South Carolina Divorce Laws: Residency, Waiting Period, Custody and Support

The person filing must have lived in South Carolina for at least one year before filing (or, if the filer is a nonresident, the other spouse must have). If both spouses live in South Carolina when the case is filed, the filer only needs three months of residence. For active-duty military stationed in South Carolina, residence means continuous presence for the required period.

South Carolina's no-fault ground is living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year. The fault grounds are adultery, desertion for one year, physical cruelty, and habitual drunkenness (including from narcotic drugs).

No reference to a master may occur until two months after the complaint is filed, and no final divorce decree may be granted until three months after filing. For divorces based on desertion or one year's separation, the hearing may be held and the decree issued once responsive pleadings are filed or the defendant is in default, whichever is sooner. The judge must also state that reconciliation was attempted and failed.

The Family Court filing fee for divorce, annulment, and separate support and maintenance actions is $150. No fee is charged for cases filed with an order granting leave to proceed in forma pauperis (a Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis is part of the self-help packet) or for cases handled by legal aid, legal services, nonprofit or Pro Bono Program attorneys. Motions in family court carry a separate $25 fee.

The family court may grant an uncontested divorce based on one year's separation without a hearing if the only relief requested is the divorce and any related name change, and the parties submit sworn written testimony (with photo identification) from the parties and corroborating witnesses about jurisdiction, venue, the dates of marriage and separation, and that reconciliation is impossible. If other relief is requested (such as custody, support, alimony or property division), a hearing is required. The Judicial Branch publishes Self-Represented Litigant Simple Divorce Packets.

South Carolina uses equitable apportionment of marital property. Marital property is real and personal property acquired during the marriage and owned on the filing date, however titled. Nonmarital property includes inheritances and gifts from third parties, property acquired before the marriage or after a temporary order or signed settlement agreement, property exchanged for nonmarital property, property excluded by written contract (including a qualifying prenuptial agreement), and increases in value of nonmarital property except to the extent caused by the other spouse's efforts. The court weighs factors including the length of the marriage and ages, marital fault that affected finances or the breakup, and the value of the property.

The court may award alimony in divorce and separate maintenance cases, but a spouse who commits adultery before a signed settlement agreement or permanent order may not receive alimony. Types include periodic alimony (ends on remarriage, continued cohabitation of 90 or more days, or death), lump-sum alimony, rehabilitative alimony, reimbursement alimony, separate maintenance and support, and other forms. Factors include the length of the marriage and ages, physical and emotional condition, education and need for training, employment history and earning potential, standard of living, current and expected earnings and needs, marital and nonmarital property, child custody, and marital fault affecting finances or the breakup. There is no statutory formula.

The family court makes the final custody decision in the best interest of the child and may award joint custody to both parents or sole custody to either parent; if custody is contested or joint custody is requested, the court must consider all options including joint custody and explain its reasoning. Best-interest factors include the child's temperament and developmental needs, each parent's capacity to meet those needs, the preferences of each child, the parents' wishes, the child's relationships (including with grandparents), each parent's support for the child's relationship with the other parent, manipulation or disparagement, each parent's involvement, adjustment to home, school and community, stability, health, cultural and spiritual background, abuse or neglect, domestic violence, and recent relocation. The statute does not set an age for the child's preference.

South Carolina's child support guidelines are based on the Income Shares Model, and the guideline amount is presumed correct unless a court finds it unjust or inappropriate and makes written findings. The guidelines (2024 edition, codified at S.C. Code of Regulations Chapter 114, Article 47) are published by the Department of Social Services, which also offers an online Child Support Calculator for estimates.

The family court has authority to require parties to take part in court-mandated mediation under the Family Court Mediation Rules (the self-help divorce packet includes a mediation Certificate of Exemption form). A statewide parenting class requirement was not found in the statutes reviewed.

South Carolina's divorce statutes provide for an action for separate support and maintenance rather than a divorce. The court may award separate maintenance and support to be paid periodically while the spouses live apart, ending on continued cohabitation, divorce or death.

The court may decide any issue about the validity of a marriage. A marriage that was never consummated by the parties living together may be declared void for lack of consent or any other cause showing there was no valid contract. Marriages are void if either party already had a living spouse (with exceptions for a spouse absent five years and unknown to be living), if either party was under 16, or if the parties are within the prohibited family relationships; mentally incompetent persons may not lawfully marry.

