the request of any member, a record, by an individual member, of any votes taken. (4) Any other information that any member of the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes. (b) The minutes shall be public records and shall be available within a reasonable time after the meeting except where such disclosures would be inconsistent with SECTION 30-4-70 of this chapter. (c) All or any part of a meeting of a public body may be recorded by any person in attendance by means of a tape recorder or any other means of sonic or video reproduction, except when a meeting is closed pursuant to Section 30-4-70 of this chapter, provided that in so recording there is no active interference with the conduct of the meeting. Provided, further, that the public body is not required to furnish recording facilities or equipment.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-110 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-110
SECTION 30-4-110. Hearings regarding disclosure; appropriate relief; civil fine for violation.
Status: in_force

(A) A public body may file a request for hearing with the circuit court to seek relief from unduly burdensome, overly broad, vague, repetitive, or otherwise improper requests, or where it has received a request but it is unable to make a good faith determination as to whether the information is exempt from disclosure. (B) If a request for disclosure may result in the release of records or information exempt from disclosure under Section 30-4-40(a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (9), (14), (15), or (19), a person or entity with a specific interest in the underlying records or information shall have the right to request a hearing with the court or to intervene in an action previously filed. (C) If a person or entity seeking relief under this section prevails, the court may order: (1) equitable relief as he considers appropriate; (2) actual or compensatory damages; or (3) reasonable attorney's fees and other costs of litigation specific to the request, unless there is a finding of good faith. The finding of good faith is a bar to the award of attorney's fees and costs. (D) If a court determines that records are not subject to disclosure, the determination constitutes a finding of good faith on the part of the public body or public official, and acts as a complete bar against the award of attorney's fees or other costs to the prevailing party should the court's determination be reversed on appeal. (E) If the person or entity prevails in part, he may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees or other costs of litigation specific to the request, or an appropriate portion thereof, unless otherwise barred. (F) If the court finds that the public body has arbitrarily and capriciously violated the provisions of this chapter by refusal or delay in disclosing or providing copies of a public record, it may, in addition to actual or compensatory damages or equitable relief, impose a civil fine of five hundred dollars. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 5, rewrote the section, removing criminal penalties, and providing rights and remedies of public bodies from whom requests are made and persons with specific interests in exempt information for which disclosure is sought.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-240 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-240
SECTION 30-5-240. Recordation of plats or blueprints of subdivisions.
Status: in_force

When real property is subdivided for the purpose of sale and is sold or offered for sale according to a plat of a survey thereof, the person first offering such property for sale shall file a plat or blueprint of such survey in the office of the clerk of court of the county in which such real estate is situate. In the event that the owner fails to comply with the above provision he shall become liable to the purchaser or to any subsequent grantee of the land, or of any portion thereof, in such sum as shall be found necessary to procure and record such plat. Such sum shall be recovered by any such grantee provided he be interested as owner of all or a portion of the subdivided property at the time of the institution of the action for the enforcement of the liability hereby created.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-70
SECTION 30-7-70. Recording and indexing of certain liens against personal property.
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided in Chapter 9, Title 36 or by other applicable provisions of law, liens on personal property required to be recorded in the office of the register of deeds or clerk of court in those counties where there is no office of the register of deeds must be witnessed and probated in the manner required for the execution of deeds and must be recorded and indexed in a book entitled Miscellaneous Liens on Personal Property. A separate index showing the name of the lienor and lienee must be maintained for each separate type of lien recorded in this book. The recording officer is entitled to the same fees as are provided for recording of deeds of equal length. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-15 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-15
SECTION 30-4-15. Findings and purpose.
Status: in_force

The General Assembly finds that it is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in the formulation of public policy. Toward this end, provisions of this chapter must be construed so as to make it possible for citizens, or their representatives, to learn and report fully the activities of their public officials at a minimum cost or delay to the persons seeking access to public documents or meetings.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-80 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-80
SECTION 30-1-80. Records management program.
Status: in_force

A records management program directed to the application of efficient and economical management methods and relating to the creation, utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of public records must be established and administered by the Archives. It is the duty of that department to establish and develop standards, procedures, techniques, and schedules for effective management of public records, to make continuing surveys of recordmaking and recordkeeping operations, to recommend improvements in current records management practices, including the use of space, equipment, and supplies in creating, maintaining, and servicing records, to institute and maintain a training and information program in all phases of records and information management to bring approved and current practices, methods, procedures, and devices for the efficient and economical management of records to the attention of all agencies and subdivisions. The head of each agency, the governing body of each subdivision, and every public records custodian shall cooperate with the Archives in complying with the provisions of this chapter and to establish and maintain an active, continuing program for the economical and efficient management of the records of the agency or subdivision.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-10
SECTION 30-5-10. . Performance of register of deeds' duties by clerk of court in certain counties.
Status: in_force

(A) In every county in the State other than Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Cherokee, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, and Sumter the duties prescribed by law for the register of deeds must be performed by the clerk of court who has all the powers and emoluments given the register of deeds in Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Cherokee, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lexington, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, and Sumter counties. (B) The registers of deeds in Berkeley and Dorchester counties are elected for terms of four years and until a successor is elected in the general election and qualifies. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws. Effect of Amendment The 2006 amendment added Colleton County. The 2008 amendment added Clarendon county. The 2010 amendment made subsection (A) and (B) designations and in subsection (A) added Lancaster county. The 2013 amendment, in subsection (A), added two references to Cherokee county. 2024 Act No. 197, SECTION 1, in (A), inserted "Florence," in two places.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-40
SECTION 30-7-40. Manner of recordation of assignment or transfer of mortgage.
Status: in_force

The recordation of such an assignment or transfer as is mentioned in SECTION 30-7-30 shall, to be effective under such section, be upon the record of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument, except that it may be recorded elsewhere in the record for the recording of mortgages should there be no place upon the record of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument sufficient for the recordation of such assignment, in which event there shall be entered on the margin of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument whose assignment has been thus recorded elsewhere an appropriate reference to such recordation, giving the name of the assignee, the date of the assignment and the record and page where recorded.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-50
SECTION 30-9-50. Indexing of deeds of certain officers.
Status: in_force

Whenever any clerk of court or register of deeds in counties having such office, tax collector or sheriff shall make any conveyance of, or deed to, real estate, whether pursuant to any order or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, to a tax sale, to any levy, execution and sale for the satisfaction of a judgment or to any sale pursuant to a partition agreement or ordered by devise or last will, such sale shall be indexed in the office of the clerk of court or register of deeds in the county in which the real estate is situate, not only in the name of the sheriff, clerk of court, register of deeds, or tax collector, making such conveyance, but in the name of the last titleholder. The officer named shall advise the clerk of court or register of deeds of the name of the last title holder and the clerk of court or register of deeds shall index such conveyance in accordance with the provisions hereof. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-10
SECTION 30-15-10. Book for recording discharges from military and naval forces of United States.
Status: in_force

There shall be provided and at all times maintained in the office of the clerk of court of each county a special and permanent book in which shall be recorded official discharges from the military and naval forces of the United States. Such book shall be securely bound, shall contain an alphabetical index and the pages of it shall be printed in the form of discharge papers, with sufficient blank lines for the recording of such dates as may be contained in the discharge papers offered for registration.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-80 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-80
SECTION 30-4-80. Notice of meetings of public bodies.
Status: in_force

(A) All public bodies, except as provided in subsections (B) and (C) of this section, must give written public notice of their regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. The notice must include the dates, times, and places of such meetings. An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least twenty-four hours prior to such meetings. All public bodies must post on such bulletin board or website, if any, public notice for any called, special, or rescheduled meetings. Such notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than twenty-four hours before the meeting. This requirement does not apply to emergency meetings of public bodies. Once an agenda for a regular, called, special, or rescheduled meeting is posted pursuant to this subsection, no items may be added to the agenda without an additional twenty-four hours notice to the public, which must be made in the same manner as the original posting. After the meeting begins, an item upon which action can be taken only may be added to the agenda by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting; however, if the item is one upon which final action can be taken at the meeting or if the item is one in which there has not been and will not be an opportunity for public comment with prior public notice given in accordance with this section, it only may be added to the agenda by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting and upon a finding by the body that an emergency or an exigent circumstance exists if the item is not added to the agenda. Nothing herein relieves a public body of any notice requirement with regard to any statutorily required public hearing. (B) Legislative committees must post their meeting times during weeks of the regular session of the General Assembly and must comply with the provisions for notice of special meetings during those weeks when the General Assembly is not in session. Subcommittees of standing legislative committees must give notice during weeks of the legislative session only if it is practicable to do so. (C) Subcommittees, other than legislative subcommittees, of committees required to give notice under subsection (A), must make reasonable and timely efforts to give notice of their meetings. (D) Written public notice must include but need not be limited to posting a copy of the notice at the principal office of the public body holding the meeting or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held. (E) All public bodies shall notify persons or organizations, local news media, or such other news media as may request notification of the times, dates, places, and agenda of all public meetings, whether scheduled, rescheduled, or called, and the efforts made to comply with this requirement must be noted in the minutes of the meetings. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 70, SECTION 1, changed the paragraph designators to upper case; in (A), substituted "An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings" for "Agenda, if any, for regularly scheduled meetings" in the third sentence, added references to websites, and added the text beginning with "Once an agenda for a regular ..."; and made other nonsubstantive changes.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-30
SECTION 30-1-30. Unlawful removing, defacing or destroying public records.
Status: in_force

