Florence County Marriage License Office
Florence County marriage licenses are handled by the Florence County Probate Court marriage-license office in the James Schofield Judicial Center. The public counter is at 181 N. Irby Street, Suite 1300, Florence, SC 29501, and the Marriage License Clerk can be reached at 843-665-3085 ext. 6. Applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Florence County Probate Court does not perform marriage ceremonies, so applicants must arrange the ceremony separately after the license is issued.
Both applicants must appear together. Florence County does not accept a marriage application by mail, by telephone, or from one party alone. Applicants who are 18 or older must show a valid driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport, and both applicants must provide a full Social Security number. No blood test or witness is required. After the application is filed, South Carolina has a 24-hour waiting period before the license may be picked up and used. The ceremony must take place in South Carolina, but it does not have to take place in Florence County.
The Florence County Probate Court is also the local point for marriage-license copies issued in Florence County. Licenses do not expire, but Florence County does not issue marriage licenses to inmates. Applicants under 18 should contact Probate Court before visiting because the county research source directs minors to the court for current requirements rather than listing a universal rule.
The official Florence marriage-license page is shown in the county Probate Court marriage source captured for this project.
That county page is the local source for application hours, ID rules, waiting-period details, payment methods, copy fees, and the limits on inmate marriage licenses.
Apply for Florence County Marriage Records
Prepare before visiting the Probate Court counter. Both parties need enough time to file in person, pay at application, wait at least 24 hours, and return for pickup if the court directs that step. The county lists cash and major card brands as payment options for the marriage-license fee. It is useful to bring a written spelling of each applicant's full legal name, current address, prior marriage details, and contact information because those items appear on the county marriage form.
- Go together to Florence County Probate Court during posted marriage-license application hours.
- Bring valid photo ID and proof of Social Security number for each applicant.
- Complete the county marriage application with names, addresses, ages, birthplaces, and prior-marriage answers.
- Pay the resident or out-of-state marriage-license fee when the application is filed.
- Wait at least 24 hours before using the license for a South Carolina ceremony.
Florence County's marriage-license file is a county probate record, not a Circuit Court divorce file. A person who needs a copy later should use the Probate Court or the South Carolina Probate Search channel for a license issued in Florence County. If the license was issued in another South Carolina county, the request should go to that county's probate court or the state vital-record channel when the record falls within state coverage.
Florence County Marriage Form Fields
The Florence marriage application asks for identity, contact, and eligibility information for both applicants. The county form uses spouse role options, asks for maiden or birth-certificate surnames where applicable, and requires proof for Social Security number and photo identification. The field inventory below follows the form details captured in the Florence research file.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant role | Yes | Groom, bride, or spouse. |
| Applicant name | Yes | First, middle, last, suffix, and maiden name where applicable. |
| Current address | Yes | Street, city, state, ZIP, and county. |
| Phone and email | Phone yes | Email appears on the form, but required status was not specified in the research. |
| DOB and age | Yes | Date of birth and current age. |
| Race, sex, birthplace | Yes | Self-reported identity and place-of-birth fields. |
| First marriage status | Yes | If not the first marriage, the form asks for marriage number. |
| SSN proof and picture ID | Yes | SSN proof may be a Social Security card, tax return page, or W-2; picture ID may be a valid driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport. |
The Florence marriage application PDF was captured as a downloadable county form. Because it is a form record rather than an ordinary web page, applicants should verify the current version with the Probate Court before relying on an old printed copy.
Florence County Marriage Record Fees
Florence County publishes a detailed local fee list for marriage licenses, certificate paper, older-license research, affidavits, and certified copies. Divorce reports are priced by the state Department of Public Health, while divorce decrees come from the Clerk of Court in the county where the final divorce hearing was held. The research file did not identify a Florence Clerk copy fee for divorce decrees, so that amount should be confirmed with the Clerk before ordering.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marriage license, South Carolina residents | $100 |
| Marriage license, out-of-state residents | $150 |
| Marriage license correction | $6.75 |
| Marriage license re-issuance | $6.75 |
| Marriage certificate copy paper | $10 |
| Marriage certificate gold or silver certificate paper | $20 |
| Marriage certificate 1911-1990 | $25 research fee plus $10 copy paper or $20 certificate paper |
| Proof of Marriage Affidavit | $100 |
| Single Status Letter | $50 |
| Certified copy of marriage license | $25 research fee plus $5 per certified copy |
| DPH mail divorce report | $12 standard search plus $3 each additional copy |
The state fee page is part of the Department of Public Health vital-record record set. The DPH fee source is represented by the screenshot below.
