South Carolina Adoption Records: Access Rules for Adoptees and Birth Parents

South Carolina adoption records are governed by a combination of state statute and court rules that distinguish between adoption decrees (court records) and original birth certificates (vital records). If you are an adult adoptee trying to access your original birth certificate, a birth parent trying to find out about a child you placed decades ago, or a new adoptive family trying to understand what records you will receive, the rules are different for each of you.

What "Closed Adoption" Means in South Carolina

A "closed adoption" in South Carolina is one in which the identities of the birth parents and adoptive parents are sealed from each other — meaning neither party has access to identifying information about the other unless both consent or a court orders disclosure. Closed adoption was the norm for most of the 20th century in South Carolina and across the United States.

The opposite — an "open adoption" — is an arrangement where there is ongoing contact or communication between birth parents and the adoptive family, often formalized in a written agreement. Open adoption agreements in South Carolina are not legally enforceable in the same way a court order is, but many families honor them voluntarily as part of their adoption plan.

Most current domestic infant adoptions in South Carolina involve some level of openness — at minimum, the exchange of photographs and updates. Fully closed adoptions are now relatively rare in private placement practice, though families can still choose that arrangement.

The distinction between open and closed matters most for long-term record access. Families who formalized an open adoption arrangement have an agreed-upon communication structure. Families who closed the records decades ago now have to navigate the statutory access process.

The 2023 Law: Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates

As of 2023, South Carolina law (S.C. Code § 44-63-140) allows adult adoptees aged 18 and older to request a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. This changed a long-standing system in which adoptees had no independent right to their original records.

The consent requirement: Written consent from at least one biological parent is mandatory for SCDHEC to release the original birth certificate. You cannot access your OBC without at least one birth parent consenting.

Redaction: If only one parent consents, the other parent's information is redacted from the copy provided. You will receive the information the consenting parent authorized.

If a parent is deceased: If a birth parent is deceased, you can provide a certified death certificate to SCDHEC, and their information will be released without the redaction requirement. The deceased parent's identifying information becomes accessible by right.

If parents are unknown: If biological parents are unknown or cannot be identified, a court order from the Family Court is required to unseal the record. This requires a separate legal proceeding.

This is a significantly more restricted access framework than states that have moved to full adoptee access (like Oregon, Maine, or Colorado). South Carolina's consent requirement means an adoptee who cannot locate a birth parent or whose birth parent refuses to consent has limited options without a court order.

How to Request an Original Birth Certificate

The request goes to the South Carolina Department of Public Health (SCDPH), Division of Vital Records (the former SCDHEC Vital Records office).

What you need:

• Proof that you are 18 or older
• Proof that you are an adoptee (your amended birth certificate or the adoption decree)
• Written consent from at least one biological parent, unless a parent is deceased (in which case, the death certificate)

The SCDPH processes these requests through its standard vital records intake. Processing times vary. There is a fee for the record.

If you are attempting to locate a birth parent to obtain their consent, that search process is separate from the records request itself.

Court Records: The Adoption Decree

The Family Court adoption decree is a separate record from the birth certificate. The decree is sealed — meaning members of the public cannot access it through a standard court records request. The decree can be accessed by:

• The adoptee (at any age, by court order or upon reaching adulthood in some circumstances)
• The adoptive parents
• The birth parents
• An attorney with proper authorization

If you need the adoption decree for an estate matter, to prove legal parentage, or for an immigration or citizenship application, contact the Family Court in the county where the adoption was finalized. You will need to demonstrate standing — your relationship to the adoption — to access the sealed file.

Non-Certified vs. Certified Records

SCDHEC issues non-certified copies of original birth certificates to adult adoptees under the 2023 law. A non-certified copy is a reference document — it shows the information but is not a certified document for legal use. If you need a certified original birth certificate (for example, to support a claim of citizenship through birth parent descent), you will need a court order to unseal the record at the certified level.

What Adoptive Parents Receive

When an adoption is finalized in South Carolina, the Family Court sends the decree and a Certificate of Adoption to SCDHEC (now SCDPH). SCDHEC then issues an amended birth certificate that:

• Lists the adoptive parents as the child's parents
• Shows the child's new legal name
• Does not reference the adoption on its face — it reads as a standard birth certificate

For children adopted internationally, SCDHEC issues a Certificate of Foreign Birth rather than an amended birth certificate.

The original birth certificate showing the birth parents' names is sealed and replaced by the amended certificate in SCDHEC's files.

DSS Records for Foster Care Adoptions

If you adopted through the DSS foster care system, your child has a separate case record maintained by DSS. This record includes the child's case history, medical records, and background information that DSS is required to share with adoptive families before finalization. If you received incomplete information about your child's background at finalization, you can request a disclosure of available non-identifying information from DSS.

The disclosure process is separate from the vital records process and is governed by DSS's adoption post-finalization services requirements.

The South Carolina Adoption Process Guide includes guidance on the amended birth certificate process, what records DSS is required to share with adoptive families, and how the post-finalization records landscape works in South Carolina.

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