United States

Apostille in South Carolina

Verified as of August 9, 2026

Everything below is transcribed from this office's own published sources and printed in its words. A value we could not confirm against an official page carries an unverified marker — but the absence of that marker is not a guarantee that a fact was checked, and the source's own doubts stay inside the notes reproduced here verbatim. Confirm fees, addresses and deadlines with the office before you send documents or money.

Who issues the apostille

Competent authority: South Carolina Secretary of State

Which documents this office will accept

From the source: Non-official signers' documents must be notarized by an SC notary with a complete notarial certificate; destination country must be identified (documents must be going to a foreign country)

By document type

Document type	What this office requires
birth/death certificates	only certified copies from DHEC Vital Records Division (photocopies not accepted)
marriage licenses	county Probate Court or DHEC
divorce decrees	county Clerk of Court or DHEC
county-official documents	must bear the official's (or authorized deputy's) original signature
school transcripts/letters	signed by a school official then notarized
SLED/sheriff/police record checks	signed by an agency official and notarized (internet printouts not accepted)
foreign-language documents	need an English translation signed and notarized by the translator

Certifications you may need first

No additional certification step is required before the apostille.

The request form

Form: No dedicated form — the office asks for a cover letter.
Where to get it: https://sos.sc.gov/sites/sos/files/Documents/Mail%20In%20Service/Apostilles/AuthenticationsCoverLetter2024.pdf
From the source: Authentication Cover Letter

Requesting online

Online route: There is no online request route — this office takes requests on paper.

Where to go in person

Columbia

SC Secretary of State's Office, Attn: Authentications, 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201

Access: Documents are dropped off here.
Hours: Hand-delivery accepted 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
From the source: Walk-in vs. appointment and same-day not stated on official page (unverified)

What it costs

Fee

$5.00 USD per document

$5.00 per document

How to pay

By mail

Check or money order.

In person

Cash.

Make it payable to

Secretary of State's Office

Copy that exactly as written.

From the source

Personal or company check, money order (payable to "Secretary of State's Office"), or cash (channels not itemized in source; cash placed in person)

Where to send your documents

Mailing address: SC Secretary of State's Office, Attn: Authentications, 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201

How long it takes

Processing time is not published for this office.

From the source: Not stated on official pages (unverified); submission by mail, UPS/FedEx, or hand-delivery 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Checking status and verifying an apostille

Verify an issued apostille: No public verification register is published for this office. That is not the same as an apostille being unverifiable — ask the office how it confirms one.
Check a request's status: No status-tracking page is published for this office.

Remote online notarization

Status

Remote online notarization is not permitted here. That is an attested no, not a gap in the source.

Legal basis

No statute authorizes notarial acts for remotely located individuals. In-person electronic notarization is permitted: Electronic Notary Public Act, S.C. Code §§ 26-2-5 to 26-2-190 (S.631, Act No. 85 of 2021), effective Nov. 30, 2022 (per NNA); § 26-2-50(A) requires the principal to appear "in person before the electronic notary public at the time of notarization"

What the notary must register

(For in-person e-notarization) Register with the Secretary of State via the online Notary Portal: active commission, Secretary-approved e-notary course + exam, $50 registration fee (§ 26-2-20(A)), identify technology/system provider

How the signer is identified

In-person standards only — personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence (government-issued photo ID or oath of a credible witness). No remote identity-proofing (KBA/credential analysis/biometric) framework exists

Fee caps

Standard notarial act: $5.00 USD

No maximum fee is recorded here for a remote act. A missing cap is not the same as “no cap” — the reason is in the notes below.

From the source

Max RON fee: N/A — RON not permitted. Electronic (in-person) notarial acts: "for acknowledgments, ten dollars per signature" and similar $10 caps per act (§ 26-2-70(B)). Max standard fee: $5 — "acknowledgment, five dollars per signature; oath or affirmation without a signature, five dollars per person; jurat, five dollars per signature; signature witnessing, five dollars per signature; verification of fact, five dollars per certificate" (§ 26-1-100(A), 2014 Act No. 185). NNA: "South Carolina has yet to enact statutes for remote notarial acts."

Every United States jurisdiction in this handbook

Other countries: Canada — Federal — Global Affairs Canada · Mexico — Federal — Secretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB)

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