South Carolina Adoption Records: Affirmative Consent for the Original Birth Certificate

South Carolina takes a stricter approach than most states that call themselves "compromise" jurisdictions. A biological parent's silence does not release the record here the way it does in Ohio's or Oklahoma's opt-out systems. South Carolina requires the biological parent to affirmatively consent, or requires proof that the parent has died, before the state registrar will release an adult adoptee's original birth certificate. That makes South Carolina's model functionally close to restricted, even though the statute technically allows for release.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Can an Adult Adoptee Get Their Original Birth Certificate in South Carolina?

Only with affirmative consent, or proof of death. S.C. Code 44-63-140 provides that a person eighteen years of age or older "may, upon written request to the state registrar, receive a copy of his original birth certificate...if: (A) a biological parent has completed a form consenting to the release...or (B) the adoptee brings...a certification...that a biological parent is deceased."

This is the detail that separates South Carolina from states like Ohio or Oklahoma, where a birth parent has to take an affirmative step to block release and their silence otherwise favors the adoptee. In South Carolina, it works the other way: nothing is released unless a biological parent affirmatively consents, or the adoptee proves that parent has died. A living, non-responsive biological parent who has filed nothing effectively keeps the record closed. That is why this article describes South Carolina's model as functionally near-restricted rather than a straightforward opt-out compromise, even though the statute is not framed as an outright restriction.

This framework, reformed through 2018 Act No. 241 (effective July 1, 2019) and amended again effective May 2023, applies retroactively. It does not matter when the underlying adoption was finalized; the same consent-or-death standard governs every request.

If one biological parent consents (or is shown deceased) while another does not, the non-consenting living parent's information is redacted from the copy the adoptee receives, rather than the whole request being denied, provided the consent-or-death threshold has been met by at least one parent.

How to Apply for a South Carolina Original Birth Certificate

• Form: Vital Records Non-Certified Pre-Adoptive Birth Application
• Fee: $27 nonrefundable ($12 search fee plus $15 special filing fee)
• Processing time: About 4 weeks
• Submission: Mail or in person only; online and phone ordering are not available for this request type.
• Office: SC Division of Vital Records, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201 (in person), or PO Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171 (mail)
• Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays

SC DPH requires at least one biological parent's consent form, or a certified death certificate for a deceased parent, on file before it will release the original birth certificate.

South Carolina's Court Record Sealing Standard

S.C. Code 63-9-780 provides that "all papers and records pertaining to the adoption and filed with the clerk of court are confidential from the time of filing and upon entry of the final adoption decree must be sealed and kept as a permanent record of the court and withheld from inspection." Unsealing requires "good cause shown by order of the judge," a standard written directly into the statute.

Consent, Contact Preference, and Medical History Forms

South Carolina's consent and reunion infrastructure runs through the same DPH Vital Records intake as the birth certificate request itself, using three forms:

• D-4022: Biological Parent's Request to Add Consent/Contact Preference and/or Medical History (the omnibus intake form)
• D-4020: Biological Parent's Consent and Contact Preference Form
• D-4021: Medical History Form (optional)

A separate track handles identifying information. S.C. Code 63-9-780(E) places that duty on "the public adoption agency responsible for the placement," not on every licensed private agency. That agency must "establish and maintain a confidential register containing the names and addresses of the adoptees and the biological parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings who have filed affidavits," and it may release an identity only where both sides have filed matching affidavits agreeing to disclosure. Applicants must be 21 or older, a higher threshold than the age-18 standard used for the birth certificate itself. DPH states plainly that it "will not serve as an intermediary"; this is a filing and consent system, not an active-search confidential-intermediary program.

One distinct South Carolina statute worth flagging so it is not confused with this reunion mechanism: S.C. Code 63-9-810 and 63-9-820 establish a separate putative-father registry for paternity claims. That registry has nothing to do with adoptee or birth-parent reunion, and the two should not be conflated.

Non-Identifying Information

The statutory nonidentifying-information provision is S.C. Code 63-9-780(D), and it grants a discretion rather than an entitlement. It permits an adoption agency to furnish nonidentifying information to adoptive parents, biological parents, biological grandparents, biological siblings, or adoptees "when in the sole discretion of the chief executive officer of the agency the information would serve the best interests of the persons concerned." The statute says nonidentifying information includes, but is not limited to, four categories: the health and medical histories of the biological parents, grandparents, or siblings; the health and medical history of the adoptee; the adoptee's general family background without name references or geographical designations; and the length of time the adoptee has been in the care and custody of the adoptive parent. Because release turns on the chief executive officer's judgment, an agency can decline.

The D-4021 Medical History Form is a different thing, and it is not a standalone request channel for the adoptee. Under 44-63-140(1)(c) a completed medical history form is filed with the state registrar and must "accompany an original sealed birth certificate issued to an adoptee pursuant to subitem (b)," and under (1)(e) the sealed file holding it "must be released to an adoptee requesting the adoptee's own original birth certificate pursuant to subitem (b)." It therefore travels with the certificate and is gated on the same consent-or-death threshold. An adoptee who turns 18 but has no consenting or certified-deceased biological parent cannot obtain the D-4021 on request. When it does come out with the certificate, there is no separate charge beyond the standard $27 request fee.

For the broader search process, including DNA testing and realistic expectations for a search, see How to Find Birth Parents.

For how South Carolina's affirmative-consent model compares to other states, see How to Get Your Original Birth Certificate and Adoption Reunion Registries. South Carolina's broader sealed-court-record rules are covered in South Carolina Court Records; for a name change following marriage or divorce, see South Carolina Marriage & Divorce Records; to locate a deceased birth parent, see South Carolina Death Records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general legal information about adoption records access in South Carolina as verified on 2026-08-11. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Readers who need to establish a biological parent's death, resolve a dispute over consent, or need advice about a specific record, should consult a lawyer licensed in South Carolina.

Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.