A person who unlawfully removes a public record from the office where it usually is kept or alters, defaces, mutilates, secretes, or destroys it is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days. Magistrates and municipal courts have jurisdiction to try violations of this section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-180 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-180
SECTION 30-5-180. Recording United States tax commissioners' titles in Beaufort County.
Status: in_force

The holders of all certificates or titles issued by or under the authority of the United States direct tax commissioners for this State shall be allowed to record them in the office of the clerk of court for the county of Beaufort. When such certificates shall have been so recorded, such recording shall be deemed to be a legal notice of title to the land described in them.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 1 / Section 30-2-30
SECTION 30-2-30. Definitions.
Status: in_force

For purposes of this act, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Personal information" means information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, an individual's photograph or digitized image, social security number, date of birth, driver's identification number, name, home address, home telephone number, medical or disability information, education level, financial status, bank account numbers, account or identification number issued by or used, or both, by any federal or state governmental agency or private financial institution, employment history, height, weight, race, other physical details, signature, biometric identifiers, and any credit records or reports. "Personal information" does not mean information about boating accidents, vehicular accidents, driving violations, boating violations, or driver status, or names and addresses from any registration documents filed with the Department of Revenue as a business address which also may be a personal address. (2) "Legitimate public purpose" means a purpose or use which falls clearly within the statutory charge or mandates of an agency, board, commission, institution, department, or other state entity. (3) "Commercial solicitation" means contact by telephone, mail, or electronic mail for the purpose of selling or marketing a consumer product or service. "Commercial solicitation" does not include contact by whatever means for the purpose of: (a) offering membership in a credit union; (b) notification of continuing education opportunities; (c) selling or marketing banking, insurance, securities, or commodities services provided by an institution or entity defined in or required to comply with the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, 113 Stat. 1338; or (d) contacting persons for political purposes using information on file with state or local voter registration offices. (4) "Medical information" includes, but is not limited to, blood samples and test results obtained and kept by the Department of Health and Environmental Control pursuant to Section 44-37-30.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-120 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-120
SECTION 30-5-120. Validation of certain conveyances not endorsed by auditor.
Status: in_force

(A) All conveyances of real estate which were recorded by a clerk of court or register of deeds of any of the several counties between December 14, 1876, and May 1, 1882, without the endorsement of the auditor of the county, have heretofore been declared to be as valid and binding, to all intents and purposes, as if such conveyances had been endorsed by the auditor of the county, as required by law. (B) All conveyances of real estate that were recorded by a clerk of court or register of deeds of any county that meet the prerequisite recording requirements established by Section 30-5-20, but are without the endorsement of the county auditor, are valid and binding. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws. Effect of Amendment 2024 Act No. 133, SECTION 2, inserted the (A) designator and added (B).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-160 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-160
SECTION 30-4-160. Sale of Social Security number or driver's license photograph or signature.
Status: in_force

(A) This chapter does not allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to sell, provide, or otherwise furnish to a private party Social Security numbers in its records, copies of photographs, or signatures, whether digitized or not, taken for the purpose of a driver's license or personal identification card. (B) Photographs, signatures, and digitized images from a driver's license or personal identification card are not public records.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-65 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-65
SECTION 30-4-65. Cabinet meetings subject to chapter provisions; cabinet defined.
Status: in_force

(A) The Governor's cabinet meetings are subject to the provisions of this chapter only when the Governor's cabinet is convened to discuss or act upon a matter over which the Governor has granted to the cabinet, by executive order, supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. (B) For purposes of this chapter, "cabinet" means the directors of the departments of the executive branch of state government appointed by the Governor pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-30-10(B)(1)(i) when they meet as a group and a quorum is present.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-50
SECTION 30-13-50. Powers of association over members.
Status: in_force

The provisions of this chapter shall not have the effect of conferring upon any such association any power over its members or of imposing upon its members any duties not now possessed by the association or owing by the members under existing contracts.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-50
SECTION 30-1-50. Penalty for failure to deliver records.
Status: in_force

Fifteen days after receipt of a certified letter from the legal custodian of the record or the Director of the Archives, a person in possession of a public record who refuses or fails to deliver as required in this chapter the record to the requesting party is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is fined not exceeding five hundred dollars. In addition, the legal custodian of the public records or the Director of the Archives may apply by verified petition to the court of common pleas in the county of residence of the person withholding the records and the court shall upon proper showing issue orders for the return of the records to the lawful custodian or the Director of the Archives.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-340 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 3 / Section 30-2-340
SECTION 30-2-340. Petition for compliance; liability of register of deeds or clerk of court.
Status: in_force

Any affected individual may petition the court for an order directing compliance with this section. Liability may not accrue to a register of deeds or clerk of court or to his agents for claims or damages that arise from a social security number or other identifying information on the public record.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-60 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-60
SECTION 30-15-60. Obtaining certified copy of registered discharge; discharge records as public information.
Status: in_force

(A) Any person authorized in subsection (C) desiring a certified copy of any discharge or certificate of lost discharge, registered under the provisions of this chapter, must apply for it to the clerk of court of the county in which the discharge or certificate of lost discharge is registered, and the clerk of court must furnish a certified copy. Fees for furnishing a certified copy of discharge or DD 214 form may be established by each county, but shall not exceed fifty cents. (B) The clerk of court or the register of deeds may designate the county veterans' affairs officer to receive these applications and furnish these copies as provided by this section. Subject to the approval of the county governing body, the clerk of court and the county veterans' affairs officer may enter into a written agreement pursuant to which the responsibilities of the clerk of court under this chapter to receive, record, and maintain recorded discharges may be devolved to the county veterans' affairs officer. Upon transfer of the records, the county veterans' affairs officer may issue copies as requested. (C)(1) A DD 214 record or other discharge record filed pursuant to this chapter is not a public record for purposes of Chapter 4, Title 30. It is unlawful for any person to permit inspection of any such record, to disclose information contained in the record, or to issue a copy of all or any part of the record, except as authorized by this subsection or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. (2) Upon presentation of proper identification, any of the following persons may examine a record filed pursuant to this chapter or obtain a copy or certified copy of all or part of such record: (a) the person who is the subject of the record, or his designee; (b) the spouse or next of kin of the person who is the subject of the record; (c) a person named in an appropriate power of attorney executed by the person who is the subject of the record; (d) the administrator, executor, guardian, or legal representative of the person who is the subject of the record; or (e) an attorney for any person specified in subitems (a) through (d) of this item. (3) Records kept pursuant to this chapter shall not be reproduced or used in whole or in part for any commercial or speculative purposes. (4) Any individual, agency, or court which obtains information pursuant to this subsection must not disseminate or disclose this information or any part thereof except as authorized in this subsection or otherwise by law. (5) Beginning fifty years after the death of the person who is the subject of the record, any person conducting genealogical research may examine a record filed pursuant to this chapter or obtain a copy or certified copy of all or part of such record. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-210 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-210
SECTION 30-5-210. Use of photostatic or other photographic method of recording in county with city over 70,000.
Status: in_force

In all counties in this State containing a city having a population of more than seventy thousand according to the official United States census in which the governing body of the county by resolution shall so provide and in which such governing body shall procure and furnish the necessary equipment therefor, the register of deeds shall record all instruments lodged for record, except deeds and mortgages of real estate, and may record all deeds and mortgages of real estate, by making two copies of them by photostatic or other photographic method of copying, one copy to be bound in an appropriate loose-leaf record book complying with the requirements of SECTION 30-1-170 and kept in a safe place in the office of the recording officer as a master copy and the other copy to be bound in a similar record book and made available for public use and inspection at all times. Such recording shall have all of the legal incidents and effect otherwise provided by the recording laws of this State. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-55 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-55
SECTION 30-4-55. Disclosure of fiscal impact on public bodies offering economic incentives to business; cost-benefit analysis required.
Status: in_force

A public body as defined by Section 30-4-20(a), or a person or entity employed by or authorized to act for or on behalf of a public body, that undertakes to attract business or industry to invest or locate in South Carolina by offering incentives that require the expenditure of public funds or the transfer of anything of value or that reduce the rate or alter the method of taxation of the business or industry or that otherwise impact the offeror fiscally, must disclose, upon request, the fiscal impact of the offer on the public body and a governmental entity affected by the offer after: (a) the offered incentive or expenditure is accepted, and (b) the project has been publicly announced or any incentive agreement has been finalized, whichever occurs later. The fiscal impact disclosure must include a cost-benefit analysis that compares the anticipated public cost of the commitments with the anticipated public benefits. Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure under Section 30-4-40(a)(1), (a)(5)(c), and (a)(9) remains exempt from disclosure.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-31 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-31
SECTION 30-9-31. Indexing of deeds where grantor is official acting pursuant to court order and not owner of record.
Status: in_force

