Richland County Marriage License Records
Marriage licenses in Richland County are issued by the Richland County Probate Court marriage office. The marriage office is part of Probate Court at 1701 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 207, Columbia, SC 29201. The marriage-license phone line is 803-576-1963, and the published email address is license.marriage@richlandcountysc.gov. Mail goes to P.O. Box 288, Columbia, SC 29201. The county notes that UPS deliveries must use the physical address because USPS will not accept UPS mailings for the Probate Court.
Richland County uses an online-only marriage license application. Both applicants must upload an official picture ID and an official document that shows the full Social Security number. A non-U.S. citizen uses a valid passport and current visa. The license cannot be used until the 24-hour waiting period has passed after the application date and time. Once issued, a South Carolina marriage license can be used anywhere in South Carolina, but certified copies for a Richland-issued license come back through Richland County.
The county's marriage-license overview is shown in the Richland Probate Court marriage license source.
That source is the local starting point for license rules, certified-copy ordering, and the county's online application route.
Apply for a Richland County Marriage License
The application is not a walk-in paper process. Applicants should gather identity documents first, then complete the online form, upload documents, and pay through the county portal. The Probate Court mails the license to Party A's address after the waiting period and processing. The officiant must return the Probate Judge copy and the Probate Judge/DHEC copy within 15 days after the ceremony.
- Open the Richland County online marriage license application and review the acknowledgments.
- Enter Party A and Party B identity, address, contact, birth, and marital-history fields for each applicant.
- Upload a picture ID and Social Security number document for each applicant, or the passport and visa documents required for a non-U.S. citizen.
- Pay the online license fee and wait at least 24 hours after the application date and time.
- Use the license only in South Carolina, then have the officiant return the required copies to Probate Court within 15 days.
The online marriage-license application portal shows the county's required application path.
The portal matters because Richland County has made the license application online only, so document preparation is part of the record process.
Richland County Marriage Application Fields
The online form asks for more than names and a ceremony date. It gathers identity, contact, birth, address, Social Security, and prior-marriage details for each applicant. That field set is important for record searches later because certified-copy requests must match the names on the license. A person searching older records should also remember that pre-1993 Richland County licenses may not show the marriage date.
| Field Group | Fields Captured | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Party names | First, middle, last, suffix | First and last names are required; suffix options include II, III, IV, Jr, Sr, V, and VI. |
| Identity | Sex and race | Race options include categories listed by the county form, such as Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and White. |
| Date of birth | MM/DD/YYYY | Applicants must be 16 or older. |
| Address | Street, apartment, city, state, ZIP, county | South Carolina residents provide the SC county where applicable. |
| Contact and birth | SSN, phone, email, birth state or country | The form also asks for birth-certificate last name if different. |
| Marital history | Number of marriages including this one | The county form supports values from 1 through 40. |
| Uploads | Picture ID and SSN document | The captured hidden maximum file size is 20MB. |
Richland County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Marriage records and divorce records use different fee schedules because different offices create them. Richland County posts the marriage license application fee and certified-copy fee through Probate Court. Divorce filing fees come through Family Court and the court fee materials cited in the research. South Carolina DPH charges a separate vital-record search fee when the request is for a state marriage certificate or divorce report rather than a county license copy or court decree.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Richland County online marriage license application | $45.24 |
| Richland County certified marriage copy | $8 per copy |
| Marriage correction after amended picture ID | $3.50 |
| South Carolina DPH nonrefundable search | $12, includes one certification if found |
| Additional same-time DPH copies | $3 each |
| DPH expedite fee | $5 |
| Family Court divorce filing | $150 |
| Family Court motions | Generally $25 |
Note: A DPH divorce report is not the same document as a certified divorce decree from the court file.
Look Up Richland County Marriage Records
Certified copies of Richland County marriage records can be searched through the county's certified-copy portal when the license was issued in Richland County. The search requires Party A first and last name and Party B first and last name. The names must match the license record. The county warns that licenses before 1993 may not display the marriage date, so a name-based search may still be the main path for older local records.
The Richland County marriage certified-copy portal is the local source for ordering county license copies.
The certified-copy portal is narrow by design: it searches Richland-issued licenses, not every South Carolina marriage.
Find Richland County Divorce Records
Divorce cases are Family Court matters in South Carolina. Richland Family Court is at 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, with phone 803-576-3320 and fax 803-576-3347. The Clerk of Court mailing address is P.O. Box 2766, Columbia, SC 29202-2766, and the main Clerk phone is 803-576-1950. The county's phone routing sends civil records, certified copies, and 2005 and prior divorce decrees to 803-576-1952. Divorces from 2006 to present, how-to questions, name changes, and child-support questions route to 803-576-3326.
The divorce decree comes from the Clerk of Court in the county where the final hearing was held. That distinction matters for Richland County divorce records because South Carolina DPH provides divorce reports from July 1, 1962 forward, but DPH does not issue the court decree. A court file may also include pleadings, orders, child support, custody, or financial materials that are not open in the same way as ordinary civil records.
Family Court has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce and related family matters under South Carolina law. Divorce grounds in the research include adultery, desertion for one year, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness or narcotics use, and one-year separation. Venue usually follows the defendant's county, the plaintiff's county when the defendant is a nonresident or cannot be found, or the county where the parties last lived together unless the plaintiff is a nonresident.
Certified Richland County Copies
A certified marriage copy proves the license record held by Richland County Probate Court. A certified divorce decree proves the court's final order in the Family Court case. Use Probate Court for a Richland-issued marriage license copy. Use the Clerk and Family Court route for a decree, especially when the certified court order is needed for a name change, benefits, remarriage proof, or another legal filing.
South Carolina DPH fills a different role. The DPH marriage certificate page says the state has marriage records from July 1950 through December 2023. After December 2023, the county Probate Court is the source. Before July 1950, use the Probate Court in the county of original license. For divorce, the DPH divorce report page provides reports from July 1, 1962 forward, but the decree still comes from the court.
The state marriage certificate source appears in the South Carolina DPH marriage certificates reference.
DPH coverage helps when the needed proof is a state vital certificate instead of a county probate license copy.
South Carolina Divorce Reports
State divorce reports can help prove that a divorce was reported, but they are not a substitute for a certified court decree. DPH reports may fit some administrative uses, while legal filings often require the final decree from the Clerk of Court. When the final hearing occurred in Richland County, the decree request belongs with the Richland County Clerk and Family Court records route.
The South Carolina DPH divorce reports source describes state report coverage and the court-decree distinction.
That distinction prevents a common ordering error: paying DPH for a report when the receiving agency asked for a decree.
Richland County Probate Court Marriage Office
1701 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 207
Columbia, SC 29201
803-576-1963
license.marriage@richlandcountysc.gov
Richland County Family Court
1701 Main Street, 1st Floor West Wing
Columbia, SC 29201
803-576-3320
Fax: 803-576-3347