South Carolina Freedom of Information Act: How to Request Public Records

South Carolina calls its public records law the Freedom of Information Act, which causes constant confusion with the federal statute of the same name. They are separate laws. The federal FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552, reaches federal agencies. The South Carolina FOIA, S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 et seq., reaches South Carolina public bodies: state agencies, counties, municipalities, school districts, and law enforcement agencies.

Two features make South Carolina unusual, and both are covered in detail below. Its deadline structure separates the decision from the delivery, which is why "10 days" is only half the story. And its treatment of body camera video is the most restrictive in this cluster: the footage is not a FOIA record at all.

For the other 50 jurisdictions, start at the public records laws by state hub.

Who can file a South Carolina FOIA request?

Any person. The Act gives a person the right to inspect, copy, or receive an electronic transmission of any public record, and it defines "person" broadly to include any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association.

There is no residency requirement, which puts South Carolina in the majority of states and separates it from neighbors like Tennessee, whose statute guarantees access only to citizens of that state. An out of state requester, a news organization headquartered elsewhere, or a company doing due diligence can all file.

That symmetry does not carry all the way through, though. The Act's judicial enforcement provision, § 30-4-100(A), is worded more narrowly than its request right: it says "a citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court." A non-resident can make the request, but should read the enforcement section below before assuming the same court remedy is available on the face of the statute.

One notable exclusion: incarcerated people cannot use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records, though their constitutional rights are preserved by other routes such as discovery and post conviction procedures.

South Carolina FOIA deadlines: the two stage clock

Most states set one deadline. South Carolina sets two, and reading only the first one is the fastest way to misjudge how long a request will take.

Stage one, the determination. The public body must notify you of its determination, meaning whether it will comply with your request, within 10 days excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays. For records more than 24 months old at the time of the request, that stretches to 20 days on the same excepting-weekends basis.

Stage two, the production. Once the public body has said yes, the records themselves must be furnished no later than 30 calendar days after that determination, or 35 calendar days for records over 24 months old. Where the body requires a deposit, that production window runs from the date the deposit is paid.

Two things follow. First, a lawful South Carolina response to an older request can take roughly two months end to end without anyone violating the statute. Second, if a public body has said nothing at all by day 11 of business days on a recent record, that is a determination problem, and it is a specific and citable failure rather than a vague complaint about slowness.

Note also the deposit mechanic. A public body may require a deposit of up to 25 percent of the total anticipated cost before it starts work, and until you pay it the production clock has not started.

Body camera footage is not a South Carolina public record

This is the headline fact on this page, and it surprises almost everyone who files.

Section 23-1-240(G)(1) of the South Carolina Code says:

"Data recorded by a body-worn camera is not a public record subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act."

That is a categorical exclusion, not an exemption with a balancing test. There is no public interest argument that converts body camera data into a FOIA record in South Carolina, and no appeal from a body camera denial that turns on whether the agency weighed the equities correctly. The material is simply outside the statute.

The statute does provide specific routes by which the footage moves, and they matter if you are trying to figure out how it will ever surface:

• SLED, the Attorney General, and circuit solicitors may request body camera data, and a law enforcement agency must provide it, for any legitimate criminal justice purpose.
• A law enforcement agency may request and must receive the data for an internal investigation into officer misconduct or discipline.
• The agency, SLED, the Attorney General, and a circuit solicitor may release the data at their discretion. Discretionary release is how footage reaches the public in practice, which means a public request to the agency is a request for a favor rather than an assertion of a right.
• The person recorded, a criminal defendant, and a party to civil litigation may obtain the data under the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Rules of Civil Procedure, or a court order.

Practically, if you are the person in the video, or you are suing over the incident, or you have been charged, your route is procedural rules and a court, not a FOIA letter. If you are a journalist or a member of the public, your realistic route is to ask the agency and the solicitor to exercise their discretion, and to say why release serves the public.

Ordinary police records are different. Incident reports, arrest records and similar law enforcement documents remain public records subject to the Act's exemptions, including exemptions covering active investigations. Only the body camera data carries the categorical carve-out. Emergency call audio is a separate question again, covered generally in are 911 calls public records.

Fees and waivers

South Carolina caps fees at the actual cost of search, retrieval and redaction, and it caps the labor rate in a way that is worth quoting to an agency that quotes you an attorney's hourly rate: the hourly charge cannot exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill and training to perform the request. Copy charges cannot exceed the prevailing commercial rate for photocopies, and electronic transmission of records is free.

Waivers exist but are discretionary. Records may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where the public body determines that a waiver or reduction is in the public interest. Members of the General Assembly receive free copies for legislative duties.

Because electronic delivery is free and paper is not, the cheapest South Carolina request is almost always one that asks for the records by email in whatever electronic format the body already keeps them in.

How to file a South Carolina FOIA request

There is no statewide portal. You send the request to the public body that holds the records.

1. Address it to the right body. A municipal police report goes to the city police department's records division, a county record to the county's FOIA officer, a state agency record to that agency. Many South Carolina public bodies publish a FOIA request form or a dedicated email address.
2. Put it in writing. Written requests give you a dated record that the 10 or 20 business day determination clock runs from.
3. Name the record type and a date range. Specificity shortens the search and lowers the cost, since fees track search and retrieval time.
4. Ask for electronic transmission. It is free under the Act.
5. Flag the age of the records. If you know the records are older than 24 months, expect the longer determination and production windows rather than reading them as delay.
6. Do not send a FOIA request for body camera video. Use the routes described above instead.

