South Carolina Marriage License: Fees by County, Requirements & Timing (2026)

Getting married in South Carolina is refreshingly simple: both partners apply at any county probate court (or online, in counties that offer it), show valid photo ID, provide Social Security numbers, pay a fee that ranges from $30 to $120 depending on the county, and wait 24 hours for the license to be issued. There is no residency requirement, no blood test, and no expiration date — a license from any of the state's 46 counties is valid for a ceremony anywhere in South Carolina, indefinitely.

That last detail matters more than most couples realize. Because the license works statewide, you are free to apply wherever the fee and process are most convenient, not just where your venue sits. A couple marrying on Hilton Head can apply online through Charleston County without visiting a courthouse at all.

The rules that apply everywhere

Marriage licensing is handled by each county's probate court, but the framework is state law and identical across all 46 counties:

• Both partners must apply. No proxy or single-partner applications. Most counties require you to appear together in person; a few have moved the whole process online or accept notarized mail-in applications.
• Valid photo ID. A driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport for each partner.
• Social Security numbers. Some counties want the physical card; others accept any official document showing the number (a W-2, 1099, or insurance card). Non-citizens provide an alien identification number.
• A 24-hour waiting period. The clock starts when the application is filed. The license cannot be issued sooner, and no county can waive it.
• Age 18, or 16–17 with parental consent. Minor applications are handled in person by appointment, with a certified birth certificate. Horry County asks anyone under 25 for proof of age.
• Divorce paperwork if applicable. A prior marriage must be dissolved by a final decree, signed by a judge and filed with the clerk of court, before you can apply.
• No blood test, no witnesses, no residency requirement, no expiration.

One more piece of state law worth knowing: since the South Carolina Supreme Court's 2019 decision in Stone v. Thompson, new common-law marriages can no longer be formed in the state. The license is the only path.

Marriage license fees by county

Fees are set county by county, and every fee includes the $20 statewide surcharge that funds the Domestic Violence Fund under S.C. Code Section 20-1-375. In counties with residency tiers, the fee is based on the "most local" applicant — if either partner lives in the county, you pay the county-resident rate. Here is what the major counties charge, verified against each probate court's published schedule:

Certified copies of the completed license — which you will need for name changes, Social Security, and the DMV — run $5 in most counties ($5.25 in Lexington, $5.50 in Greenville, $8 in Richland). Order two or three at once; mailing a request later costs time and a research fee.

The spread produces some odd math. An out-of-state couple marrying in Myrtle Beach pays $120 if they apply in Horry County — or $30 if they drive to Lexington, roughly $45 through Richland's online portal, or $70 through Charleston's. All four licenses are equally valid at a Grand Strand ceremony.

How the major counties actually handle applications

Charleston County: fully online

Charleston retired the courthouse visit entirely. Couples complete the Live Online Virtual E-Application (the court calls it LOVE), upload photo ID, provide Social Security numbers, and pay $70 by card. After the 24-hour waiting period, the license is emailed within two business days of the completed application. For couples planning a Charleston wedding from out of state, this is the easiest process in South Carolina — and because the license works statewide, couples marrying in other regions use it too.

Richland County: online only

Richland (Columbia) also takes applications exclusively online, at roughly $45 paid by card. The license — three copies — is mailed to the first applicant's address about a week after applying, or you can call the court after the 24-hour wait to arrange pickup at the Judicial Center on Main Street. Columbia couples in a hurry sometimes find the $30 in-person option one county over in Lexington faster than waiting on the mail.

Horry County: in person in Conway, or by mail

The probate court sits in Conway, about 15 miles inland from Myrtle Beach — there is no license office on the beach itself. Payment is cash or money order only, and both partners bring Social Security cards and photo ID. The useful wrinkle for destination couples: Horry accepts mail-in applications with photocopied documents and a money order, as long as the application arrives at least 30 days before the ceremony. Plenty of couples planning a Myrtle Beach wedding skip the Conway trip entirely that way.

