Conduct a Free Horry County Divorce Records Search

Look up free Horry County divorce records to discover more about marriages that have ended in the county.

These records can provide information such as when and where the divorce happened, why the couple separated, main details about each person involved, as well as child custody or support and how the assets were shared. This streamlined resource goes over all of the sources you’ll need to find sought-after divorce records in Horry County, South Carolina.

How To Look Up Horry County Divorce Records

The Clerk of Court of Horry County provides the opportunity to look up divorce records via their website. This is done through the public access portal.¹

When you access this portal, at first, you will see a screen with terms for use. Once you’ve read the terms for use, you must click ‘Accept’ to move ahead. When this is done, you will find yourself on the homepage.

Here’s where the search begins; click on the ‘Last name/Organization’ field and add the last name of the individual you are searching for, you can add more details like case type and date of the case filings if known.

You can also check either the phonetic box or the partial name box. These options will help even if names are not exact matches, plus, also make sure to select ‘Divorce’ from the case category section. Lastly, select Horry County from the drop-down menu list too.

Once you have filled in all of the known details hit the search option.

A list will appear on the screen including the name or organization linked, the linked case number plus extra information about each case such as description, court location, county, and dates regarding its filing and conclusion.

Apart from the above, there is also an option for searching through the case number which can be used to search for the exact record you are looking for. You can also contact the Clerk of Court at the following to get more details about the diverse records:²

Horry County Clerk of Court Office
1301 Second Ave.,
Conway, SC, 29526

Phone: (843) 915-5080
Fax: (843) 915-6081
Email: [email protected]

Furthermore, you can also launch a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to search for public divorce records through another separate online submission portal provided by the government of Horry county.³

Here you will be asked to provide details relating to yourself, such as name, address, phone number, email, city of residence, etc. and an in-depth description of the records requested.

Remember the more detailed the request, the easier it gets to find the records. After filling in all of the required details you will just need to press save at the end of the tab and your request will be submitted.

You can also attach additional documents to aid in the search process, however, this is not mandatory. As for the fee, 15 cents is charged per page along with the searching fee of $25 per hour.⁴ This fee once calculated by the officials can also be charged before initiating the search.

Search Divorce Records at the State Level via the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control

If you are searching for divorce certificates or records in Horry County, there can be times when the divorce happened somewhere else in South Carolina.

If this is the case, then the records maintained within Horry County would not be of any benefit, as the record you are searching for won’t be available. In such cases, you must reach out to the state department that keeps track of divorces throughout South Carolina.

Divorce has been legal in South Carolina from 1868 to 1878 and again from 1950 to today. You can get copies of divorce records from July 1962 onwards from the South Carolina Department of Health & Environment Control (SCDHEC). This also includes common law divorce records until 2019, after which they were illegalized.

For older divorce records dating between 1950 and 1962, you will need to get in contact with the Clerk of Court where the dissolution was finalized.

The divorce records can be obtained via the SCDHEC through in-person visits, mail-in requests, or online methods. If you are seeking a copy of divorce reports through the in-person visit, then you must first fill out the SCDHEC Vital Records Marriage/Divorce Application and bring it to the State Vital Records Office at the following:⁵

State Vital Records Office
2600 Bull St.
Columbia, South Carolina, 29201

Phone: (803)-898-3630
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Weekdays 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

The SCDHEC asks for a $17 fee (non-refundable) before proceeding with the search, and an ID document from the place of employment or government offices before handing out official copies of divorce records. If the requested records are found, no additional charges are expected from the requester.

For additional copies of the same report, however, an amount of $3 is charged for each copy requested. Payments can be made through cash or credit card and the whole process takes 30 to 45 minutes to complete.

If proceeding through a mail-in request, then a reduced amount of $12 (non-refundable fee) is charged by the SCDHEC along with the standard $3 cost, charged per copy. The process also remains the same, i.e., you will need to send the SCDHEC filled out application form along with a copy of your photo ID and a check or money order.

The check or money order needs to be payable to the SCDHEC and has to be sent to the following address:

State Vital Records Office
2600 Bull St. 
Columbia, South Carolina, 29201

Phone: (803)-898-3630

In addition to the methods already mentioned above, the SCDHEC also offers access to divorce records via VitalChek platform where similar fees apply ($17 searching fee, non-refundable), along with service fee which cost around $12.85.⁶

Are Divorce Records in Horry County South Carolina Available for Anyone’s Viewing?

Divorce records in South Carolina are considered public records. This is due to South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, which allows every citizen to inspect public records.⁷ However, not every divorce record is available to the public.

This is because some records can be requested to be sealed by the parties through court and can only be viewed by the people who got divorced, their legal representatives or by individuals having court authorization.

However, most divorce records are not sealed and can be accessed through the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (SCDHEC) at state level.⁸ The department maintains a divorce index for the whole state and also provides certified copies of these records.

Divorce papers are the first files given to a court when someone wants a divorce. They begin the divorce process and list why a person wants a divorce. A different document, known as a divorce decree, officially ends the marriage.

This paper has all of the court’s decisions on things like who gets what property and who takes care of any children.

Websites that are not part of the government but use its public resources can also help you find divorce records. However, if these websites don’t have approval from state or county governments, be wary of using their information for official matters.

In the end, the best way to look for Horry County divorce records is by using official government websites and steps mentioned throughout this resource. However, if the websites are unavailable then you can contact the relevant authorities that are in charge of keeping divorce records in custody.