Charleston County Probate Court Records
Charleston County Probate Court handles estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, commitments, and treatment-court programs. The main Probate Court phone number is (843) 958-5180. Estate Administration is reached at (843) 958-5030, and the Marriage License Division is reached at (843) 958-5183. The court is located at 100 Broad Street in Charleston, South Carolina.
Probate records are not searched through the same county Public Index used for Common Pleas and General Sessions cases. Estate and will records use the South Carolina Probate Search portal for Charleston County. Marriage license records have their own marriage search. Formal filings, certified copies, appointments, and sensitive proceedings may require direct contact with Probate Court rather than relying on the online result grid alone.
The Charleston County Probate Court home page is the local gateway for estate searches, marriage tools, appointments, forms, and workshops.
That Probate Court gateway is the best starting point when a search turns into a filing, workshop, or appointment need.
Charleston County Probate Contacts
Most Charleston County probate record work routes through the Probate Court office at 100 Broad Street, but the research identifies different contact channels by division. Estate records, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage-license records each have distinct phone paths. Use the division contact that matches the record type before mailing forms, requesting certified copies, or visiting the courthouse.
Charleston County Probate Court
100 Broad Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 958-5180
Fax: (843) 958-5180
Estate Administration
100 Broad Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 958-5030
Estate files, will filings, and personal representative appointments
Marriage License Division
100 Broad Street, Suite 469
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 958-5183
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Guardianships and Conservatorships
100 Broad Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 958-5180
Adult and minor protective proceedings, subject to access limits
Search Charleston County Probate Records
The Charleston Probate estate and wills search is the public search portal for estate and will matters. It lets the user select Charleston County, search by party or case name, include surrounding counties, and expand results with a gray plus control. The result grid includes case number, case name, party, type of case, filing date, county, appointment date, creditor claim due date, and case status.
The estate and wills search portal shows the Charleston County probate-record fields and expandable result grid.
The gray plus detail control matters because Probate Search often shows the main case row before the user expands it for more information.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select County | Dropdown | Yes | Charleston is selected for county probate records. |
| Include Surrounding Counties? | Checkbox | No | Expands search outside Charleston County. |
| Last or Business Name | Text | No | May be combined with first or middle name; % wildcard may be used. |
| First | Text | No | Narrows a name search. |
| Middle | Text | No | Narrows a name search. |
| All Parties | Radio or tab | No | Searches party names across the probate matter. |
| Case Name | Radio or tab | No | Searches by the case name shown in Probate Search. |
| Gray + expansion | Result control | N/A | Opens result details from the grid. |
- Select Charleston County in the Probate Search county field.
- Enter a last name, business name, first name, middle name, or case name as available.
- Use the surrounding-county option only when the record may have been opened outside Charleston County.
- Review the case number, party, filing date, appointment date, creditor claim due date, and status.
- Contact Probate Court for certified copies, sealed matters, older files, or questions about a result.
Charleston County Probate Terms
Probate files use terms that are easy to mix up. These definitions help sort the role shown in a Probate Court record from the kind of case being searched.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to carry out estate duties, often called a personal representative after appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can change who may inherit or serve.
- Guardianship
- A court-supervised arrangement for the personal care or decision-making needs of a minor or incapacitated person.
- Conservatorship
- A court-supervised arrangement for managing another person's property or finances.
Charleston County Estate Process
Estate records in Charleston County can begin in more than one way. If the decedent had no assets in their name but left an original will, the original will must still be turned in to Probate Court for filing for record only with Form 306ES, an original death certificate, and the filing fee. Informal probate of a will only uses Form 300ES with the death certificate and a separate fee. More complex estates may require appointment of a personal representative and later filings.
- Identify whether there is a will and whether assets require estate administration.
- File the will for record only when appropriate, or open informal or formal probate with the required Probate Court forms.
- Obtain appointment of a personal representative if the estate requires administration.
- Publish creditor notice if required and track the creditor claim due date shown in search results.
- File inventory, appraisement, accounting, settlement, and distribution forms when required by the estate path.
- Request certified or exemplified copies from Probate Court when a bank, title office, or other agency needs proof.
The Probate forms and instructions page lists estate, guardianship, conservatorship, inventory, accounting, notice, and marriage forms.
The forms index is useful because many probate-record questions depend on the filing type rather than only the case name.
Charleston County Probate Fees
Probate fees vary by filing, copy type, and service. The captured county fee data includes will filing, informal probate, petitions, copy fees, certified copies, exemplified copies, and marriage-license charges. Newspaper creditor-notice costs in the sample file are separate from court filing fees and may vary by publication choice.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Filing Will for record only | $10.00 |
| Informal Probate of Will only with Form 300ES and death certificate | $25.00 |
| Initial petition in action or proceeding other than listed items | $150.00 |
| Demand for notice | $5.00 |
| Conservatorship accountings | $10.00 |
| Copy machine copy | $0.50 |
| Microfilm copy | $0.50 |
| Estate record certified copy | $5.00 |
| Marriage License Certified Copy | $5.00 |
| Marriage License | $70.00 |
| Exemplified or authenticated copy | $20.00 |
| Recording certified estate records from other counties | $20.00 |
The Probate guardianship and conservatorship page is one source for Probate Court fee and protective-proceeding information.
Guardianship and conservatorship records may also have access limits because they can involve medical, financial, or minor-related information.
What Charleston Probate Records Show
A Charleston County probate record can show a case or estate caption, case number, party names, type of case, filing date, appointment date, creditor claim due date, and status. The sample probate file in the research also shows estate opening receipts, payment type, printed date, creditor notice forms, personal representative information, and signature fields. Common forms include 300ES, 306ES, 350ES Inventory and Appraisement, 361ES Accounting, 420ES small estate affidavit, 445ES Affidavit of Heirs, 400ES Deed of Distribution, and claim allowance or disallowance notices.
Some Charleston County probate files include local creditor-publication choices. The captured sample listed The Moultrie News, The Post & Courier, and Charleston City Paper with different publication costs. Those amounts are a sample-file detail, not a universal Probate Court fee for every estate. The controlling record remains the official Probate Court file, and certified copies should be requested from Probate Court when needed for title, banking, inheritance, or fiduciary proof.
Restricted Charleston Probate Records
Not every Probate Court matter is open in full. Mental-health commitment records are sensitive. Guardianship and conservatorship cases may involve medical facts, financial records, protected adults, or minors. Minor settlements and protective matters may be reviewed more closely than ordinary estate files. If Probate Search does not show a file, or if a court counter will not release a document, the issue may be age, indexing, sealed status, privacy law, or the need for a judge's order.
Charleston County Probate Court also hosts treatment-court material, including Veterans Treatment Court information. Treatment-court pages identify county legal-service contacts, but participant records and health-related details should not be treated as ordinary public estate records.
The Probate Veterans Treatment Court page is one official Probate Court specialty-program source.
Its presence on the Probate Court site shows why Probate Court records include more than estate and marriage-license files.