Are Autopsy Reports Public in South Carolina? (2026)

South Carolina autopsy reports are not public records. The state Supreme Court held in Perry v. Bullock (2014) that an autopsy report is a medical record, which the Freedom of Information Act leaves outside its definition of a public record, so a FOIA request cannot compel a coroner to release one. There is no statewide statute granting the public access, and in practice county coroner offices release the report to the deceased person's legal next of kin and to people holding a court order or subpoena. The separate coroner's report is generally a public record. South Carolina runs a county-based coroner system.

Are Autopsy Reports Public in South Carolina?

No. South Carolina autopsy reports are not public records. The South Carolina Supreme Court held in Perry v. Bullock (2014) that an autopsy report is a medical record, which the Freedom of Information Act excludes from the definition of a public record under S.C. Code 30-4-20(c).

Perry decided only that FOIA does not compel disclosure. It did not create a next-of-kin right of access, and it did not bar a coroner from releasing the report to someone else. A member of the general public or a journalist cannot pull an autopsy report through a routine FOIA request, but the coroner's office is not forbidden to release it.

The coroner's report, which is the investigative summary of the death, is treated differently. That report is generally releasable to the public under the FOIA, while the underlying autopsy and toxicology findings stay restricted.

Autopsy photographs, videos, and audio recordings are handled under their own rules. S.C. Code 30-4-40(a)(18) is a discretionary FOIA exemption, meaning a public body "may but is not required to" withhold them. The real limit is S.C. Code 17-5-535, which restricts who may view or receive them: the coroner or medical examiner and their staff, law enforcement for official use, the deceased person's parents, spouse, children, guardian, personal representative and next of kin plus anyone the estate's personal representative authorizes, people involved in a related judicial or administrative proceeding (parties, their attorneys, witnesses, prosecutors, judges, jurors), consulting physicians, and anyone acting under a court order. Violating that section is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of $5,000 to $50,000.

Who Performs Autopsies in South Carolina?

South Carolina uses a county-based coroner system. Each of the 46 counties has an elected coroner who is responsible for medicolegal death investigation under S.C. Code Title 17, Chapter 5. The system is decentralized, so procedures and fees vary from county to county.

Counties with a population of 100,000 or more may establish a medical examiner to assist, but even then the coroner keeps ultimate responsibility for the statutory duties. The medical examiner's role is set by an annual written contract with the county.

Under S.C. Code 17-5-520(A), the coroner or medical examiner is authorized to determine that an autopsy be made. S.C. Code 17-7-10 is worded as a duty rather than an option: the coroner of the county in which a body is found dead, or the solicitor of the judicial circuit, shall order an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death, and an autopsy must be ordered immediately when a person dies while detained, incarcerated, or in a jail or correctional facility. A narrow exception lets the coroner certify in writing that no autopsy is required where two physicians confirm a previously diagnosed contagious terminal illness caused the death. The exam is performed by a qualified pathologist, typically one with forensic training.

An autopsy is not done for every death. Under S.C. Code 17-5-530, the coroner is notified and investigates deaths that are violent, apparent suicides, sudden deaths of a person in apparent good health, unattended or unexplained deaths, suspicious or unusual deaths, deaths in custody, and certain deaths shortly after hospital admission or surgery. An autopsy follows when the cause cannot otherwise be determined.

Who Can Request a South Carolina Autopsy Report?

There is no South Carolina statute that limits the autopsy report to the legal next of kin. What exists is county practice built on top of Perry v. Bullock: because FOIA does not reach the report, each coroner's office sets its own release policy, and those policies commonly release the autopsy and toxicology report to the legal next of kin and to anyone holding a court order or subpoena. Charleston County, for example, states that the autopsy report is not available under FOIA and is released to legal next of kin.

Legal next of kin generally means the surviving spouse, then adult children, then parents, then siblings. The coroner's office may ask you to show your relationship to the deceased before releasing the report.

One statute cuts the other way and is worth raising. S.C. Code 17-5-280, which governs the records kept in a county medical examiner's office, provides that copies of those records, including the autopsy report, "must be furnished upon request to any party to whom the cause of death is a material issue," and lets any prosecuting attorney or law enforcement officer secure copies needed for official duties. The dissent in Perry relied on that provision; the majority did not address it. If you have a genuine stake in the cause of death, cite 17-5-280 in your request.

Otherwise, your route to the autopsy report is a court order or subpoena issued in connection with litigation or a criminal matter. The coroner's report, by contrast, is generally available to any member of the public.

How to Get an Autopsy or Toxicology Report in South Carolina

You request the report from the county coroner's office in the county where the death was investigated, not from a central state agency. Most coroner offices provide a records-request form on their website or accept a written request by mail or email.

Your request should include the deceased person's full name, date of death, place of death, and your name, contact information, and relationship to the deceased. Next of kin should be ready to verify that relationship.

Fees vary by county. Many offices waive the fee for legal next of kin. Where a record is releasable to the public, a coroner's report often runs around $50 and an autopsy report, when authorized, can run higher (Charleston County, for example, lists $150 for an autopsy report). Confirm the exact fee with the office.

Processing time depends on whether the case is closed. A report tied to an open or pending investigation, such as a homicide, can be withheld until the investigation concludes. Toxicology results in particular may take weeks to months to finalize.

To understand the broader national picture, see our overview of whether Are Autopsies Public Records?

Autopsy Report vs Death Certificate in South Carolina

These are two different documents from two different agencies. The death certificate is the official vital record, issued by the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) Vital Records, and it lists the cause and manner of death on a single line.

The autopsy report is the detailed forensic document prepared by the pathologist for the coroner, describing the examination, findings, and toxicology in full. The death certificate is the short, certified record families use for estates and benefits; the autopsy report is the long, restricted clinical record.

For death-certificate ordering, eligibility, and fees, start with our South Carolina Death Records guide. For other states, see the Death Records by State hub.

South Carolina Autopsy Report Facts

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Coroner procedures, fees, and release rules vary by county and can change. Verify the current requirements with the specific South Carolina county coroner's office before relying on them.

Sources

This page draws on the CDC Public Health Law Program's South Carolina coroner profile, the South Carolina Code of Laws (S.C. Code 17-5-280, 17-5-520, 17-5-530, 17-5-535, 17-7-10, 30-4-20, and 30-4-40), the South Carolina Supreme Court decision in Perry v. Bullock, and county coroner office records-request pages.