Beaufort County: appointment only, two offices

Beaufort takes applications by appointment only, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at two locations — the main office in Beaufort and a satellite office on William Hilton Parkway on Hilton Head Island, which saves Hilton Head and Beaufort couples the bridge-and-back trip. Bring exact cash; the court does not take cards.

Greenville, Lexington, and Spartanburg

Greenville offers both an online application and a walk-in counter at County Square, with the state's steepest out-of-state tier at $115. Lexington is the bargain of the state at a flat $30 and accepts notarized mail-in applications. Spartanburg is old-school: both partners appear at the courthouse on Magnolia Street with $80 in cash.

The 24-hour wait, in practice

The waiting period is measured from the moment the court clocks in your application, not from midnight. File at 10 a.m. Monday and the license can be issued at 10 a.m. Tuesday. In-person counties then hand it over at pickup; online counties add mailing or email time on top.

The planning rule: give it two business days minimum, and a full week if a county mails the license. Courts close on state holidays, and probate offices keep business hours — a Friday-afternoon application before a Sunday elopement will not work. For a Saturday wedding, applying on Monday or Tuesday of that week leaves comfortable margin.

Who can perform the ceremony

S.C. Code Section 20-1-20 authorizes four groups to solemnize a marriage:

• Ministers of the Gospel — clergy of any denomination, a category courts have read broadly enough to include ministers ordained online
• Rabbis
• Officers authorized to administer oaths in South Carolina — judges, magistrates, and notaries public
• The chief or spiritual leader of a Native American entity recognized by the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs

The notary provision is the one to remember. South Carolina is one of only a handful of states where a notary public can legally marry you, which is why "marriage notary" is a real profession here and why elopement packages along the coast often bundle one in. It is also the clean solution if a friend is officiating: an online ordination almost always qualifies, but having your friend become a South Carolina notary — or having a notary co-sign — removes any doubt.

There is no officiant registration in South Carolina. Two rules do carry teeth: the officiant must physically receive the license before the ceremony begins (performing a marriage without it carries a fine or jail time under state law), and the signed copies must be returned to the issuing probate court within 15 days of the ceremony. Established officiants and wedding planners treat the return as routine; if a friend is officiating, put someone in charge of mailing it.

After the ceremony

You sign, the officiant signs, and the officiant returns the court copies within 15 days. The probate court records the marriage and can then issue certified copies — the documents you will use to change a name with the Social Security Administration, the DMV, banks, and passports. Recorded marriages also flow to the state's vital records office at the Department of Public Health, but the issuing county is usually the fastest source for copies.

One small bonus while you are at it: couples who complete a qualifying premarital preparation course can claim a one-time $50 credit on their South Carolina income taxes under S.C. Code Section 20-1-230. Bring the completion certificate when you apply.

Timing for destination couples

Most couples marrying in South Carolina from out of state fall into one of three patterns:

• Handle it from home. Apply through Charleston County's online portal any time before the trip. The license arrives by email and never expires, so there is no such thing as applying too early.
• Mail it in. Horry County accepts applications by mail 30 or more days out; Lexington accepts notarized mail-in applications at the state's lowest fee.
• Apply on arrival. Land Monday or Tuesday for a weekend wedding, go to the probate court that morning with IDs and Social Security documentation, and collect the license after the 24-hour wait. Beaufort County requires an appointment, so book it before you fly.

Whichever route you take, slot the license into your planning timeline as a 60-days-out task rather than a wedding-week errand — the South Carolina wedding planning checklist places it there for exactly this reason. The couples who get burned are the ones who discover the Conway courthouse's cash-only policy, or a state holiday, on Thursday of wedding week.

Plan your South Carolina wedding

The license is the easy part — a flat fee, one form, and a 24-hour wait. The decisions that deserve your planning hours are the venue, the vendor team, and the budget behind both. Start with the South Carolina wedding cost guide to frame the numbers, then browse South Carolina wedding venues by region to find the place worth putting on the license.