South Carolina Vital Records Apostille: DPH Issues the Copy, the Secretary of State Stamps It
A South Carolina vital records apostille comes from the Secretary of State’s Authentications office in Columbia for $5 per document, once the record has been certified by the agency that issued it. For birth and death that agency is the Department of Public Health, which older Secretary of State pages still call DHEC. The Secretary of State publishes no processing time, so plan around the mail, not around a promise.
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DHEC is gone, but the Secretary of State’s page has not caught up
Picture an engineer in Greenville whose spouse already moved to Stuttgart. The residence permit file needs an apostilled marriage certificate. The engineer searches, lands on the Secretary of State’s vital records page, and reads that certified copies come from DHEC. That agency was split up. Vital records now sit with the Department of Public Health, known as DPH, and the old page still carries the old name.
The practical rule has not changed. The Secretary of State’s apostilles page says photocopies are not accepted, the record must be certified by the agency that issued it, and the signer must be an elected or appointed official whose signature is on file with the Secretary of State. A copy obtained from a county must bear the original signature of the elected official or an authorized deputy.
One relief for people overseas: DPH stopped using raised seals in 1999, and the office does not require one on its copies. If a helpful friend tells you the copy needs an embossed seal, check before you pay for a second one.
Same rule, new agency name. Ask for the DPH copy and say it is for an apostille.
What each South Carolina record needs before Columbia will touch it
Birth rules are confirmed. For the other three records the Secretary of State’s page is old, so the right-hand column carries more “confirm with the office” than we would like.
| Record | Who issues the certified copy | What the copy must show | Copy fee | Extra step before the apostille |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | DPH Vital Records, Columbia, by mail, online or in person. | A certified DPH copy. No raised seal needed. | $12 by mail, $17 online or in person. | None |
| Marriage | County Probate Court where the license was issued, or DPH Vital Records, mail only, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia. | For a county copy, the original signature of the elected official or a deputy. | DPH: $12 includes one certified copy, $3 for each extra. Probate fees: confirm with the court. | None named. Confirm with the office. |
| Death | DPH Vital Records only, through a local DPH office or online. | A certified copy, never a photocopy. | $12 includes one copy, $3 for each extra, $17 expedited online. | Confirm whose signature the Secretary of State has on file. |
| Divorce | Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed, for the decree. DPH issues a Report of Divorce, not the decree. | Decree certified by the clerk. A DPH report covers July 1962 to December 2025. | DPH report: $12 includes one copy, $3 each extra. Clerk fee: confirm with the clerk. | Confirm whether the Secretary of State takes the report or only the decree. |
DPH’s marriage page gives two different end years for its holdings, 2025 in one place and 2018 in another, so confirm the year before you order. Our guides to the marriage certificate apostille and the death certificate apostille explain the document side in plain terms.
The Authentications desk at 1205 Pendleton Street
The South Carolina Secretary of State’s apostilles page sends requests to Attn: Authentications, 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201. The fee is $5 per document, payable by check, money order or cash. Hand delivery runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The page states no processing time at all.
The office describes no e-apostille and no online ordering for the apostille itself. Your documents travel on paper, in both directions. That matters for the return leg to a foreign address, which the pages do not address, so ask the office before you rely on a prepaid courier label.
The record side is separate. Birth and death copies can be ordered online through DPH’s approved vendors, with an expedited choice at $17 plus a vendor charge. DPH’s marriage page and its divorce report page say those requests are mail-only for now, with in-person drop-off temporarily unavailable. DPH also points to processing delays tied to its ID work. Add that to your timeline.
One South Carolina record, three desks, one border
Getting a South Carolina record apostilled while you live overseas
- 1
Decide which copy the other side wants
A decree and a DPH report of divorce are different papers. Ask the consulate or ministry which it wants, then send us scans for the free review.
- 2
Order the right certified copy first
Birth and death can be ordered online. Marriage and divorce reports go by mail to DPH. Where South Carolina allows an authorized third party, we can help obtain the copy, and we confirm that in the review. Proof of identity rules belong to DPH and the court clerk, so check them before you order.
- 3
Check the copy when it arrives
Look for the official’s signature and the issuing office’s name. A scan is not enough, because Columbia wants the original.
- 4
Send it to Columbia with $5 per document
We put the file together and pay the state. If you go alone, a check or money order drawn on a US bank is the easy route.
- 5
Ship the set abroad
Express couriers usually need two to five business days to reach Europe or Latin America. Choose a service with tracking and a signature.
On the phone, Columbia is on Eastern time. Madrid and Stuttgart are usually six hours ahead, so you have a short window from mid-morning your time to early afternoon theirs.