When any deed of real property is executed by a master, referee, judge or other official is grantor acting pursuant to a court order, such deed shall be indexed in the grantor index by the clerk of court in the name of the owner of record of the property concerned immediately prior to execution of the deed, as well as in the name of the official who executes such deed as grantor.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-30
SECTION 30-5-30. Prerequisites to recording.
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided by statute, before any deed or other instrument in writing can be recorded in this State, it must be acknowledged or proved by the method described in subsection (A)(1), (A)(2), or (B). (A)(1) The execution of the deed or other instrument must be first proved by the affidavit of a subscribing witness to the instrument, taken before some officer within this State competent to administer an oath. If the affidavit is taken without the limits of this State, it may be taken before: (a) a commissioner appointed by dedimus issued by the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county in which the instrument is to be recorded; (b) a commissioner of deeds of this State; (c) a clerk of a court of record who shall make certificate of the deed or other instrument under his official seal; (d) a justice of the peace who shall append to the certificate his official seal; (e) a notary public who shall affix to the deed or other instrument his official seal within the state of his appointment, which is a sufficient authentication of his signature, residence, and official character; (f) before a minister, ambassador, consul general, consul, or vice consul, or consular agent of the United States of America; or (g) in the case of any officer or enlisted man of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard on active duty outside the State or any civilian employee of any such organization on active duty outside the continental confines of the United States, any commissioned officer of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, if the probating officer states his rank, branch, and organization. (2) The Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act must be complied with or the person executing it shall submit an affidavit subscribed to before a person authorized to perform notarial acts herein or by the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act that the signature on the deed or other instrument is his signature and that the instrument was executed for the uses and purposes stated in the instrument. (B) A deed or other instrument must be signed by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor and the signing must be acknowledged by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor in the presence of two witnesses, taken before some officer within this State competent to administer an oath. If the acknowledgment is taken without the limits of this State, it may be taken before: (1) a commissioner appointed by dedimus issued by the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county in which the instrument is to be recorded; (2) a commissioner of deeds of this State; (3) a clerk of a court of record who shall make certificate of the deed or other instrument under his official seal; (4) a justice of the peace who shall append to the certificate his official seal; (5) a notary public who shall affix to the deed or other instrument his official seal within the state of his appointment, which is a sufficient authentication of his signature, residence, and official character; (6) before a minister, ambassador, consul general, consul, or vice consul, or consular agent of the United States of America; or (7) in the case of any officer or enlisted man of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard on active duty outside the State or any civilian employee of any such organization on active duty outside the continental confines of the United States, any commissioned officer of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, if the probating officer states his rank, branch, and organization. (C) Where the instrument is acknowledged by the grantor or maker, the form of acknowledgement must be in substance as follows: "South Carolina, _________________ County. I (here give the name of the official and his official title), do hereby certify that (here give the name of the grantor or maker), personally appeared before me this day and acknowledged the due execution of the foregoing instrument. Witness my hand and (where an official seal is required by law) official seal this the ___ day of ___ (year). _________________ Signature of Officer" (D) The submission of a land development plan or land use plan is not a prerequisite and must not be required before the execution of a deed transferring undeveloped real property. A local governmental entity may still require the grantee to file a plat at the time the deed is recorded. Effect of Amendment 2016 Act No. 144, SECTION 2, in (A)(2), inserted the text from former (A)(3); added (D); and made other nonsubstantive changes. 2018 Act No. 250, SECTION 2, in the first undesignated paragraph, substituted "subsection (A)(1), (A)(2), or (B)" for "subsection (A) or (B)".
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-130 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-130
SECTION 30-5-130. Mortgages of leaseholds and other interests in real estate.
Status: in_force

Mortgages of leaseholds or other interests in real estate within the State and mortgages of dwellings or structures thereon, whether in one instrument or in separate instruments, shall be deemed to be mortgages of real estate and shall be recorded in the same manner as mortgages of real estate. The notice of such record shall be the same as the notice of the record of real estate mortgages and to the same extent. And the notice of the record of all mortgages of leaseholds or other interests in real estate in the State and of dwellings and structures thereon which have heretofore been recorded in the same manner as real estate mortgages shall be the same notice as given by the record of real estate mortgages and to the same extent.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-110 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-110
SECTION 30-5-110. Memorandum of livery of seizin shall be recorded.
Status: in_force

When any deeds or conveyances shall be acknowledged or proved as provided in this chapter in order to their being recorded, the memorandum of delivery and seizin thereupon made in deeds of feoffment shall in like manner be acknowledged or proved and shall be recorded with the deeds. Any such memorandum proved and acknowledged as aforesaid shall be taken and deemed a sufficient livery and seizin of the land or other real estate conveyed.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-40
SECTION 30-13-40. Landlords' and laborers' liens.
Status: in_force

Nothing contained in this chapter shall affect the statutory lien of a landlord for rent and advances or a laborer's lien.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-100 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-100
SECTION 30-4-100. Injunctive relief; costs and attorney's fees.
Status: in_force

(A) A citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court for a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, or both, to enforce the provisions of this chapter in appropriate cases if the application is made no later than one year after the date of the alleged violation or one year after a public vote in public session, whichever comes later. Upon the filing of the request for declaratory judgment or injunctive relief related to provisions of this chapter, the chief administrative judge of the circuit court must schedule an initial hearing within ten days of the service on all parties. If the hearing court is unable to make a final ruling at the initial hearing, the court shall establish a scheduling order to conclude actions brought pursuant to this chapter within six months of initial filing. The court may extend this time period upon a showing of good cause. The court may order equitable relief as it considers appropriate, and a violation of this chapter must be considered to be an irreparable injury for which no adequate remedy at law exists. (B) If a person or entity seeking relief under this section prevails, he may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and other costs of litigation specific to the request. If the person or entity prevails in part, the court may in its discretion award him reasonable attorney's fees or an appropriate portion of those attorney's fees. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 4, amended the section, providing time constraints within which determinative hearings on the requests for relief must be made.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-80 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-80
SECTION 30-9-80. Fees for indexing or notation.
Status: in_force

For any indexing or notation under SECTION 30-9-50 or 30-9-60 the clerk or register shall charge a fee of twenty-five cents for each paper indexed in the office of the clerk of court or register of deeds and the judge of probate shall charge a fee of twenty-five cents for each indexing in accordance with the provisions of said sections. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-20
SECTION 30-13-20. Recordation of marketing contracts or agreements.
Status: in_force

At any time after any such book shall have been so delivered to the register or clerk as provided in SECTION 30-13-10, the association which has delivered it may request the register or clerk to whom such book has been delivered to record therein any marketing contracts or agreements which have been entered into by such association and any members thereof. But if any such contracts or agreements be in the same words and figures as any other contracts or agreements with any other members of the association, with or without notations at the end thereof, and be separately signed by such members of the association, such association may have any such contract or agreement recorded once in extenso in such book and may furnish the register or the clerk with a list of the names of persons appearing on such contracts as signers thereof, with the dates, if any, of the signatures, respectively, together with a statement of any such notations, whereupon the register or clerk shall record such names as signatures, respectively, and the notations, if any, so furnished. Such recordation of the list of signatures so furnished shall be equivalent to the recordation in extenso of the contract or agreement of each signer thereof. Such copy of such contracts or agreements and such list of names of persons appearing on such contracts as signers thereof and statement of notations shall be sworn to by some officer of the association cognizant of the facts before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds. But in no case shall any such contract or agreement be deemed to be recorded as to any signer thereof until his name shall be indexed in such book by the register or clerk, which indexing such officer is hereby required to do.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-50
SECTION 30-4-50. Certain matters declared public information; use of information for commercial solicitation prohibited.
Status: in_force

