MarriageLicenseCheck.com

Charleston County exact answer

How long is a marriage license valid in Charleston County?

This answer belongs to the issuing office and task named above. It does not substitute a statewide summary or infer a rule the office does not publish.

Direct answer

In Charleston County, a South Carolina marriage license carries no expiry, so there is no number of days to record and the ceremony-date planner draws no outer boundary here. Article 3 of Title 20, Chapter 1 of the South Carolina Code — the chapter the Probate Court itself links as "South Carolina Laws on Marriage" — is the closed scheme that governs issuance, and Sections 20-1-210 through 20-1-380 were read end to end on 30 July 2026. Between them they fix what must be filed, the twenty-four-hour wait before issuance, the form of the license, its issue in triplicate, its delivery to the officiant, its return within fifteen days of the ceremony and its recording — but no section sets a date after which an issued license lapses, and no section elsewhere in the chapter does either. The vital-statistics chapter that handles the resulting certificate, Title 44, Chapter 63, imposes none. The Court publishes no expiry of its own; the one sentence on its page containing the word is about the certified copy — "A certified copy does not expire.".

Published rule and conditions

Marriage license validity

This does not apply here.

No such requirement appears in the state statute that governs how a marriage is made here. The office itself publishes nothing either way.

A South Carolina marriage license carries no expiry, so there is no number of days to record and the ceremony-date planner draws no outer boundary here. Article 3 of Title 20, Chapter 1 of the South Carolina Code — the chapter the Probate Court itself links as "South Carolina Laws on Marriage" — is the closed scheme that governs issuance, and Sections 20-1-210 through 20-1-380 were read end to end on 30 July 2026. Between them they fix what must be filed, the twenty-four-hour wait before issuance, the form of the license, its issue in triplicate, its delivery to the officiant, its return within fifteen days of the ceremony and its recording — but no section sets a date after which an issued license lapses, and no section elsewhere in the chapter does either. The vital-statistics chapter that handles the resulting certificate, Title 44, Chapter 63, imposes none. The Court publishes no expiry of its own; the one sentence on its page containing the word is about the certified copy — "A certified copy does not expire."

Not applicable here

(A) The judge of probate or clerk of court with whom a marriage license application was filed shall issue a license upon: (1) the filing of the application required under the provisions of Section 20-1-220; (2) the lapse of at least twenty-four hours thereafter; (3) the payment of the fee provided by law; and (4) the filing of a statement, under oath or affirmation, to the effect that the persons seeking the contract of matrimony are legally entitled to marry, together with the full names of the persons, their ages, and places of residence.

Issuing office

Charleston County Probate Court, Marriage License Division

Open the issuing office

Official sources for this answer

  • South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 20, Chapter 1 - MarriageSouth Carolina Legislature, South Carolina Code of Laws - checked July 30, 2026

    Linked by the Charleston County Probate Court as "South Carolina Laws on Marriage". SECTION 20-1-230(A): The judge of probate or clerk of court with whom a marriage license application was filed shall issue a license upon: (1) the filing of the application required under the provisions of Section 20-1-220; (2) the lapse of at least twenty-four hours thereafter; (3) the payment of the fee provided by law; and (4) the filing of a statement, under oath or affirmation, to the effect that the persons seeking the contract of matrimony are legally entitled to marry, together with the full names of the persons, their ages, and places of residence. SECTION 20-1-250: A marriage license must not be issued when either applicant is under the age of sixteen. When either applicant is between the ages of sixteen to eighteen and that applicant resides with father, mother, other relative, or guardian, the probate judge or other officer authorized to issue marriage licenses shall not issue a license for the marriage until furnished with a sworn affidavit signed by the father, mother, other relative, or guardian giving consent to the marriage. SECTION 20-1-220: No marriage license may be issued unless a written application has been filed with the probate judge, or in Darlington and Georgetown counties the clerk of court who issues the license, at least twenty-four hours before the issuance of the license. SECTION 20-1-100: Any person under the age of sixteen is not capable of entering into a valid marriage. SECTION 20-1-330: The officer issuing marriage license certificates shall issue them in triplicate, all of which shall be delivered to either of the contracting parties and the parties to whom they are delivered shall in turn deliver them to the minister or officer who performs the wedding ceremony. Article 3 of this chapter (SECTIONS 20-1-210 through 20-1-380) is the whole statutory scheme for issuing a South Carolina marriage license and was read section by section on 30 July 2026: no section sets an expiration date or a period of validity for an issued license.

Answer boundary

MarriageLicenseCheck is an independent reference, not the issuing office or legal advice. Applicant facts, timing, prior marriages, and document type can change the result. The official office decides what it will accept.

Open the complete Charleston County guide - Browse exact answers - Report a correction