A brief guide to marriage certificates in South Carolina
Two spouses who wish to legally establish their relationship must make sure to maintain all appropriate and related documentation. This means you will need a marriage certificate in South Carolina documenting that the appropriate ceremony has been performed. These requirements do not apply to people who are involved in common law marriages.
Marriage certificates in South Carolina are issued after the ceremony has occurred. A marriage cannot take place until both parties have applied for a license. Anyone who is age 18 or older will not need to do anything other than to apply in person, with their spouse. You will need to present appropriate government-issued ID in order to obtain a marriage certificate in South Carolina. People age 16 or 17 who wish to marry must have their parents accompany them in order to give their written consent to the ceremony's execution.
Anyone who wishes to obtain copies of marriage certificates in South Carolina must be one of the spouses involved, their past or present partner, their adult child or a duly appointed legal representative. While other people are not eligible to receive this document, they can still conduct research on any relationship. Rather than receiving a copy of a marriage certificate in South Carolina, you may request a document stating the date and location of the ceremony.
There are three ways in which you may apply for copies of marriage certificates in South Carolina. The fastest and least expensive way is to do this yourself in the city of Columbia. There, the offices of the Vital Records Services division of the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control can be expected to process your request for a copy of marriage certificate in South Carolina in under an hour. A $12 fee will be charged for this service, as well as a $3 fee for every additional copy.
Those who are unable to conduct the process of requesting copies of marriage certificates in South Carolina can do so through the mail. The fee for conducting a search in this way will be the same. However, it will may take as long as four weeks for your request for a copy of marriage certificate in South Carolina to be processed.
To save time, some people may wish to request this document over the phone or via email. In such case, their request for copies of marriage certificates in South Carolina will be handled by a private company. You will be assessed an additional $12.95 charge for their private services. However, in return you can expect to receive a copy of marriage certificate in South Carolina with a week's time.
You will need to submit some information in order for this process to be undertaken. Along with the date and county where the initial marriage certificate in South Carolina was issued, you will need to state your relationship to the spouses to establish you are entitled to receive this document.