Six reasons a South Carolina record is refused or delayed
- The agency name. The older Secretary of State page says DHEC. Order from DPH and do not assume you have the wrong office.
- A photocopy or a notarized copy. The Secretary of State accepts only a record certified by the issuing agency.
- A county copy without the original signature. A Probate Court or Clerk of Court copy needs the original signature of the elected official or an authorized deputy.
- The wrong divorce paper. DPH says it does not hold decrees. If the other side wants the decree, a report of divorce will not do.
- Mail-only delays. DPH’s marriage and divorce desks take requests by post, and the page warns of delays. Order early.
- An age rule you did not check. South Carolina sets no copy age limit that we found. Some destinations do, so ask before you order.
Two destinations South Carolina families ask about
Spain
Spain has been a Hague party since 1978. The Spanish consulate in Boston’s non-lucrative visa page asks for family documents such as a marriage certificate to be apostilled and, on that page, issued within the last 12 months. Birth certificates are left out of that age rule. A South Carolina marriage copy from years ago may therefore need replacing. Check the page for the consulate that serves you.
Germany
Germany joined the Convention in 1966. The German mission pages say embassies cannot issue apostilles and that a US marriage certificate needs one for a residence permit. Ask the local Aliens’ Office whether it also wants a German translation. We can provide ATA certified translations that get notarized, but we are not a sworn translator and we do not arrange sworn translations.
Check any other country on the HCCH status table. A country outside the Convention needs embassy legalization after the state step.
What we handle, and what it costs
You send scans, and we read them against what Columbia and DPH will accept. We tell you which office holds the right copy, help obtain it where South Carolina lets an authorized third party do that, deliver the file to Authentications, pay the $5 and ship the finished set to you. You can follow the case in ApostilleDesk. The how it works page lays out the stages.
Our published Massachusetts rates, per document with the state fee and return postage inside, are Economy $149.95, Express $199.95 and Rush $385.95. Those figures do not apply here. A South Carolina order gets its own flat-rate quote, which we send after the free review confirms the state fee and the likely speed, and before you pay anything. Rush is the fastest level, Express is 2 to 5 business days and Economy 1 to 2 weeks, plus transit. South Carolina pace follows the load at the state office. Details are on the pricing page.
Who we are: a private document preparation and courier service based in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, a short drive from Boston. No state office, school or consulate is affiliated with us. Phone (978) 424-4629 between 10am and 5pm Eastern, Monday to Friday. Hablamos Español.
Start your orderFrequently asked questions
How do I get a South Carolina record apostilled from abroad?
Order the right certified copy from DPH, a county Probate Court or a Clerk of Court, then send it to the Secretary of State in Columbia with $5 per document. We can run that chain for you, check the copy first and ship the apostilled set to your address abroad.
Who apostilles a South Carolina birth certificate?
The Secretary of State, Authentications, in Columbia, for $5 per document. The certified copy itself comes from DPH Vital Records, which costs $12 by mail or $17 online or in person. No raised seal is needed on the DPH copy. The office does not publish a processing time.
Is DHEC still the right agency for vital records?
No. Vital records now sit with the Department of Public Health. Some Secretary of State pages still say DHEC because they were not updated. Order from DPH and tell the office the copy is for an apostille. If anything looks inconsistent, confirm with the Authentications office.
How do I apostille a South Carolina divorce decree?
Ask the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed for a certified copy of the decree, with the clerk’s original signature. DPH holds only a report of divorce, not the decree. Confirm with the Secretary of State which of the two it will stamp.
Does a South Carolina marriage certificate need a notary?
No. The Secretary of State accepts records certified by the issuing agency, not notarized photocopies. Get the marriage copy from the county Probate Court or from DPH. A county copy must carry the original signature of the elected official or an authorized deputy.
How long does a South Carolina apostille take?
The Secretary of State’s page does not state a processing time, so any figure you read elsewhere is a guess. Add the time to obtain the DPH or county copy, which can be slower for marriage and divorce because those requests go by mail, and the courier days to your country.
What does a South Carolina apostille cost with your service?
We publish prices for Massachusetts only. A South Carolina order starts with a free review, after which you get one flat-rate quote. The state’s own fee is $5 per document. You approve the quote before any payment. Ask us about a volume discount if you have many records.
Keep reading
Georgia vital records
North Carolina vital records
Tennessee vital records
Divorce decree apostille
Vital records by state
Send us the record and the country
We tell you which South Carolina office holds the right copy, then handle the Columbia step and the courier home.