(A) Without limiting the meaning of other sections of this chapter, the following categories of information are specifically made public information subject to the restrictions and limitations of Sections 30-4-20, 30-4-40, and 30-4-70 of this chapter: (1) the names, sex, race, title, and dates of employment of all employees and officers of public bodies; (2) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; (3) final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases; (4) those statements of policy and interpretations of policy, statute, and the Constitution which have been adopted by the public body; (5) written planning policies and goals and final planning decisions; (6) information in or taken from any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds by public bodies; (7) the minutes of all proceedings of all public bodies and all votes at such proceedings, with the exception of all such minutes and votes taken at meetings closed to the public pursuant to Section 30-4-70; (8) reports which disclose the nature, substance, and location of any crime or alleged crime reported as having been committed. Where a report contains information exempt as otherwise provided by law, the law enforcement agency may delete that information from the report; (9) notwithstanding any other provision of the law, data from a video or audio recording made by a law enforcement vehicle-mounted recording device or dashboard camera that involves an officer involved incident resulting in death, injury, property damage, or the use of deadly force. (a) A law enforcement or public safety agency may apply to the circuit court for an order to prevent the disclosure of the video or audio recording data. Notice of the request and of the hearing must be provided to the person seeking the record. A hearing must be requested within fifteen days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of the request for disclosure and the hearing shall be held in-camera. (b) The court may order the recording data not be disclosed upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the recording is exempt from disclosure as specified in Section 30-4-40(a)(3) and that the reason for the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. A court may order the recording data be edited to redact specific portions of the data and then released, upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence that portions of the recording are not exempt from disclosure as specified in Section 30-4-40(a)(3). (c) A court order to withhold the release of recording data under this section must specify a definite time period for the withholding of the release of the recording data and must include the court's findings. (d) A copy of the order shall be made available to the person requesting the release of the recording data. (10) statistical and other empirical findings considered by the Legislative Audit Council in the development of an audit report. (B) No information contained in a police incident report or in an employee salary schedule revealed in response to a request pursuant to this chapter may be utilized for commercial solicitation. Also, the home addresses and home telephone numbers of employees and officers of public bodies revealed in response to a request pursuant to this chapter may not be utilized for commercial solicitation. However, this provision must not be interpreted to restrict access by the public and press to information contained in public records. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 67, SECTION 3, inserted (A)(9), providing for the inclusion of law enforcement vehicle-mounted videos and audio recordings of certain incidents involving law enforcement officers as a category of information made public, providing procedures through which enforcement may seek exemption of disclosure of the recordings, and providing requirements for related court orders, and redesignated (A)(9) as (A)(10).
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-710 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 7 / Section 30-2-710
SECTION 30-2-710. Option for judges to make personal contact information confidential; exceptions; procedures.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. (A) An eligible requesting party's personal contact information in a disclosed record shall be restricted on a publicly available internet website maintained by or operated on behalf of the state or local government agency if the judge: (1) notifies the individual state or local government agency of the judge's choice to restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records by submission of the designated form and any supplemental information requested by the state or local government agency; and (2) provides a notarized affidavit affirming the current or prior service as a judge. The affidavit must include the contact information for the court administration office affiliated with the court the judge serves or previously served. (B) A choice made under this article remains valid with the following exceptions: (1) the judge rescinds in writing the request to restrict public access to or posting online of personal contact information and provides notice to the state or local government agency; (2) the state or local government agencies disclose personal contact information related to violations of law or regulation, as permitted by law; (3) the judge requests release of the judge's personal contact information from a state or local government agency for a specific purpose and for a limited time; (4) the personal contact information is included in a collision report or uniform traffic ticket maintained and provided by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, as permitted by law; (5) the personal contact information is included on a business filing or Uniform Commercial Code filing recorded with the South Carolina Secretary of State; or (6) the eligible requesting party's request to restrict information does not apply to a subsequent home address of the eligible requesting party. The eligible requesting party is responsible for notifying, through the designated form, each state or local government agency of a subsequent home address, and any documents filed after the original request to restrict personal contact information including, but not limited to, changes to the mortgage on a property, or any change in personal contact information. (C) Personal contact information provided under the provisions of this article may be disclosed under subpoena, by order of the court, upon written consent of the eligible judge, or to another government agency. (D)(1) Personal contact information restricted from disclosed records under this section must remain within the official records held or maintained by a state or local government agency, but not be included within an index or displayed on an image of an official record on a publicly available internet website maintained or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency. (2) In the event that a home address or tax map number cannot be restricted from a disclosed record within an index or from being displayed on an image of the official record on a publicly available internet website maintained or operated on behalf of a state or local government agency, then the image of the official record shall not be displayed and the state or local government agency must restrict the home address or tax map number portion from the display within the index, regardless of the location of the index. (E) Any personal contact information, as defined under this article, must be restricted, if requested by an eligible requesting party, from any disclosed record, including the designated form used to notify the state or local government agency and supplemental information requested by the state or local government agency, otherwise eligible to be released under any other provision of law. The provisions of this article must not be construed to prevent the disclosure of other public information otherwise allowed by law. (F) A state or local government agency that restricts or withholds information under this article shall provide to a requestor a description of the restricted or withheld information and a citation to this article. (G) Personal contact information restricted pursuant to this article may be disclosed to: (1) a title insurer or its affiliate; (2) a title insurance agent or agency; (3) the personal representative of a deceased eligible requesting party; (4) an attorney duly admitted to practice law in the State of South Carolina and in good standing with the South Carolina Bar or a person appointed in writing by said attorney to receive the restricted information on his behalf; or (5) a professional engineer or professional surveyor as defined under Section 40-22-20, or a person appointed in writing by said professional engineer or professional surveyor to receive the restricted information on his behalf. (H) The restricted status of a home address contained in the official records within a county of register of deeds is maintained only during the period when an eligible requesting party resides at the dwelling location. Upon the conveyance of real property that no longer constitutes an eligible requesting party's home address, the eligible requesting party must submit the designated form to release the restriction on personal contact information, including home address information, and a notarized affidavit affirming the designated form to the county register of deeds. (I) Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit access to otherwise protected information available by applicable law including, but not limited to, the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C Section 2721, et seq.) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681, et seq.). Editor's Note 2023 Act No. 56, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The South Carolina Court Administration shall create a form for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access or posting of personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following information: legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license number, personal email address, dates of service, status of service, and an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to protect personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time." 2024 Act No. 220 SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. The effective date of Act No. 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement and Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Privacy Protection Act', is delayed from July 1, 2024, until July 1, 2025." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request." Effect of Amendment 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 2, rewrote the section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-50
SECTION 30-15-50. Forgery of discharge.
Status: in_force

It is unlawful for a person to forge or in any manner alter any discharge or certificate of lost discharge issued by the government of the United States and offer it for registration or secure the registration of it under the provisions of this chapter. A person who violates the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than two years.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-270 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-270
SECTION 30-5-270. Real property recordings and filings; boundary clarification.
Status: in_force

(A) For the following counties of this State bordering North Carolina, Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, York, Lancaster, Chesterfield, Marlboro, Dillon, and Horry, hereinafter referred to as the "affected counties", the following provisions apply to a deed, plat, mortgage, security instrument, right of way, utility right of way, or other instrument affecting real property in the affected jurisdiction previously believed to be located in whole or in part in North Carolina and which is determined to be located in whole or in part in South Carolina as a result of the boundary clarification legislation. (B) Unless specifically provided otherwise or the context otherwise requires, and in this chapter: (1) "Abutter" means an owner whose property abuts or adjoins the property of another person with no intervening land in between owned by a third party. (2) "Affected counties" means any South Carolina county that abuts or adjoins the boundary with an affected jurisdiction. (3) "Affected jurisdiction" means a sovereign state whose common boundary with South Carolina has been clarified resulting in a change in the perceived location of the boundary to be that of the actual boundary. (4) "Affected lands" means real property of an owner whose perceived location has been clarified pursuant to the boundary clarification legislation. (5) "Boundary", as used in this chapter, has the meaning as established in Section 1-1-10 and in accordance with the constitution of this State. (6) "Boundary clarification legislation" means the amendments to Section 1-1-10, effective January 1, 2017. (7) "Clarification" means the official recognition of the original boundary as confirmed and agreed between an affected jurisdiction and the State of South Carolina pursuant to the boundary clarification legislation. (8) "Clarified line" means the officially recognized boundary between an affected jurisdiction and the State of South Carolina pursuant to the boundary clarification legislation. (9) "Muniments of title", where the term is used in this chapter, constitutes documents of record setting forth a legal or equitable real property interest or incorporeal hereditament in affected lands of an owner in the respective affected counties or an affected jurisdiction, or both. (10) "Notice of State Boundary Clarification", where the term is used in this chapter, constitutes the statutory form of notice to be recorded in South Carolina in the particular affected counties where affected lands now or previously lie. (11) "Owner" as used in this chapter means any person or entity owning of record a legal or equitable real property interest or incorporeal hereditament in affected lands as an abutter. (12) "Preclarification title" means muniments of title of record in an affected jurisdiction or the affected counties, or both, of an owner prior to the effective date of the boundary clarification legislation. (C) Notice of State Boundary Clarification: (1) On the effective date of this section, with respect to preclarification title as defined in this chapter where the instruments disclosing the muniments of title for that land were recorded in the public land records of an affected jurisdiction or the affected counties, or both, prior to the effective date of the clarification, the registers of deeds in the affected counties or the clerks of court in those counties not having registers where the affected lands are now or previously were perceived to be located, shall file the Notice of State Boundary Clarification, as specified in this section, in the record for all affected lands. The purpose of this notice is to alert anyone checking the title to real property that the real property constitutes affected lands that may be affected by the boundary clarification legislation and muniments of title for this land also may be recorded in the public land records of an affected jurisdiction. The notice must be properly indexed, including the correct order of indexing, in the same manner as any instrument conveying or encumbering real property. (2) On or before the effective date of this section, the registers of deeds or clerks referenced above must inform attorneys and others using their offices of the requirements of this section. The information may be provided by clerks and registers by those means that they would normally utilize to provide general notices to users of their services such as postings on their web pages. This information shall include a copy of or a link to the notice of state boundary clarification form. (3) The notice form must be substantially in the following format: The undersigned Register of Deeds/Clerk of Court of the County and State set forth above, does hereby certify, under the penalty of perjury, the following: (1) The following described tracts or parcels constitute affected lands as defined in Section 30-5-270(B)(4), which may be affected by the boundary clarification legislation effective January 1, 2017. [Legal description, derivation (if available) and TMS#] (2) The parties set forth below are an Owner, as defined in Section 30-5-270(B)(11). [List the name and address of all owners of record] (3) The muniments of title, as defined in Section 30-5-270(B)(9), providing the basis for this claim of ownership, recorded in the public records of the aforesaid County and State, are as follows: [List the specific instrument name and recording information] (4) Muniments of title of those claiming an interest in this land also may be recorded in the public land records of an affected jurisdiction, as defined in Section 30-5-270(B)(3). Date: (D) Policies of Title and Casualty Insurance issued prior to the effective date of the boundary clarification legislation are enforceable according to their terms and shall remain in effect regardless of whether the insured property has been determined to be in another state. (E) Clarification of the boundary does not alter, change, or affect in any manner the sovereignty rights of federally recognized Native American tribes over tribal lands on either side of a confirmed boundary line. Tribal sovereignty rights continue to be established and defined by controlling state and federal law.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-30
SECTION 30-7-30. Release or satisfaction of lien affecting title to real estate.
Status: in_force