The family court may order grandparent visitation when one or both parents have died, are divorced, or live separately, if it finds the parents are unreasonably denying visits (including denial for more than 90 days), visitation would not interfere with the parent-child relationship, and either the parents are unfit or there are compelling circumstances, shown by clear and convincing evidence, to overcome the presumption that the parents' decision is in the child's best interest.

When granting a final divorce or an order of separate maintenance, the court may allow a party to resume a former surname or the surname of a former spouse. A name change can be granted with an uncontested one-year-separation divorce without a hearing.

Child support runs until the child turns 18, marries, or becomes self-supporting (as determined by the court), whichever comes first. It continues past 18 if the child is enrolled in and still attending high school, but not beyond high school graduation or the end of the school year after the child turns 19, whichever is later. Support can also continue past 18 under a prior agreement or order, or, in the court's discretion, for as long as a child's physical or mental disability or other exceptional circumstances continue.

It is free to apply for child support services from the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS). Parents can apply online through the DSS Child Support Customer Service Portal or by downloading and submitting the paper application (English and Spanish versions are available).

DSS can use income withholding from wages; a Rule to Show Cause (contempt) hearing, where a judge can fine a parent up to $1,500 and/or jail the parent for up to a year, with a bench warrant if the parent does not appear; suspension or revocation of driver's, occupational, professional and business licenses ($500 or more owed and no payment in 60 days, after 45 days' notice); federal tax refund intercept ($150 and three months behind on TANF cases, $500 otherwise); state tax refund intercept ($100 and three months behind); unemployment benefit intercept; liens on bank accounts, insurance claims and other property ($1,000 or more owed), including seizure of assets; passport denial ($2,500 or more); federal administrative offset; and credit bureau reporting. Unpaid support of $1,000 or more is also a lien in favor of the parent owed support.

In a divorce, the Family Court can change orders about the care, custody and support of children at any time after the final judgment. A parent can ask for a modification when either parent's financial situation changes. DSS can help modify an order at no cost: it requests updated financial information from both parents on request or at scheduled times, can make the change administratively if the parents agree, and otherwise presents the case to a Family Court judge. A parent can also send DSS a written request for modification by certified mail; if DSS finds no showing of changed circumstances, the parent may petition the Family Court. Only payments that come due after the modification can be changed.

In a divorce case, the Family Court may make orders on the custody of the children at any stage of the case. Where there is domestic abuse, a person can petition the Family Court for an order of protection; for good cause, the court may hold an emergency hearing within 24 hours after the petition is served, and a prima facie showing of immediate and present danger of bodily injury (which can be supported by affidavits) counts as good cause. If no emergency hearing is held, the court must grant a hearing within 15 days of filing. After a hearing, an order of protection can award temporary custody and temporary visitation for minor children living in the home.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) issues certified copies of the Report of Divorce (not the decree) for divorces granted between July 1962 and December 2025. Mail requests cost a $12 non-refundable search fee, which includes one certified copy, plus $3 for each extra copy ordered at the same time, and average about four weeks; in-person requests are currently unavailable. Online orders through VitalChek cost a $17 expedited search fee plus a $12.85 vendor charge and are limited to the people named on the report, their adult children, or a present or former spouse. DPH does not keep divorce decrees; copies of the decree come from the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed.

Both parties sign a written application filed with the county probate judge (in Darlington and Georgetown counties, the clerk of court), including Social Security numbers (or alien identification numbers). The license may not be issued until at least 24 hours after the application is filed, and the applicants must give a sworn statement that they are legally entitled to marry, with their full names, ages and residences. Applicants aged 18 to 24 must show documentary proof of age; applicants under 18 must file a birth certificate or similar record. A $20 fee for the Domestic Violence Fund is added to the license fee; the base license fee is not set in these sections. Couples who complete a qualifying premarital preparation course may claim a one-time $50 state income tax credit.

A person under 16 cannot enter a valid marriage (including common-law marriage); such marriages are void. A marriage license may not be issued to anyone under 16. For an applicant aged 16 or 17 who lives with a parent, other relative or guardian, the license requires a sworn affidavit of consent signed by that parent, relative or guardian.