That state fee schedule matters when the needed document is a DPH marriage certificate or divorce report rather than a Florence County Probate Court copy or Clerk of Court decree.
Look Up Florence County Marriage Records
Certified Florence marriage copies can be requested through the Probate Court, by telephone, in person, or online through South Carolina Probate Search. The local court has Florence County licenses only. A request should include the names of both parties, including the bride's maiden name when relevant, the date or year of marriage, a daytime phone number, and the required fee. Older license searches may need a research fee, especially for licenses before June 1970.
Statewide marriage certificates are different. The South Carolina Department of Public Health marriage-certificate channel holds certified marriage copies for July 1950 through December 2023. Records before July 1950 or after December 2023 should be requested from the issuing Probate Court. VitalChek online or phone eligibility is limited to named persons, adult children, and present or former spouses. The state channel may add expedited search, additional-copy, service, or UPS charges when selected.
The DPH marriage-certificate page from the manifest is shown below through its official source page.
Use that source when the marriage record falls within DPH coverage and the requester is eligible under the state vital-record rules.
Find Florence County Divorce Records
Florence County divorce decrees are court records. Family Court handles divorce, and the Clerk of Court maintains divorce decrees and the related case file. The Clerk of Court is the source for the actual decree when the final divorce hearing was held in Florence County. That distinction matters for legal use because a state divorce report confirms that a divorce was recorded, but it is not the same as the decree signed or filed in the court case.
The state Department of Public Health provides certified reports of divorce for July 1962 through December 2023. DPH does not provide divorce decrees. A mail request for a DPH divorce report requires the standard search fee, each additional-copy fee, a valid ID copy, and mailing to Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171. DPH research listed average mail processing at four weeks. For local Florence service, the DPH Florence Vital Records office is at 1705 W. Evans St., Florence, SC 29501, phone 843-413-6440.
The DPH divorce-report page is the source represented in the next image.
That state page is useful when a certified divorce report is enough; a court decree still routes to the Clerk of Court for the county of the final hearing.
Getting Certified Copies
A certified marriage copy for a Florence County license can come from Florence County Probate Court, South Carolina Probate Search, or DPH when the date falls in the state certificate range. A certified divorce report can come from DPH for the covered dates. A certified divorce decree must come from the Clerk of Court, not DPH, because the decree is part of the court case file.
For state vital-record orders, DPH requires identity proof and relationship eligibility. The DPH ID requirements page is represented by the image below.
Use those ID rules before mailing a DPH application or ordering through an approved state channel, since missing ID can delay a certified copy request.
DPH's marriage and divorce application asks for applicant name, daytime phone, address, email, alternate mailing recipient, relationship to the named person, applicant signature, record names, dates, county, fee section, and total submitted. For marriage, it asks for bride or spouse and groom or spouse names, birth-certificate last name, other surnames, date of marriage, and county where the license was issued. For divorce, it asks for plaintiff and defendant names, other married surnames, date of divorce or annulment, and county where the divorce was obtained.
South Carolina Vital Records Office
The South Carolina Department of Public Health is the statewide vital-record office for marriage certificates and divorce reports. Its Florence office is a local service point, but the type of record still controls the request. DPH has marriage certificates for July 1950 through December 2023 and divorce reports for July 1962 through December 2023. Probate Court remains the local source outside the state marriage-certificate date range, and the Clerk of Court remains the source for actual divorce decrees.
DPH Florence Vital Records
1705 W. Evans St.
Florence, SC 29501
843-413-6440
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Wednesday 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. beginning January 1, 2026
The DPH vital-record hub is a separate state system from the Florence County Probate Court and the Florence County Clerk of Court. That split is the most common source of wrong-office requests for marriage and divorce records in Florence County.