2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 30 - Public Records › Chapter 15 - Recordation Of Veterans' Discharge › Section 30-15-60. Obtaining certified copy of registered discharge; discharge records as public information.

(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.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 60-408; 1952 Code Section 60-408; 1942 Code Section 8893; 1932 Code Section 8893; 1923 (33) 98; 1985 Act No. 160, Section 1; 1991 Act No. 137, Section 1; 2002 Act No. 308, Section 1.
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.