Conway South Carolina Mortality Records
Conway is the county seat of Horry County and serves as the hub for vital records services in this part of South Carolina. Death records for Conway residents are held at both the state and county level, with the regional DPH office located right in Conway. Whether you need a certified copy of a recent death certificate or want to search older Horry County records for family history, this guide walks you through the offices, fees, online tools, and local library resources that support death records research in Conway.
Conway Quick Facts
Conway Death Certificates and How to Get Them
The South Carolina Department of Public Health holds all certified death certificates for Conway residents going back to January 1, 1915. The state DPH Vital Records office is at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, phone (803) 898-3630. Full ordering details are at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/death-certificates. As the county seat, Conway also has direct access to the Horry County regional DPH office at 240 Hospital Road, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 248-3178.
Mail requests to the state office cost $12 and take about four weeks to process. Online orders through VitalChek cost $17 and arrive in five to seven business days. Orders through GoCertificates are also available at $17. Each extra certified copy added to the same order is $3. Bring a government-issued photo ID for any in-person request. If you are ordering on behalf of a deceased relative, have documentation ready that shows your relationship to them.
The image below is from the official City of Conway website, which provides municipal information and can direct residents to local offices for death records and vital services.
The City of Conway at 1000 2nd Avenue, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 248-1760, website cityofconway.com, does not issue death certificates but can direct you to the county and state offices that do.
Horry County Coroner and Conway Death Investigations
The Horry County Coroner, Robert Edge, investigates deaths in Conway that are sudden, violent, suspicious, or occur without a doctor present. The Coroner's Office is at 1301 Second Avenue, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 915-5110. The coroner's determination of cause and manner of death becomes part of the official death certificate that is filed with the state vital records system. For deaths that happen outside a hospital or without medical care, the coroner's role is essential to completing the legal record.
Autopsy reports and full investigative files are separate from the standard death certificate. Immediate family and legal representatives may request coroner files directly from the office in Conway. These reports serve different purposes than a death certificate and are often needed for insurance claims, wrongful death cases, and estate proceedings. Because Conway is the county seat, the Coroner's Office is conveniently located within the city for residents who need in-person access.
Note: Coroner investigative files must be requested directly from the Horry County Coroner's Office and are not available through the state vital records system.
Searching Conway Vital Records Online
The Horry County Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org/horry/publicindex/ provides online access to probate filings, estate cases, and court records that can confirm a death date or document an estate settlement. Probate filings often contain the decedent's full name, date of death, and a list of heirs. This is especially useful for Conway deaths from the mid-20th century when paper records were the standard.
The statewide index at scprobate.net lets you search all 46 South Carolina counties at once. FamilySearch holds South Carolina death collections that are free and searchable without an account. The SC Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov, phone (803) 896-6100, maintains a death index from 1915 to 1960 online. The state library guide at guides.statelibrary.sc.gov/genealogy is a strong starting point for researchers new to South Carolina vital records.
Horry County government information is available at horrycounty.org. The county site provides contact information for departments including the probate court, which handles estate filings linked to Conway deaths.
Historical Conway Death Records and Local Collections
The Horry County Memorial Library at 1008 5th Ave, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 915-5222, website hclib.org, maintains South Carolina history and genealogy collections for Horry County. These include local newspaper obituaries, cemetery records, and historical society materials that document Conway deaths from the late 19th century onward. Librarians there can help connect you to the right resource for your specific research period.
The Horry County Historical Society at 606 Main Street, Conway, SC 29526, holds additional materials on local history. These collections include church records, family histories, and manuscript materials that document Conway's past. For deaths before 1915, church burial records and county probate packets are the primary sources. Conway's role as county seat means that Horry County probate records going back to the mid-1800s are accessible through the SC Archives at scdah.sc.gov.
The image below comes from the SC State Library genealogy guide, which organizes South Carolina vital records resources including those useful for Conway and Horry County death records research.
Pre-1915 deaths in Conway may appear in probate court filings, church records, and Civil War era pension files. The SC Archives holds microfilm of these older Horry County records that are not available through online search tools.
South Carolina Vital Records Law and Conway Death Records
South Carolina's vital records statute at Title 44, Chapter 63, available at scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c063.php, governs how death records in Conway are filed and accessed. Statewide death registration has been mandatory since January 1, 1915. Under Section 44-63-74, the attending physician or coroner must file the death certificate within five days of the death. South Carolina completed its move to electronic death filing statewide in 2022, which has streamlined registration for Conway deaths.
Section 44-63-84 restricts certified copies of death certificates filed within the last 50 years to immediate family members only. Eligible requesters include spouses, parents, children, siblings, and grandparents. Anyone outside this group can request a confirmation statement but cannot receive the full certified copy during the restricted period. After 50 years from the date of death, the record is open to any requester. Filing a fraudulent request for a death certificate is a felony offense under Section 44-63-161.
Horry County Death Records
All death records for Conway residents are part of the Horry County vital records system. The county page below covers the full range of Horry County offices, historical collections, and resources for all deaths that occurred within the county.
Nearby South Carolina Cities
These nearby South Carolina cities are in or near Horry County and are served by the same regional vital records system as Conway.