Our free public records request generator produces a written request with the correct South Carolina statutory language, which you can copy, print or email. Nothing you enter is stored.

Denials and enforcement

South Carolina has no records tribunal and no administrative appeal. The remedy is judicial.

Read the standing language carefully, because it is narrower than the request right. Section 30-4-100(A) provides that "a citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court for a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, or both, to enforce the provisions of this chapter in appropriate cases if the application is made no later than one year after the date of the alleged violation or one year after a public vote in public session, whichever comes later." So the Act lets any "person" make a request, but writes its express court remedy in terms of a citizen of the State. A non-resident or out of state organization that is denied records has a request right that the statute grants and an enforcement route that the statute does not describe in the same terms, which is a question worth raising with a South Carolina lawyer rather than assuming either way. The Act is written to move: the initial hearing is to be scheduled within 10 days of service, and the case is meant to conclude within six months.

The enforcement teeth matter for leverage. A prevailing requester may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs, and where the court finds the public body arbitrarily and capriciously violated the chapter it may impose a civil fine of 500 dollars. Note that the discretion in § 30-4-110(F) is over whether to impose that fine, not over its size: the statute sets a single figure of five hundred dollars rather than a ceiling the court works within. That fee shifting is what makes a South Carolina FOIA case viable for an individual, and it is worth mentioning in a follow up letter to a public body that has blown its determination deadline.

Before litigating, one intermediate step is usually worth taking: write again, cite the specific determination or production deadline you say was missed, and give the body a short window to cure. Many South Carolina failures are calendar failures rather than considered refusals.

For records that are not FOIA records at all, do not file under Chapter 4. Death certificates run through South Carolina's vital records system with its own eligibility rules, covered in South Carolina death records, and deeds and plats sit with the county register of deeds, covered in South Carolina property records.

This article is general legal information about South Carolina law as of August 2026, not legal advice. The statutory text quoted here was read from the South Carolina Legislature's official code, including Title 30 Chapter 4 and the body camera provision at § 23-1-240. For advice about your own situation, speak with a lawyer licensed in South Carolina.

For deadlines, fees, and appeal routes in the other fifty jurisdictions, start at our public records laws by state hub. For records held by a federal agency, see how to file a FOIA request.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get police body camera video in South Carolina through a FOIA request?

No. Section 23-1-240(G)(1) states that data recorded by a body-worn camera is not a public record subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. It is a categorical exclusion, so there is no public interest balancing that overcomes it. The footage still moves through other channels: SLED, the Attorney General, circuit solicitors and the agency itself may obtain and may release it at their discretion, and the person recorded, a criminal defendant, or a party to civil litigation may obtain it under the Rules of Criminal or Civil Procedure or by court order.

How long does a South Carolina FOIA request take?

There are two clocks. The public body must give you its determination within 10 days excepting weekends and legal holidays, or 20 such days if the records are more than 24 months old. It then has up to 30 calendar days after that determination to produce the records, or 35 calendar days for the older records, running from the date any required deposit is paid. As of August 2026 a lawful response on older records can therefore take about two months end to end.

Do I have to live in South Carolina to file?

No, not to make the request. The Act gives the right to any 'person', defined to include individuals, corporations, partnerships, firms, organizations and associations, with no residency condition. Enforcement is worded differently: § 30-4-100(A) says 'a citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court for a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, or both', so a non-resident who is denied records should not assume the statute hands them the same court remedy. The one other notable exclusion is that incarcerated people cannot use FOIA to obtain records, although other legal routes remain available to them.

How much can a South Carolina agency charge me?

Fees are capped at the actual cost of search, retrieval and redaction. The hourly labor charge cannot exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill and training to do the work, and copy charges cannot exceed the prevailing commercial rate. Electronic transmission is free. A public body may require a deposit of up to 25 percent of the anticipated cost before starting, and the production clock runs from when that deposit is paid.

Is there a fee waiver in South Carolina?

There is a discretionary one. A public body may furnish records without charge or at a reduced charge where it determines that the waiver or reduction is in the public interest. It is not a right you can claim the way a federal FOIA public interest waiver can be argued, so ask for it in the request and give reasons, but do not plan a budget around it.

What do I do if a South Carolina public body ignores my request?

Write again, identify the specific deadline you say was missed, and give a short window to cure. If that fails, the remedy is a circuit court action for declaratory judgment or injunctive relief, which § 30-4-100(A) gives to 'a citizen of the State' and which must be filed within one year of the alleged violation. A prevailing requester may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs, and where the court finds the public body arbitrarily and capriciously violated the chapter it may impose a civil fine of 500 dollars, a fixed statutory amount rather than a maximum.

Is the South Carolina FOIA the same as the federal FOIA?

No. They share a name and nothing else. The federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, applies to federal executive branch agencies. South Carolina's FOIA, S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 et seq., applies to South Carolina public bodies. Deadlines, fees, exemptions and enforcement all differ. A request to a Charleston city department goes under state law, not federal law.

Can I get an incident report or arrest record in South Carolina?

Usually yes. Ordinary law enforcement records such as incident reports and arrest records remain public records under the Act, subject to its exemptions, which include protections for active investigations and for certain personal information. The categorical exclusion in Section 23-1-240(G)(1) applies to body worn camera data specifically, not to police paperwork generally.