Richland County, South Carolina Vital Records

United States South Carolina  Richland County  Vital Records

Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable.

Birth
State-wide birth registration began in 1915. For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Richland County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Marriage
In South Carolina, marriage licenses were not required by local governments until 1 July 1911. However, in the 1700s, the Church of England parish churches were required to record all marriages - even if the couple were not members of the denomination. Not all churches recorded these marriages and some have not survived. See South Carolina Vital Records for more information.

The Richland County probate court holds marriage licenses issued from 1 July 1911 to the present. Statewide registration of marriages began in July 1950 and the South Carolina Division of Vital Records has copies of licenses issued after 1 July 1950 through November 2009.

Newspapers are used as a substitute to locate marriage information. See South Carolina Newspapers.

Marriages and Marriage Substitutes - Indexes and Records


 * 1838-1860 - Marriage and Death Notices from Columbia, South Carolina Newspapers, 1838-1860 by Brent Holcomb and Shelley Palmer WorldCat, Digital version at Ancestry.com($) - abstracts
 * 1911 to Present - Marriage License Inquiry by Richalnd County Probate Court - online index
 * 1911-1952 - Richland County, South Carolina Registers, 1911-1952; Marriage Licenses, 1911-1922   - records
 * There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found in some counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Death
State-wide death registration began in 1915. For a copy of the death certificates from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Richland County Health Department only has copies for deaths occurring in the last 5 years. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Deaths and Death Substitutes - Indexes and Records


 * 1838-1860 - Marriage and Death Notices from Columbia, South Carolina Newspapers, 1838-1860 by Brent Holcomb and Shelley Palmer WorldCat - abstracts
 * 1859-1877 - Record of Deaths in Columbia, South Carolina and Elsewhere as Recorded by John Glass, 1859-1877 by Brent Holcomb WorldCat, digital version at Ancestry.com($) - abstracts
 * 1914-1961 - State-wide South Carolina Death Indexes. There are several online death indexes covering all of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.