A release or satisfaction of the lien of any mortgage or other written instrument affecting title to real property as security for the payment of money, made or entered into by the original mortgagee, trustee or his legal representative, or any assignee under an assignment recorded as provided in SECTION 30-7-40 shall be good and effectual, both in law and in equity, for the protection of any subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration of the property affected by such mortgage or other written instrument, or subsequent creditor obtaining a lien upon such property, notwithstanding any assignment or transfer of such mortgage or other written instrument or of the obligation secured thereby, unless such assignment or transfer shall have been recorded as provided in SECTION 30-7-40 or such purchaser or creditor shall have had actual notice thereof before such purchaser or lien creditor acquired any interest in or claim upon the real estate so encumbered.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-100 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-100
SECTION 30-7-100. Assignment of mortgage or note; collateral assignment; obligations involving Farm Credit System institutions.
Status: in_force

(A) For purposes of this section: (1) "Assignment of note" means every document endorsing, assigning, transferring, pledging, or conveying an interest in a note and mortgage securing the note, whether set forth in a separate instrument or contained in a loan agreement, financing agreement, or security agreement or given in conjunction with financing arrangements, involving Farm Credit System institutions. (2) "Collateral assignment" means any assignment of a note and mortgage made and delivered in connection with any extension of credit involving Farm Credit System institutions, where the assignor retains the right to collect or to apply the note payments after assignment and prior to default. (3) "Farm Credit System institution" means a Farm Credit Bank, (formerly Federal Land Bank or Federal Intermediate Credit Bank), an Agricultural Credit Bank, an agricultural credit association (ACA), a production credit association (PCA), a federal land bank association (FLBA), or a federal land credit association (FLCA), chartered by the federal Farm Credit Administration pursuant to the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended, or an act of the United States Congress, or any successor or assignee of any of the foregoing. (B) It is not necessary in order to perfect a valid written assignment of a mortgage or other agreement mortgaging real property or an interest in real property, which is pledged as security for an obligation involving Farm Credit System institutions, to record the written assignment in the office of the clerk of court or other recording office in the county in which the real property is located. A transfer of the promissory note or other instrument secured by the mortgage or other security instrument by an assignment of note to such an institution, which assignment of note constitutes an effective transfer or assignment under the laws of this State, constitutes an effective assignment of the mortgage or other security instrument. The assignee of the note is entitled to enforce all obligations contained in the promissory note or other agreement and possesses all of the rights of the assignor in the mortgage or other security instrument given to a Farm Credit System institution, including the right to foreclose the instrument in accordance with law without restriction. The provisions of this section do not preclude the recordation of a written assignment of a mortgage or other security instrument with or without the promissory note or other instrument that it secures. (C) The execution of a written document containing an assignment of note is valid and enforceable from the time of execution to pass the interest granted, pledged, assigned, or transferred in the note and the mortgage securing the note as against the assignor, and the transfer is perfected from the time of execution against subsequent assignees, lien creditors, and purchasers for valuable consideration from the assignor; provided, however, that service of process on a Farm Credit System institution that is a mortgagee of record in any foreclosure action, or other action affecting title to the underlying real estate collateral, must be deemed sufficient service to any Farm Credit System institution that is assignee of such mortgage and underlying note as provided herein. (D) Where an assignment of note is a collateral assignment, after a default under the loan agreement, financing agreement, security agreement, or other evidence of indebtedness which the assignment secures, the assignee is thereafter entitled, but not required, to collect and receive any accrued and unpaid or subsequently accruing note payments and to foreclose the mortgage securing the note subject to the assignment without need for the appointment of a receiver, any act to take possession of the note, or any further demand on the assignor or maker of the note. Unless otherwise agreed, after default the assignee is entitled to notify the maker or other obligor to make payment to the assignee and is also entitled to have possession of any payments or proceeds to which the assignee may be entitled. (E) This section does not exclude other methods of creating, perfecting, collecting, sequestering, or enforcing a security interest in notes and mortgages provided by the laws of this State. (F) For documents executed on or after the effective date of this section, the provisions of this section providing that the assignment of mortgages need not be recorded must be reflected in the mortgage in bold print.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-36 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-36
SECTION 30-5-36. Conveyance of property used for hazardous waste storage or disposal to contain notice of previous use.
Status: in_force

When any real property used as a hazardous waste storage or disposal facility permitted under SECTIONS 44-56-10 through 44-56-140 is sold, leased, conveyed or transferred in any manner, the deed or other instrument of transfer shall contain in the legal description in no smaller type than that used in the body of such deed or instrument, the following statement: "The real property conveyed or transferred by this instrument has previously been used as a storage or disposal facility for hazardous wastes."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-20
SECTION 30-4-20. Definitions.
Status: in_force

(a) "Public body" means any department of the State, a majority of directors or their representatives of departments within the executive branch of state government as outlined in Section 1-30-10, any state board, commission, agency, and authority, any public or governmental body or political subdivision of the State, including counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special purpose districts, or any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds, including committees, subcommittees, advisory committees, and the like of any such body by whatever name known, and includes any quasi-governmental body of the State and its political subdivisions, including, without limitation, bodies such as the South Carolina Public Service Authority and the South Carolina State Ports Authority. Committees of health care facilities, which are subject to this chapter, for medical staff disciplinary proceedings, quality assurance, peer review, including the medical staff credentialing process, specific medical case review, and self-evaluation, are not public bodies for the purpose of this chapter. (b) "Person" includes any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association. (c) "Public record" includes all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body. Records such as income tax returns, medical records, hospital medical staff reports, scholastic records, adoption records, records related to registration, and circulation of library materials which contain names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of public, private, school, college, technical college, university, and state institutional libraries and library systems, supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds, or records which reveal the identity of the library patron checking out or requesting an item from the library or using other library services, except nonidentifying administrative and statistical reports of registration and circulation, and other records which by law are required to be closed to the public are not considered to be made open to the public under the provisions of this act; nothing herein authorizes or requires the disclosure of those records where the public body, prior to January 20, 1987, by a favorable vote of three-fourths of the membership, taken after receipt of a written request, concluded that the public interest was best served by not disclosing them. Nothing herein authorizes or requires the disclosure of records of the Board of Financial Institutions pertaining to applications and surveys for charters and branches of banks and savings and loan associations or surveys and examinations of the institutions required to be made by law. Information relating to security plans and devices proposed, adopted, installed, or utilized by a public body, other than amounts expended for adoption, implementation, or installation of these plans and devices, is required to be closed to the public and is not considered to be made open to the public under the provisions of this act. (d) "Meeting" means the convening of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body, whether corporal or by means of electronic equipment, to discuss or act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power. (e) "Quorum" unless otherwise defined by applicable law means a simple majority of the constituent membership of a public body.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-10
SECTION 30-1-10. Definitions.
Status: in_force

(A) For the purposes of Sections 30-1-10 to 30-1-140 "public record" has the meaning as provided in Section 30-4-20(c). Nothing herein authorizes the Archives to make records open to the public in contravention of Sections 30-4-40, 30-4-50, and 30-4-70, respectively. (B) "Public body" means any department of the State, any state board, commission, agency, and authority, any public or governmental body or political subdivision of the State, including counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special purpose districts, or any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds, including committees, subcommittees, advisory committees, and the like of any such body by whatever name known, and includes any quasi-governmental body of the State and its political subdivisions, including, without limitation, bodies such as the South Carolina Public Service Authority and the South Carolina Ports Authority. (C) "Agency" means any state department, agency, or institution. (D) "Subdivision" means any political subdivision of the State. (E) "Archives" means the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. (F) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Archives and History.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-50
SECTION 30-11-50. Effect of certified copy of recorded instrument.
Status: in_force

A certificate or certified copy of any of the aforesaid papers when once filed, as hereinabove provided, by the Secretary of State, shall be competent evidence of such filing and of the facts contained in each deed, lease, mortgage or other instrument in writing so filed and certified in all the courts of this State.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-20
SECTION 30-15-20. Recordation of discharges.
Status: in_force

Upon the presentation of any official discharge or official certificate of lost discharge from the armed services of the United States, the clerk of court of any county of the State shall record free such discharge in the book provided for in SECTION 30-15-10.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-300 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 3 / Section 30-2-300
SECTION 30-2-300. Findings of General Assembly.
Status: in_force

The General Assembly finds: (1) The social security number can be used as a tool to perpetuate fraud against an individual and to acquire sensitive personal, financial, medical, and familial information, the release of which could cause great financial or personal harm to the individual. While the social security number was intended to be used solely for the administration of the federal Social Security System, over time this unique numeric identifier has been used extensively for identity verification purposes and other legitimate consensual purposes. (2) Although there are legitimate reasons for state and local government entities to collect social security numbers and other personal identifying information from individuals, government entities should collect the information only for legitimate purposes or when required by law. An entity that provides employee benefits has a legitimate need to collect and use social security numbers and personal identifying information as part of its administration and provision of employee benefits programs. (3) When state and local government entities possess social security numbers or other personal identifying information, the governments should minimize the instances this information is disseminated either internally within government or externally with the general public.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-310 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 3 / Section 30-2-310
SECTION 30-2-310. Collection of and maintenance and disposition of records containing social security numbers by public agencies.
Status: in_force

