Marriage Ceremony Formalities in South Carolina
At a glance
| Who may solemnize | Ministers of the Gospel, Jewish rabbis, authorized oath-administering officers, qualifying Native American chief/spiritual leader (§ 20-1-20). |
|---|---|
| Appointment or registration route | Section 20-1-20 lists offices and religious categories; no appointment or registration step appears there. |
| License and ceremony timing | License procured first and delivered to person performing ceremony; § 20-1-210 states no use period. |
| Required declaration or form | Section 20-1-20 authorizes performers but prescribes no specific declaration or form of words. |
| Attending witnesses | Sections 20-1-20 and 20-1-330 state no general count of attending ceremony witnesses. |
| Religious or self-uniting route | Listed clergy and qualifying Native American chief/spiritual leader may perform; § 20-1-20 does not list party-led solemnization. |
| Proxy or remote presence | Sections 20-1-20 and 20-1-210 address performer and license delivery; no express proxy or remote route is stated there. |
| Who signs the certificate | Performer fills out triplicate certificate; State Registrar prescribes form; §§ 20-1-310, -330 do not list its signers. |
| Return recipient and deadline | Performer gives one copy to couple and returns two to issuing officer within 15 days; officer records and sends one onward (§§ 20-1-330, -340). |
Requirements one by one
Who may perform the ceremony
Section 20-1-20 authorizes ministers of the Gospel, Jewish rabbis, officers authorized to administer oaths in South Carolina, and the chief or spiritual leader of a Native American Indian entity recognized by the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. The section lists no general one-day appointment or registration route.
License and certificate copies
The parties must procure a license and deliver it to the person performing the ceremony before that person performs it (§ 20-1-210). The issuing officer provides the license certificates in triplicate. After the ceremony, the performer fills them out, gives one copy to the parties, and returns the other two within 15 days to the officer who issued them (§ 20-1-330).
What trips people up
The return deadline belongs to the ceremony performer (§ 20-1-330). The issuing probate judge or clerk separately records the returned certificate and sends one copy to the vital-statistics division within 15 days after receipt (§ 20-1-340). The form is left to the State Registrar (§ 20-1-310); the cited chapter provisions do not specify ceremony witness signatures or a general witness count.
Common questions
Does the couple send the certificate to the state? No. Section 20-1-330 directs the performer to return two copies to the officer who issued them; § 20-1-340 gives that officer the later record and forwarding duties.
Must the license go to the performer before the ceremony? Yes. Section 20-1-210 expressly requires delivery before performance.
Statutes and sources
The quoted S.C. Code §§ 20-1-20, 20-1-210, 20-1-310, 20-1-330, and 20-1-340 were checked in the current official Title 20 Chapter 1 page on October 4, 2026. The source URL and verbatim text appear above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does South Carolina law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current South Carolina law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace