Darlington County Marriage & Divorce Records

Darlington County Marriage Licenses

Darlington County marriage licenses are issued by Darlington County Probate Court at 1 Public Square, 4th Floor, Room 404, Darlington, SC 29532. The Probate Court phone numbers are 843-398-4310 and 843-398-4311, with fax 843-398-4076. County office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and marriage-license applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

Both parties must appear for a Darlington County marriage license. Applications cannot be taken by mail or telephone. The county requires picture ID and Social Security card for applicants age 21 and older. Applicants under 21 but over 18 need a birth certificate plus the same documents. Ages 16 to 18 require parental consent, and both parties must be at least 16. A blood test is not required, witnesses are not required, and the license does not expire.

The official South Carolina DPH marriage certificate page is one state source for Darlington County marriage records after the local Probate Court path is considered.

DPH certificate access is date-limited, so the Probate Court remains the right office for licenses applied for in Darlington County outside the state certificate window.

Apply for a Darlington Marriage License

A Darlington County marriage license has to be applied for in person. The ceremony must take place in South Carolina, but it does not have to take place in Darlington County. The ceremony may be performed by members of the Gospel or officers authorized to administer oaths in South Carolina, including Jewish Rabbis and South Carolina Notary Publics. Darlington County Probate Court also states that it does not issue marriage licenses to inmates.

1. Go to Darlington County Probate Court during the marriage-license application window.
2. Bring both parties in person with the required ID, Social Security card, and any birth certificate or parental-consent documents that apply.
3. Complete and sign the application at the Probate Court counter.
4. Pay the Darlington County marriage license fee by cash or money order.
5. Wait the required 24 hours after application before picking up the license and marrying.

Note: A Darlington County license does not expire, but the ceremony must be performed inside South Carolina.

Darlington Marriage Record Fields

The state DPH marriage and divorce application form, D-0639, gives a useful field inventory for certified copy requests. It is not the same thing as the county's in-person marriage-license application, but it shows the data a requester may need when asking the state for a certified marriage certificate or divorce report. The form asks for the requester's identity and relationship, mailing details, signature, certificate information, and fee selections.

Darlington Marriage and Divorce Fees

Darlington Probate Court lists the local marriage license fee and marriage-license copy fee. DPH lists separate state vital-record fees for marriage certificates and divorce reports, including mail and VitalChek options. The research did not locate a Darlington certified divorce decree copy fee, so decree-copy cost should be confirmed with the Clerk of Court or Family Court/Support before ordering.

Find Darlington Marriage Records

Darlington Probate Court provides copies only for marriage licenses applied for at Darlington County Probate Court. A requester may ask in person or by mail at Probate Court and must provide the year of marriage and the names of both parties. Payment is cash or money order only. This county rule matters because a couple may marry anywhere in South Carolina after getting a Darlington license, and a couple may marry in Darlington after getting a license from another South Carolina probate court.

For state certificate requests, DPH provides certified copies for marriages from July 1950 through December 2023. For marriages before July 1950 and after December 2023, DPH directs requesters to the Probate Court that issued the license. Online and phone ordering through VitalChek is limited to persons named on the certificate, adult children, or a present or former spouse. DPH mail requests require a photo ID copy and average about four weeks in the researched material.

Find Darlington Divorce Records

Darlington County divorce decrees are court records. They are held by the Clerk of Court and Family Court in the county where the divorce was granted, not by the Probate Court. Darlington County Clerk of Court is at 110 N Main Street, Darlington, SC 29532. The main Clerk phone is 843-398-4330, and Family Court/Support is 843-398-4333. A decree copy request should start there when the decree itself, child-support order, custody order, or full case file is needed.

DPH has certified Reports of Divorce for decrees from July 1962 through December 2023, but those reports are not the divorce decree. A divorce report may verify that a divorce occurred for a state vital-record purpose. A decree is the court order and may contain terms that a report does not show. For related domestic filings, support actions, or court hearing records, the Clerk of Court and Family Court record path is the better route. A broader court-case search may also involve Darlington County court records.

The official South Carolina DPH divorce reports page is the state-level source for Darlington County divorce report requests.

That state report path is useful for qualifying dates, but court-certified decrees still come from the Clerk of Court where the divorce was granted.

Certified Copies and Access Limits

Certified copies have to come from the office that is authorized to issue that specific record. For a Darlington marriage license copy, Probate Court is the local source if the license was applied for there. For a state marriage certificate or divorce report within the DPH date range, DPH or VitalChek may be available. For a divorce decree, use the Darlington County Clerk of Court or the court in the county where the decree was entered.

Access rules differ by record type. Marriage certificate ordering through VitalChek is limited by relationship in the researched DPH material. Divorce reports have their own DPH request process. Court divorce files can contain sensitive family information, and some records or images may be restricted by court rule, privacy law, sealing, or redaction. South Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 41.2 requires redaction of personal identifiers, and South Carolina access rules do not make every domestic court detail available online.

For online or phone ordering, DPH names VitalChek as the vendor for Darlington County marriage records and divorce report requests that qualify through the state system.

VitalChek adds vendor charges, so the local Probate Court or Clerk route may be the better choice when the needed record is only held locally.

South Carolina Vital Records

South Carolina Department of Public Health is the state vital-record office for marriage certificates and divorce reports within the date ranges found in the research. Mail requests go to the Vital Records Section in West Columbia. VitalChek phone ordering uses the number published by DPH. The application form requires a photo ID copy for mail requests and includes both marriage and divorce sections, so requesters should complete only the record type they need.