Anderson County Marriage and Divorce

Anderson County Marriage License

Marriage licenses in Anderson County are handled by Probate Court, not Family Court. The county Probate Court page lists marriage licenses as one of the court's functions, along with estates, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, commitments, and wrongful death or survival action settlements. Applicants use the courthouse Probate Court channel for the license process and use state vital records only when ordering certificate copies through DPH.

Both applicants must appear together to apply. Each applicant must present a Social Security card and a legal document showing the applicant's proper name, and the name on the Social Security information must match the identification. The county research states that both parties must be 18 or older unless the separate 16 or 17 process applies. For a minor applicant who qualifies, Probate Court requires a certified birth certificate kept permanently by the court and parent consent, with the parent appearing in court and showing proper identification tied to the minor.

The local Probate Court source for the marriage license process is the Anderson County Probate Court page. That Probate Court source is the local channel for applying, while DPH is the state copy channel.

Apply for Anderson Marriage Records

The Anderson County license process is in person. The court requires both applicants at the start, cash payment, and a waiting period before issuance. After the waiting period, one of the contracting parties returns to pick up the license. The ceremony must then be performed by an authorized officiant under South Carolina law, and the license is returned or recorded as directed by the Probate Court and officiant procedure.

1. Both applicants go to Anderson County Probate Court at the courthouse.
2. Bring each applicant's Social Security card and a legal ID or name document.
3. Pay the local marriage license fee in cash.
4. Wait the South Carolina 24-hour period before the license can be issued.
5. Have one party return to pick up the license after the waiting period.
6. Complete the ceremony with an authorized officiant and follow return instructions.

Anderson Marriage Form Fields

The county research does not provide a full blank marriage application, but it does identify the required items Probate Court checks during the license process. These fields are best treated as a practical application inventory. They also explain why both applicants must appear together and why name matching matters before the license can be issued.

Anderson County Divorce Records

Divorce is a Family Court matter in South Carolina. Anderson County Family Court handles divorce, annulment, legal separation, child custody, visitation, support, alimony, and division of marital property. The Clerk of Court supports Family Court records, so certified decree access and folder questions should be routed to the Clerk or Family Court records, not to Probate Court.

The county Family Court page links to the Family Court Public Portal and to ACPASS Public Records Index. Family Court staff are not allowed to give legal advice and strongly encourage a South Carolina attorney when a person is unsure how to file or proceed. The case file may include pleadings, orders, custody or support terms, hearing entries, and the final order, but some domestic and juvenile details have more limited public access than ordinary civil records.

The local source for the court channel is the Anderson County Family Court page.

That Family Court source points record seekers to the court case channel, not to a short-form DPH report.

File Anderson County Divorce

Divorce filing begins with jurisdiction and venue. The research notes South Carolina grounds of adultery, desertion for one year, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness or drug use, and living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year. Residency also matters. A plaintiff generally must have lived in South Carolina at least one year before filing, but if both parties are South Carolina residents when filed, the plaintiff must have lived in the state three months.

Venue usually places the case in the county where the defendant resides, where the plaintiff resides if the defendant is a nonresident or cannot be found, or where the parties last lived together as husband and wife unless the plaintiff is a nonresident. A person is not divorced until the final order is signed by the judge and filed with the Clerk of Court.

The Judicial Branch self-represented divorce materials are available through the simple divorce packet source.

The packet source warns that the first forms must be filed with the Clerk of Court in the proper county and served on the spouse or spouse's attorney.

Anderson Marriage Divorce Fees

Fees depend on whether the request is for a local marriage license, a Family Court filing, or a state vital-record copy. The research identifies the local marriage license fee, Family Court filing fees, and DPH certificate or report search fees. It does not locate an Anderson-specific certified divorce decree copy fee, so that item should be confirmed with the Clerk of Court before requesting a certified court copy.

The Family Court fee source is the Judicial Branch Family Court filing fees page.

Those state court fees apply to Family Court filings, while local license payment is handled through Probate Court.

DPH Marriage Divorce Records

South Carolina DPH Vital Records issues state marriage certificates and divorce reports. DPH reports are useful for proof of a vital event, but they do not replace the full Anderson County divorce case file. For divorce decrees, pleadings, custody orders, support orders, and the complete file, use Anderson County Family Court and the Clerk of Court.

DPH standard processing for marriage certificates has a $12 non-refundable search fee with a four-week processing time. Expedited processing has a $17 search fee with five business days or less. Each additional copy is $3. Payment accepted by DPH is exact cash, money order, or cashier's check payable to S.C. DPH, with valid government, school, or employer photo ID. Mail orders use the DPH marriage and divorce application PDF and are sent with payment and an ID photocopy to SC DPH Vital Records Section, PO Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171.

DPH explains marriage copy access at the marriage certificate source.

That source is for certificate copies after the license exists, not for starting a new Anderson County license.

DPH explains divorce report access at the divorce report source.

The divorce report source is separate from the Anderson County Family Court decree and case file.

DPH Copy Request Fields

The DPH application asks for event details and applicant proof. Use Anderson County as the county where the marriage license was obtained or divorce was granted only when that is true. The PDF application source in the research identifies marriage and divorce fields, copy type choices, fee totals, ID copy, and payment requirements.

Anderson Records Contact Channels

Use Probate Court for a new Anderson County marriage license. Use Family Court and the Clerk of Court for divorce case files, decrees, custody orders, and support orders. Use DPH for state marriage certificate and divorce report copies. These channels overlap in name, but they do not hold the same records.