(A)(1) Except as provided in Sections 30-2-320 and 30-2-330 of this article, a public body, as defined in Section 30-1-10(B), may not: (a) collect a social security number or any portion of it containing six digits or more from an individual unless authorized by law to do so or unless the collection of the social security number is otherwise imperative for the performance of that body's duties and responsibilities as prescribed by law. Social security numbers collected by a public body must be relevant to the purpose for which collected and must not be collected until and unless the need for social security numbers has been clearly documented; (b) fail, when collecting a social security number or portion of it containing six digits or more from an individual, to segregate that number on a separate page from the rest of the record, or as otherwise appropriate, so that the social security number may be easily redacted pursuant to a public records request; (c) fail, when collecting a social security number or any portion of it containing six digits or more from an individual, to provide, at the time of or before the actual collection of the social security number by that public body, upon request of the individual, a statement of the purpose or purposes for which the social security number is being collected and used; (d) use the social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more for any purpose other than the purpose stated; (e) intentionally communicate or otherwise make available to the general public an individual's social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more or other personal identifying information. "Personal identifying information", as used in this section, has the same meaning as "personal identifying information" in Section 16-13-510, except that it does not include electronic identification names, including electronic mail addresses, or parent's legal surname before marriage; (f) intentionally print or imbed an individual's social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more on any card required for the individual to access government services; (g) require an individual to transmit the individual's social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more over the Internet, unless the connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted; (h) require an individual to use the individual's social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more to access an Internet web site, unless a password or unique personal identification number or other authentication device is also required to access the Internet web site; or (i) print an individual's social security number or a portion of it containing six digits or more on materials that are mailed to the individual, unless state or federal law requires the social security number be on the mailed document. (2) An entity that collects and uses social security numbers or other personal identifying information as part of the maintenance and reporting of employment records or the administration or provision of employee benefits programs is exempt from the prohibitions in this subsection. (B) Before a public body, as defined in Section 30-1-10(B), may transfer or dispose of information technology hardware or storage media owned or leased by it, all personal and confidential information must be removed and the hardware and storage media must be sanitized in accordance with standards and policies adopted by the Department of Administration, Division of the State Chief Information Officer. The director or appropriate information technology manager of the public body owning or leasing the information technology hardware or storage media shall verify that all personal and confidential information is removed and the information technology hardware and storage media are sanitized in accordance with those standards and policies before the transfer or disposal occurs. (C) When a public body disposes of a record that contains personal identifying information of an individual, the body shall modify, by shredding, erasing, or other means, the personal identifying information to make it unreadable or undecipherable. (D) A public body is considered to comply with subsection (C) if it contracts with a person engaged in the business of disposing of records for the modification of personal identifying information on behalf of the body in accordance with subsection (C). Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, references in this section to the offices of the former State Budget and Control Board, Office of the Governor, or other agencies, were changed to reflect the transfer of them to the Department of Administration or other entities, pursuant to the directive of the South Carolina Restructuring Act, 2014 Act No. 121, SECTION 5(D)(1), effective July 1, 2015.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-30
SECTION 30-13-30. Effect of recordation of marketing contract or agreement.
Status: in_force

When SECTIONS 30-13-10 and 30-13-20 shall have been complied with and any such record as is therein mentioned is made in the county in which a member of any such association resides such record shall operate as constructive notice of the existence of such contract or agreement and of the terms thereof and all persons contracting or dealing with any such member in relation to any such produce covered by such contract or agreement shall be bound thereby and all rights or liens acquired by any such person in such produce subsequent to the date of such record shall be subject in all respects to the rights of the association under such contract or agreement. But if any agricultural produce covered by such contract is sold at public auction or on a warehouse floor, the warehouseman or purchaser shall not be liable for any damages provided to be paid by any member in such contract unless actual notice is given in writing before settlement that the produce sold or offered for sale belongs to a member of the association.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-30
SECTION 30-6-30. Validity of electronic documents.
Status: in_force

(a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this chapter. (b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic signature. (c) A requirement that a document or a signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all other information required to be included, is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic signature.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-50
SECTION 30-6-50. Administration and standards.
Status: in_force

(a) Upon the recommendation of the Electronic Recording Committee, the Office of the Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations to adopt standards to implement this chapter. (b) To keep the standards and practices of registers in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this chapter and to keep the technology used by registers in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this chapter, the Office of the Secretary of State, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this chapter, in adopting, amending, and repealing standards shall consider: (1) standards and practices of other jurisdictions; (2) the most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry Association; (3) the views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities; (4) the needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources; and (5) standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-20
SECTION 30-7-20. Manner and form of recordation of contract affecting recorded lien on real property.
Status: in_force

The recordation of any contract in the nature of a subordination, waiver or extension of any lien on real property, created by law or by agreement of the parties, shall be upon the record of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument except that it may be recorded elsewhere, if in the book for the recording of mortgages there should be no place upon the record of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument sufficient for the recordation of such contract in the nature of a subordination, waiver or extension, in which event there shall be entered on the margin of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument in regard to which such contract in the nature of a subordination, waiver or extension has been thus recorded elsewhere an appropriate reference to such recordation, giving the names of the parties thereto and the date and the book and page where such instrument is recorded. But in any county where the records are photographed, or microphotographed, or filmed, and there shall be no place upon the record of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument or upon the margin of the recorded mortgage or other written instrument sufficient for the recordation of such contract in the nature of a subordination, waiver or extension, such documents may be separately recorded as other instruments, and notation of the place of such recordation shall be entered on the index for the mortgage or other written instrument, or in a legible manner in the jacket or other container for such photograph, microphotograph or film. Any contract in the nature of a subordination, waiver or extension of any lien on real property created by law or by agreement of the parties, to be entitled to be recorded as herein provided shall be in writing and witnessed as mortgages of real property are required to be witnessed and not probated when it is upon the original mortgage or other instrument itself, but when it is upon a separate piece then it shall be probated in the same manner as is provided by law for the probating of mortgages of real property.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-30
SECTION 30-9-30. Filing of written instruments concerning real or personal property; false or fraudulent documents.
Status: in_force

(A) Except as otherwise provided by statute, each clerk of court and register of deeds in this State shall keep a record, in the office in which he files all conveyances, mortgages, judgments, liens, contracts, and papers relating to real and personal property required by statute to be kept by him, by entering in the record the names of the grantor and grantee, mortgagor and mortgagee, obligor and obligee, or other parties to the written instruments, date of filing, and nature of the instrument immediately upon its lodgment for record. The filing is notice to all persons, sufficient to put them upon inquiry of the purport of the filed instrument and the property affected by the instrument. A return address must be provided on each conveyance, mortgage, judgment, lien, contract, or other document submitted for filing with the clerk of court or register of deeds. A document may be refused for filing if it lacks a complete return address. (B)(1) If a person presents a conveyance, mortgage, judgment, lien, contract, or other document to the clerk of court or the register of deeds for filing or recording, the clerk of court or the register of deeds may refuse to accept the document for filing if he reasonably believes that the document is materially false or fraudulent or is a sham legal process. Within thirty days of a written notice of such refusal, the person presenting the document may commence a suit in a state court of competent jurisdiction requiring the clerk of court or the register of deeds to accept the document for filing. (2) If the clerk of court or the register of deeds reasonably believes that a conveyance, mortgage, judgment, lien, contract, or other document is materially false or fraudulent, or is a sham legal process, the clerk of court or the register of deeds may remove the document from the public records after giving thirty days' written notice to the person on whose behalf the document was filed at the return address provided in the document. Within thirty days written notice of the proposed removal, the person providing the notice may commence a suit in a state court of competent jurisdiction preventing the clerk of court or the register of deeds from removing the document. (3) If a clerk of court or a register of deeds improperly refuses to accept for filing or recording or improperly removes from the public records a conveyance, mortgage, judgment, lien, contract, or other document pursuant to this section, the clerk of court or register of deeds is not liable for damages, personally or in his official capacity, for the improper refusal or removal. (4) For purposes of this subsection: (a) "Sham legal process" means a document that is not issued lawfully and that purports to be a judgment, lien, or order of a court or appropriate government entity, or otherwise purports to assert jurisdiction over or determine the legal or equitable status, rights, duties, powers, or privileges of a person or property. (b) "Lawfully issued" means adopted, issued, or rendered in accordance with applicable statutes, rules, regulations, and ordinances of the United States, a state, or an agency or a political subdivision of a state. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-515 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 5 / Section 30-2-515
SECTION 30-2-515. Compliance; liability.
Status: in_force

Section effective January 1, 2026. Any eligible requesting party may petition the court for an order directing compliance with this article. Liability may not accrue to a state or local government employee or to his agents for claims or damages that arise from personal contact information on the public record. Editor's Note 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. The effective date of Act 56 of 2023, which enacted the 'Law Enforcement Personal Privacy Protection Act' and the 'Judicial Personal Privacy Protection Act,' is delayed from July 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 4, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The Office of Court Administration and the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy shall collaborate to create the designated form for law enforcement officers and for judges to use to request a state or local government agency restrict public access to personal contact information in disclosed records. The form shall include a disclaimer to inform the requesting party the request is specific to the state or local government agency and will not be provided to other entities or apply to changes in personal contact information. The form must contain fields for the following: "(1) the requesting party's personal information including, but not limited to, legal name, date of birth, home address, driver's license information, personal email address, and where applicable, tax map numbers; "(2) the dates of service and status of service; "(3) the location of personal contact information in disclosed records by instrument number, book and page number of the copy or image, docket number, file number, vehicle identification number or title number; and "(4) an exception section to notify a state or local government agency of rescission of the request to restrict personal contact information and to permit disclosure of personal contact information for a specific purpose and for a limited time. "A state or local government agency may provide a supplemental form for the purposes of identifying information needed by the state or local government agency to address the eligible requesting party's request."
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-50
SECTION 30-5-50. Effect of failure of officer to state service serial number.
Status: in_force

