Berkeley County Recorder Information

Land records in Berkeley County are recorded by the Register of Deeds. The office is held by Cindy Forte.

Land record documents recorded after July 1, 1983 are available online; plat records are available online after January 1, 2000. Berkeley County land records are available in-office beginning in 1884. A free recording alert is available at search.berkeleydeeds.com.

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: Register of Deeds – Berkeley County Government · Frequently Asked Questions – Berkeley County Government

These government fees are separate from any Deeds.com service fees. Confirm current charges with the recorder's office.

Other charges

Fee schedule effective August 1, 2019.

StatewideSection 8-21-310 sets uniform filing fees. Twenty-five dollars applies to land sale installment contracts, real estate sales contracts, UCC documents, plats or surveys not attached to another document, real estate leases, partition orders, easements, powers of attorney, and notices of mechanic's lien. Ten dollars applies to revocations of power of attorney, assignments of leases and rents and their releases, separate probates, acknowledgements, affidavits, or certificates, assignments affecting a single mortgage or instrument (seven dollars for each mortgage, instrument, or lien when more than one is affected), trustee qualifications, memoranda or certifications of trust, state or federal liens, lis pendens without summons and complaint, releases of mechanic's liens, and vacation time sharing ownership deeds. Fifteen dollars applies to a Notice of Project Commencement under Section 29-5-23.

Paying the office

Transfer tax

Deed Recording Fee. One dollar eighty-five cents for each five hundred dollars, or fractional part of five hundred dollars, of the realty's value as determined by Section 12-24-30. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-10)

StatewideThe deed recording fee is composed of a state fee of one dollar thirty cents and a county fee of fifty-five cents for each five hundred dollars, or fractional part of five hundred dollars, of the realty's value (S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-90). It is remitted to the clerk of court or register of deeds in the county where the realty is located and recorded; where realty lies in more than one county, the value in each county is stated by affidavit (§ 12-24-50). Before recording, the officer collects the fee and places a notation on the deed showing the filing date and fee collected, or the word "exempt" (§ 12-24-60). Exemptions are listed in § 12-24-40.

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: SC Code Title 8 Chapter 21 - Fees and Costs · SC Code Title 12 Chapter 24 - Deed Recording Fee · Register of Deeds – Berkeley County Government · Frequently Asked Questions – Berkeley County Government

Confirm current requirements with the recorder's office before submitting documents.

StatewideDeeds conveying an interest in land and real estate mortgages must include a derivation clause in the property description; a derivation clause is not required on a quitclaim or non-warranty deed or on utility or railroad property (S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-35). Before recording, a deed or other instrument must be acknowledged or proved as described in § 30-5-30, including by affidavit of a subscribing witness or by acknowledgment in the presence of two witnesses.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• Affidavit showing the value of the realty Statewide Clerk of court or register of deeds
  Filed with a deed; for exempt deeds the affidavit states the reason for the exemption; the clerk of court or register of deeds may waive it

Submitting documents

StatewideWritings concerning titles to land are recorded in the order in which they are brought to the office, and every such writing is to be recorded within thirty days after its lodgment (S.C. Code Ann. § 30-5-90).

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: SC Code Title 12 Chapter 24 - Deed Recording Fee · SC Code Title 30 Chapter 5 - Recording Generally · Frequently Asked Questions – Berkeley County Government