Any South Carolina resident may petition the family court to adopt; nonresidents may adopt only in listed circumstances (for example a special-needs child, a relative placement, military stationed in the state, or when all required consents name the nonresident). Consent or relinquishment is required from the adoptee if over 14 and from the parents (with specific rules for unmarried fathers based on support and contact), unless parental rights were terminated or another exception applies. A preplacement investigation of the adoptive home and a background investigation must be completed before placement, and a postplacement investigation before the final hearing. The court grants the adoption if, among other findings, the child has been in the petitioner's custody for 90 days and the adoption is in the child's best interest; the final hearing is generally held within six months of filing.

Any person may adopt a spouse's child or a relative's child under a simplified process: no pre- or postplacement investigation or report is required and no accounting of disbursements is needed unless the court orders them, and for good cause the court may waive the 90-day waiting period before the final hearing. The other parent's consent or relinquishment is still required unless that parent's rights have been terminated or another statutory exception applies.

The family court has authority to order custody of a child with all rights of guardianship. The probate court does not have jurisdiction over the care, custody and control of a minor, but it handles management of a minor's property and may begin a guardianship case within 180 days before a minor turns 18 if the minor will need a guardian as an adult.

A person seeking a finding of incapacity or appointment of a guardian files a summons and petition in probate court. The court may appoint a guardian only if clear and convincing evidence shows the person is incapacitated and a guardian is needed for continuing care and supervision; it may instead enter another appropriate order, treat the case as one for a protective order, or dismiss it. The court must encourage maximum self-reliance and independence and may create a limited guardianship. Unless the order says otherwise, a guardian's appointment ends an agent's powers under a health care or durable power of attorney for matters within the guardianship, and the guardian must follow the person's most recent advance directive.

A verified voluntary acknowledgment of paternity creates a legal finding of paternity without court ratification. Any signer may rescind within the earlier of 60 days or the date of an administrative or court proceeding about the child (such as a support case) in which the signer is a party. After 60 days, it may be challenged in court only for fraud, duress or material mistake of fact, and support obligations continue during the challenge unless the court finds good cause. Paternity may also be established in a family court action, where the court may order the mother, alleged father and child to take genetic tests on its own motion or a party's.

A person who has lived in South Carolina for at least six months may petition a family court judge, stating the reason, age, residence and birthplace, and the desired name. The petition must include a SLED fingerprint and criminal background check, a Department of Social Services screening for the child abuse and neglect registry, a SLED sex offender registry screening, and an affidavit on whether the petitioner owes child support or alimony. The standard civil filing fee under S.C. Code § 8-21-310(C)(1) applies.

The South Carolina Judicial Branch offers SRL Simple Divorce Packets for self-represented litigants. The plaintiff's packet includes instructions (SCCA400PSRL-DIV), the Family Court Coversheet (SCCA467), Summons for Divorce (SCCA400.01SRL-DIV), Complaint for Divorce (SCCA400.02SRL-DIV), Financial Declaration (SCCA430), Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (SCCA405), service, default and hearing-request forms, the Report of Divorce or Annulment of Marriage (DHEC0682) and the Final Order of Divorce (SCCA400.10SRL-DIV); a defendant's packet includes the Defendant's Answer (SCCA400.05SRL-DIV). The packet can also be completed online with a free interactive program from South Carolina Legal Services at lawhelp.org/sc.

South Carolina's child support agency is the Child Support Services Division of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS). It locates parents, establishes paternity, and establishes, modifies and enforces support orders. Applying is free: a parent whose child lives with them can apply online through the Child Support Customer Service Portal or with the downloadable application (English or Spanish); a parent whose child does not live with them can use the Non-Custodial Parent Application (DSS Form 27103) to establish paternity. The portal (also in a mobile version) shows case information, appointment times and payment histories. Payment information is available 24 hours a day through the State Disbursement Unit's automated phone system. Customer Service Center: 1-800-768-5858.

The South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) provides an online Child Support Calculator so you can get an estimate of how much child support may be ordered in your case, based on the South Carolina Child Support Guidelines (updated guidelines took effect January 15, 2024). DSS says the result depends on the accuracy of the income and deduction amounts entered, some attorneys may use other models that produce slightly different results, and in all cases the Family Court judge has the authority to determine the amount of support.