No instrument otherwise entitled to admission to record shall be denied record on account of the failure of the officer taking the probate to state his service serial number.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-120 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-120
SECTION 30-1-120. Inventorying, repairing and microfilming records.
Status: in_force

(A) The Archives may execute a program of inventorying, repairing, and microfilming for security purposes the public records of the agencies and subdivisions which it determines have permanent value, and of providing safe storage of microfilm copies of those records. (B) The legal custodian of public records may have records in his custody removed from his office to be microfilmed by the department for preservation purposes, provided the filming does not interfere with the transaction of public business.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-10
SECTION 30-7-10. Validity of conveyances, liens, and other transactions as to subsequent purchasers and creditors.
Status: in_force

All deeds of conveyance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, either in fee simple or for life, all deeds of trust or instruments in writing conveying estate, creating a trust in regard to the property, or charging or encumbering it, all mortgages or instruments in writing in the nature of a mortgage of any real property, all marriage settlements, or instruments in the nature of a settlement of a marriage, all leases or contracts in writing made between landlord and tenant for a longer period than twelve months, all statutory liens on buildings and lands for materials or labor furnished on them, all statutory liens on ships and vessels, all certificates of renunciation of dower, all contracts for the purchase and sale of real property, all assignments, satisfactions, releases, and contracts in the nature of subordinations, waivers, and extensions of landlords' liens, laborers' liens, sharecroppers' liens, or other liens on real property created by law or by agreement of the parties and generally all instruments in writing conveying an interest in real estate required by law to be recorded in the office of the register of deeds or clerk of court in those counties where the office of the register of deeds has been abolished or in the office of the Secretary of State delivered or executed after July 31, 1934, except as otherwise provided by statute, are valid so as to affect the rights of subsequent creditors (whether lien creditors or simple contract creditors), or purchasers for valuable consideration without notice, only from the day and hour when they are recorded in the office of the register of deeds or clerk of court of the county in which the real property affected is situated. In the case of a subsequent purchaser of real estate, or in the case of a subsequent lien creditor on real estate for valuable consideration without notice, the instrument evidencing the subsequent conveyance or subsequent lien must be filed for record in order for its holder to claim under this section as a subsequent creditor or purchaser for value without notice, and the priority is determined by the time of filing for record. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-170 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-170
SECTION 30-1-170. Use of loose-leaf record books.
Status: in_force

All officers of the State and of counties and municipalities who are required to keep books of record may make use of loose-leaf record books for these purposes. The loose-leaf record book used must be one that can be locked and sealed when the book has been filled to its capacity with the proper pages of records, and the key to the book must always remain in the custody of the official in charge of the books of record.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-260 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-260
SECTION 30-5-260. Validation of previous recordings of plats.
Status: in_force

Any and all such plats or blueprint, tracing, photostatic or other such copies of such plats heretofore affixed or filed in the manner provided in SECTION 30-5-230 and duly indexed are declared to have been duly filed and recorded. The reference in any deed, mortgage or other instrument heretofore recorded to the boundaries, metes, courses or distances of such real estate as may be delineated or shown on any such plat or blueprint, tracing, photostatic or other copy thereof, heretofore affixed and filed in the manner provided in SECTION 30-5-230 and duly indexed, shall have the same effect as if the boundaries, metes, courses or distances of such real estate were set forth in extenso in such deed, mortgage or other instrument.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-15-15 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 15 / Section 30-15-15
SECTION 30-15-15. Invalidating filing of discharge form with court clerk.
Status: in_force

A person retired or discharged from the armed services of the United States who has filed his release or discharge certificate now known as DD Form 214 with the clerk of court of any county of this State for safekeeping or other purposes may invalidate this filing and remove it from the public records in the manner provided by this section. The person filing the certificate must notify the clerk of court in writing and under oath he wishes the certificate to be removed from the public records. The clerk of court shall remove the certificate from the public records and return the original to him if available and in possession of the clerk.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-40
SECTION 30-11-40. Filing and fee for filing written instruments.
Status: in_force

Such conveyances, leases, mortgages and other instruments in writing shall be filed by the Secretary of State in his office and for such filing he shall receive from the person offering such papers for file the sum of five dollars.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-140 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-140
SECTION 30-5-140. Validation of certain recordations bearing date prior to March 1, 1909.
Status: in_force

The probate of any and all deeds or other instruments in writing bearing date prior to March 1, 1909, whether recorded or not on that day, which are in compliance with the requirements of SECTIONS 30-5-30 and 30-5-70 are validated and their probate confirmed.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-70 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-70
SECTION 30-9-70. Indexing of deeds of certain officers and of passage of title by will or inheritance shall not constitute notice.
Status: in_force

The indexing required by SECTIONS 30-9-50 and 30-9-60 shall not constitute notice under the statutes of this State relating to the recording of instruments. But nothing herein contained shall impair or affect the notice of the record of the original instruments as otherwise provided by law.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 1 / Section 30-2-40
SECTION 30-2-40. Display of privacy policy on web site; access to personal information disclosure; criminal justice and judicial agency exception.
Status: in_force

(A) Any state agency, board, commission, institution, department, or other state entity which hosts, supports, or provides a link to page or site accessible through the world wide web must clearly display its privacy policy and the name and telephone number of the agency, board, commission, institution, department, or other state entity person responsible for administration of the policy. (B) Where personal information is authorized to be collected by an entity covered by this section, the entity must at the time of collection advise the citizen to whom the information pertains that the information is subject to public scrutiny or release. (C) Subsection (B) does not apply to criminal justice or judicial agencies, or both.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-150 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-150
SECTION 30-5-150. Validation of certain instruments.
Status: in_force

All such instruments which have been executed and the execution thereof proved by acknowledgment, as provided in 1944 Act No. 473 (1944 (43) 1323) since January 1, 1940 are hereby confirmed and ratified and the recordation of such instruments declared to be legal notice of the existence thereof as fully as if they had been duly executed and probated in conformity with the law of this State as it then existed with reference to the probate and recording of written instruments.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-7-50 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 7 / Section 30-7-50
SECTION 30-7-50. Manner in which assignment shall be executed and probated.
Status: in_force

Any assignment to be entitled to be recorded as provided in Section 30-7-40 shall be in writing and witnessed as mortgages of real property are required to be witnessed and shall not be probated when it is upon, or attached to, the original mortgage itself, but when it is upon a separate piece not attached to the original mortgage itself then it shall be probated in the same way as is now provided by law for the probating of mortgages of real property. Assignment of mortgage forms shall include the name of the mortgagor and the name and address of the mortgagee and the book, page, and date of recording of the original mortgage, and may include a toll free number for the assignee if such a number is available.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-16 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-16
SECTION 30-5-16. Records of state tax liens before and after August 1, 1978.
Status: in_force

On the effective date of SECTIONS 30-5-15 and 30-5-16, in those counties which have a register of deeds, all current records pertaining to state tax liens shall be maintained in the office of the register of deeds unless otherwise directed by the governing body of the county concerned. The register of deeds may begin a new record book of state tax liens beginning with liens filed after August 1, 1978, but such book shall note on the cover that the records of the clerk of court relating to state tax liens are on file in the office of the clerk of court and contain a record of state tax liens which are still effective. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-9-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 9 / Section 30-9-40
SECTION 30-9-40. Requirement and effect of indexing of instruments filed for recording.
Status: in_force

The register of deeds or clerk of court in those counties where the office of the register of deeds has been abolished shall immediately upon the filing for record of any deed, mortgage, or other written instrument of the character mentioned in Section 30-7-10 or Chapter 9 of Title 36 enter it upon the proper indexes in his office, which constitute an integral, necessary, and inseparable part of the recordation of the deed, mortgage, or other written instrument for any and all purposes whatsoever, and this shall likewise apply to any copy of the indexes made subsequently by the register of deeds or clerk of court, or the deputy of either, or by his authority for the purpose of replacing the original indexes. The entries in the indexes required to be made are notice to all persons sufficient to put them upon inquiry as to the purport and effect of the deed, mortgage, or other written instrument so filed for record, but the recordation of a deed, mortgage, or other written instrument is not notice as to the purport and effect of the deed, mortgage, or other written instrument unless the filing of the instrument for record is entered as required in the indexes. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-60 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-60
SECTION 30-4-60. Meetings of public bodies shall be open.
Status: in_force

Every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the public unless closed pursuant to SECTION 30-4-70 of this chapter.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-10
SECTION 30-6-10. Short title.
Status: in_force

This chapter may be cited as the "Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act".
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-180 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-180
SECTION 30-1-180. Inclusion of Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Church where names of major religions used.
Status: in_force

Where the names of major religious faiths, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, are used in resolutions, acts, or official papers of the State, or any of its political subdivisions, the name of the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Church must be included.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-165 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-165
SECTION 30-4-165. Privacy of driver's license information.
Status: in_force

