4 Things Your South Carolina Register of Deeds Does for Free That People Pay For
Paying for something you could get free never feels good, especially when money’s tight.
Some mailers make home records sound like something you need to buy, but some South Carolina county offices handle parts of it at no charge.
Here’s what your county office may offer before you pay anyone else.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. County services and fees are subject to change, so confirm the current details with your county register of deeds office.
1. Recording Alerts
Horry County’s register of deeds office will notify you when a deed or mortgage lien is recorded under your name.
It’s free.
Signing up takes your name exactly as it’s deeded and an email address.
Beaufort, Dorchester and Spartanburg counties run free alerts too.
So do Berkeley, York, Aiken and Charleston counties.
In Berkeley County, you sign up through the register of deeds’ search website and list the names you want monitored.
Private title-monitoring services charge for something similar.
Home Title Lock charges $19.95 a month or $199 a year, according to a 2024 Checkbook review.
It also sells a four-year deal for $796.
LifeLock sells its Home Title Protect for $100 a year, and Deed Shield charges $10 a month.
Identity Guard includes home title monitoring in its Ultra plan, which costs $18 a month.
Many people sign up for a paid monitor before they ask their county.
2. Deed Copies
Independent companies mail homeowners offers for copies of deeds that sit in your register of deeds office.
Berkeley County’s register of deeds says such a letter may ask for a large amount, such as $79.
The alternative?
The county’s website lets you pull up copies of documents from 1983 to the present at no cost.
Greenville County’s register of deeds offers free copies of most recorded documents through its Public Records Search too.
In the Greenville office, a plain copy costs 25 cents a page.
The state Department of Consumer Affairs said in 2013 that consumers generally don’t need a certified copy of their deed.
3. Removing Your Personal Numbers
A register of deeds office will remove your Social Security number from its online records if you ask, and it can’t charge you for the request.
It’s state law.
Dorchester County’s register of deeds lists driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, bank account numbers and credit card numbers among the items you can have removed.
Berkeley County’s register of deeds website carries the same offer.
What a Removal Request Needs
A register of deeds office needs your removal request in writing, with your signature.
You can send it by mail, fax, electronic transmission or in person.
The request has to name the record and the page that shows the number.
An attorney-in-fact or legal guardian can make the request for you.
4. Searching Land Records
Registers of deeds record deeds, plats and mortgages.
Many county websites let you search those records from home.
Berkeley County’s register of deeds offers online access to its index and images of all records from July 1, 1983 to the present.
York County’s online record system reaches back to 1979 for deeds and plats and to 1982 for mortgages.
Checkbook’s consumer report says you can check your title for free, in person or online in many places across the country.
The catch?
Spartanburg County’s register of deeds says its office doesn’t perform title searches, and Berkeley and York counties say the same.
Ask before paying.
Beaufort County points you to an attorney for search services.
Psst! Sort the table and compare.
Where Free Stops
Your register of deeds office still charges for certified copies, for recording and, in some counties, for online access.
Beaufort County charges 50 cents a page for copies and $10 to certify a document.
Berkeley and York counties charge $10 a document for certified copies too.
Greenville County charges $1 a page for copies you order by phone or mail, and that price includes postage.
Greenville County also charges $10 a document for a certified copy, or $11 if you want it mailed back.
Richland County sells online access to its records by subscription, by the day, week, month or year.
Online isn’t universal.
Aiken County doesn’t post powers of attorney, bankruptcy records, mechanic’s liens, homeowners association liens or tax liens online.
State law sets the recording fees that a county’s register of deeds, clerk of court or treasurer collects.
Psst! How much do you know about land records? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Land Records IQ
Answer eight questions on land records, deeds, and veterans’ papers. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Under South Carolina law, which county office records a veteran’s military discharge papers for free?
What Alerts Can't Do
Beaufort County's alert can't prevent fraud.
It does tell you early.
In York County, public record monitoring can notify you only after a document has been recorded.
Checkbook reports that two California city attorneys call home title theft rare and likely to be discovered quickly.
Charleston County's alert page says name searches can miss records.
Variations in spelling or abbreviation can also flag the wrong records.
8 Things That Still Mark a South Carolina Mill Town Long After the Mill Closed
The mills went dark, but the villages built around them didn't always disappear.
Read on if this sounds like home.
8 Things That Still Mark a South Carolina Mill Town Long After the Mill Closed
9 South Carolina Habits That Place Someone Below the Fall Line
Some habits give away which side of the Fall Line you grew up on.
These are the South Carolina habits that place someone below it.
9 South Carolina Habits That Place Someone Below the Fall Line
