Getting a birth certificate in Greenville, SC (and getting the right kind)
Passport applications, REAL ID, school enrollment, dual citizenship: they all start with a certified birth certificate — and ordering the wrong version costs weeks. Here’s who can request it, where, and which form to ask for.
Where SC birth certificates come from
Certified copies of South Carolina birth certificates are issued by SC DHEC Vital Records. In Greenville you can order at the DHEC regional office, by mail to the state office in Columbia, or online through the state’s authorized partner (VitalChek). The standard search fee is around $12 for the first copy and a few dollars per additional copy in the same order — online orders add processing fees.
Born in another state? Vital records follow the birthplace: a Georgia birth needs Georgia’s vital records office. Born abroad? Your certificate comes from your country’s civil registry — and what we handle here is the certified translation U.S. agencies require.
Who can request one (it’s not everybody)
- The person named on the certificate (18+), their parents named on the record, or their legal guardian/representative with documentation.
- Adult children, siblings and spouses may qualify with proof of relationship — DHEC checks.
- Every request needs a valid government photo ID; mail orders include a photocopy of it.
- Genealogy searches for older records have separate rules.
Short form vs. long form — the detail that costs weeks
The standard (short) certification works for most domestic uses: REAL ID, school, passports. But for dual citizenship, foreign residency and many immigration processes abroad, the destination authority usually demands the long form, which shows parents’ full information. Ordering short when you needed long is the classic two-week detour — when in doubt, order the long form.
And if the certificate is headed to another country, remember the chain: fresh certified copy → South Carolina apostille → certified translation when required. We run that entire chain for you, statewide by mail.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a birth certificate cost in South Carolina?
The DHEC search fee is around $12 for the first certified copy, plus a few dollars for extra copies in the same order. Online (VitalChek) orders add service fees; expedited shipping is extra.
Can I get a same-day birth certificate in Greenville?
In-person orders at a DHEC Vital Records office are usually the fastest route, often same-day when the record is located. Mail orders to Columbia take several weeks; online orders fall in between.
What’s the difference between the short and long form?
The short form certifies the birth facts; the long form is a copy of the full record including parents’ details. Foreign authorities (dual citizenship, residency abroad) almost always want the long form — order it if your document is leaving the country.
I need my SC birth certificate apostilled for another country. What’s the process?
Order a freshly issued certified copy (older copies signed by former state registrars get rejected), then the SC Secretary of State issues the apostille. Our $149 all-inclusive apostille service handles the whole chain, including ordering the fresh copy when needed.
My birth certificate is from Mexico or another country. Can you help?
The certified copy must come from your country’s civil registry (for Mexican actas we can order online copies for you), and what U.S. agencies need from us is the certified English translation — $35 per page, accepted by USCIS, SCDMV and schools.
Need it certified, apostilled or translated?
Message us on WhatsApp, tell us what you need, and get an exact price and the earliest appointment within minutes.