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may not sell, provide, or furnish to a private party a person's height, weight, race, social security number, photograph, or signature in any form that has been compiled for the purpose of issuing the person a driver's license or special identification card. The department shall not release to a private party any part of the record of a person under fifteen years of age who has applied for or has been issued a special identification card. (B) A person's height, weight, race, photograph, signature, and digitized image contained in his driver's license or special identification card record are not public records. (C) Notwithstanding another provision of law, a private person or private entity shall not use an electronically-stored version of a person's photograph, social security number, height, weight, race, or signature for any purpose, when the electronically-stored information was obtained from a driver's license record.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-45 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-45
SECTION 30-4-45. Information concerning safeguards and off-site consequence analyses; regulation of access; vulnerable zone defined.
Status: in_force

(A) The director of each agency that is the custodian of information subject to the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(7)(H), 40 CFR 1400 "Distribution of Off-site Consequence Analysis Information", or 10 CFR 73.21 "Requirements for the protection of safeguards information", must establish procedures to ensure that the information is released only in accordance with the applicable federal provisions. (B) The director of each agency that is the custodian of information, the unrestricted release of which could increase the risk of acts of terrorism, may identify the information or compilations of information by notifying the Attorney General in writing, and shall promulgate regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, Sections 1-23-110 through 1-23-120(a) and Section 1-23-130, to regulate access to the information in accordance with the provisions of this section. (C) Regulations to govern access to information subject to subsections (A) and (B) must at a minimum provide for: (1) disclosure of information to state, federal, and local authorities as required to carry out governmental functions; and (2) disclosure of information to persons who live or work within a vulnerable zone. For purposes of this section, "vulnerable zone" is defined as a circle, the center of which is within the boundaries of a facility possessing hazardous, toxic, flammable, radioactive, or infectious materials subject to this section, and the radius of which is that distance a hazardous, toxic, flammable, radioactive, or infectious cloud, overpressure, radiation, or radiant heat would travel before dissipating to the point it no longer threatens serious short-term harm to people or the environment. Disclosure of information pursuant to this subsection must be by means that will prevent its removal or mechanical reproduction. Disclosure of information pursuant to this subsection must be made only after the custodian has ascertained the person's identity by viewing photo identification issued by a federal, state, or local government agency to the person and after the person has signed a register kept for the purpose.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-60 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-60
SECTION 30-6-60. Uniformity of application and construction.
Status: in_force

In applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-30 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-30
SECTION 30-11-30. Proof of execution of written instruments.
Status: in_force

Before any such deed, lease, mortgage or other instrument in writing can be filed by the Secretary of State, the execution thereof shall first be proved by the affidavit in writing of a subscribing witness to such instrument, in the same manner prescribed for the probate of deeds in relation to the recording of deeds in the office of the register of deeds of the several counties of this State. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 4 / Section 30-4-10
SECTION 30-4-10. Short title.
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Freedom of Information Act".
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-90 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-90
SECTION 30-1-90. Archives shall assist in creating, filing and preserving records; inventories and schedules.
Status: in_force

(A) The Archives may examine the condition of public records and give advice and assistance to public officials in the solutions of their problems in creating, filing, preserving, and making available the public records in their custody. When requested by the Archives, agencies and subdivisions must assist the Archives in preparing an inclusive inventory of records in their custody and establishing records schedules mandating a time period for the retention of each series of records. These schedules must be approved by the governing body of each subdivision or the executive officer of each agency or body having custody of the records and by the Director of the Archives. (B) In addition, general schedules for records series common to agencies and subdivisions may be issued by the Archives. Agencies and subdivisions must be allowed to opt out of these general schedules and proceed pursuant to the provisions of subsection (A) in the establishment of specific records schedules. (C) The Archives has express authority to review all public records for appraisal and scheduling purposes, including those records designated as closed, confidential, and restricted by law. However, in certain cases the department may waive its authority to review certain records after its approval of procedures developed by the executive officer or public official in charge of the records to provide the department with information needed for appraisal and scheduling purposes. (D) No records of long term or enduring value created, including those filed, kept, or stored electronically, or those records converted from paper to magnetic, optical, film, or other media in the transaction of public business may be disposed of, destroyed, or erased without an approved records schedule. All records disposals that are carried out in accordance with duly approved records schedules must be documented and reported in accordance with procedures developed by the Archives.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-11-20 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 11 / Section 30-11-20
SECTION 30-11-20. Recordation of mortgages and deeds of trust.
Status: in_force

Mortgages or deeds of trust covering the whole or any part of the real property of a railroad company and the appurtenant franchises are valid so as to affect from the time of their execution and delivery the rights of all subsequent creditors and purchasers, when filed within forty days from the execution and delivery of the mortgages or deeds of trust in the office of the Secretary of State. Within six months thereafter the mortgages or deeds of trust must be recorded also in the books provided for the recording of mortgages on real estate in the office of clerk of court or register of deeds of each county in which any part of the real property affected by the mortgages or deeds of trust is situated. The mortgages or deeds of trust, if so filed in the office of the Secretary of State subsequent to the expiration of the period of forty days and also recorded in the books provided for the recording of mortgages on real estate in the office of the clerk of court or register of deeds subsequent to the expiration of the period of forty days are valid to affect the rights of all subsequent creditors and purchasers from the date of the record. Before any mortgage or deed of trust covering property of a railroad company and the appurtenant franchises can be filed by the Secretary of State, copies of the mortgage or deed of trust must be furnished in duplicate, one of which must be given its proper file number, indexed, and retained in his office, and the other must be properly endorsed, giving the file number under which it is to be found and returned. Nothing contained in this section may be construed to affect the provisions of Section 58-15-920. The provisions of this section do not in any way affect any mortgage or deed of trust covering property of a railway company and the appurtenant franchises executed and filed or recorded prior to March 22, 1937. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-13-10 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 13 / Section 30-13-10
SECTION 30-13-10. Effect of delivery by agricultural association of "contract book".
Status: in_force

Whenever any body of agricultural producers, any co-operative association composed of agricultural producers or any co-operative marketing association incorporated under the laws of this State or under the laws of any other state of the United States and licensed to do business in this State (such body of agricultural producers, co-operative association or co-operative marketing association being hereinafter referred to as the association), which is engaged in marketing agricultural products for its members shall prepare and deliver to the register of deeds or to the clerk of the court in any county in which the office of the register of deeds has been abolished a book to be called "the contract book of __________" (naming the association), such book shall thereupon become a public record in the office of such register or such clerk and the register or clerk shall record therein the matters and things authorized by this chapter. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-6-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 6 / Section 30-6-40
SECTION 30-6-40. Recording of documents.
Status: in_force

(a) In this section, "paper document" means a document that is received by the register in a form that is not electronic. (b) A register: (1) who implements any of the functions listed in this section shall do so in compliance with the standards promulgated through regulation by the Office of the Secretary of State; (2) may receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents. (3) may provide for access to, and for search and retrieval of, documents and information by electronic means. (4) who accepts electronic documents for recording shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same index. (5) may convert paper documents accepted for recording into electronic form. (6) may convert into electronic form information recorded before the register began to record electronic documents. (7) may accept electronically any fee that the register is authorized to collect pursuant to Section 8-21-310. (8) may agree with other officials of a state or a political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to recording and the electronic payment of fees.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-1-40 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 1 / Section 30-1-40
SECTION 30-1-40. Records shall be turned over to successor or to Archives.
Status: in_force

A person having custody of public records, at the expiration of his term of office or employment, shall deliver to his successor, or if there is none, to the Archives, all public records in his custody.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-15 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 5 / Section 30-5-15
SECTION 30-5-15. Duties of clerk of court for state tax liens to be performed by register of deeds.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in those counties which have a register of deeds, the duties of the clerk of court for the county pertaining to the indexing and filing of state tax liens are hereby devolved upon the register of deeds for the county and the register of deeds shall index and file such liens in his office in the same manner as required of the clerk of court by law. Code Commissioner's Note 1997 Act No. 34, SECTION 1, directed the Code Commissioner to change all references to "Register of Mesne Conveyances" to "Register of Deeds" wherever appearing in the 1976 Code of Laws.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-320 — SC Code / Title 30 / Chapter 2 / Article 3 / Section 30-2-320
SECTION 30-2-320. Disclosure of social security numbers and identifying information.
Status: in_force

Social security numbers and identifying information may be disclosed: (1) to another governmental entity or its agents, employees, or contractors, if disclosure is necessary for the receiving entity to perform its duties and responsibilities, including a debt collected pursuant to the Setoff Debt Collection Act, Section 12-56-10, and the Governmental Enterprise Accounts Receivable Collections program, Section 12-4-580. The receiving governmental entity and its agents, employees, and contractors shall maintain the confidential and exempt status of those numbers; (2) pursuant to a court order, warrant, or subpoena; (3) for public health purposes; (4) on certified copies of vital records issued by the director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control as the state registrar, pursuant to Section 44-63-30 and authorized officials pursuant to Section 44-63-40. The state registrar may disclose personal identifying information other than social security number on an uncertified vital record; (5) on a recorded document in the official records of the county; (6) on a document filed in the official records of the courts; and (7) to an employer for employment verification or in the course of administration or provision of employee benefit programs, claims, and procedures related to employment including, but not limited to, termination from employment, retirement from employment, injuries suffered during the course of employment, and other such claims, benefits, and procedures.