Myrtle Beach Death Records in Horry County
Myrtle Beach death records are maintained at the Horry County level and through the South Carolina Department of Public Health. Myrtle Beach is one of South Carolina's most visited destinations, with a resident population of about 35,000 that swells to over 400,000 during peak tourist season. Both residents and visitors who die in Myrtle Beach have their deaths registered through the same Horry County and state vital records system. This guide covers where to find and request Myrtle Beach death certificates, which local offices handle these records, and where historical and genealogical death records for the area are kept. South Carolina death registration covers all deaths from January 1, 1915, forward.
Myrtle Beach Quick Facts
How to Get Myrtle Beach Death Certificates
Death certificates for Myrtle Beach are issued by the South Carolina Department of Public Health. The City of Myrtle Beach at 937 Broadway Street does not issue or maintain vital records. All certified death certificate requests must go through the SC DPH main office at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, phone (803) 898-3630, or through the DPH regional office serving Horry County at 1931 Industrial Park Road, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 915-8802. Full instructions are available at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/death-certificates.
The Horry County Health Department at 800 4th Avenue, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 248-3179, also serves Myrtle Beach residents. Conway is the Horry County seat and the closest in-person option for county vital records assistance. Staff there can answer questions about obtaining death certificates and can direct you to the right state or regional office. For Myrtle Beach residents and families, the Conway regional DPH office is the most convenient in-person location for vital records help.
Mail requests cost $12 per certified copy and take about four weeks to process. Online orders through VitalChek cost $17 and typically process in five to seven business days. Each additional certified copy is $3. Certified copies of death records from the past 50 years are restricted to immediate family members and authorized legal representatives under state law.
Note: Because Myrtle Beach sees a large number of visitor deaths each year, the Horry County vital records system is experienced with handling out-of-state families seeking death certificates for loved ones who died while visiting.
Horry County Coroner and Myrtle Beach Death Records
The Horry County Coroner investigates deaths in Myrtle Beach and throughout Horry County that are sudden, violent, suspicious, or occur without a physician present. The tourist environment in Myrtle Beach means the coroner's office handles a notable number of cases involving visitors who die from drowning, accidents, or sudden medical events far from home. Deputy Darris Fowler and the Horry County Coroner's Office are based in Conway, SC. When the coroner determines cause and manner of death for a Myrtle Beach case, that finding is incorporated into the official death certificate on file with the state.
Coroner case files, including autopsy reports, are held by the Horry County Coroner's Office and are separate from the standard death certificate. Immediate family members and legal representatives of a Myrtle Beach decedent may request these records from the coroner. These documents can provide medical and investigative detail that does not appear on the face of the death certificate. For families of tourists who die in Myrtle Beach, the coroner's office is often the first point of contact for information about the cause of death before the official certificate is issued.
Note: The Horry County government provides department contact information and service listings at horrycounty.org, which is useful for families navigating Myrtle Beach death records from out of state.
Searching Myrtle Beach Death Records Online
Several free online databases help with searches for Myrtle Beach and Horry County death records. Horry County probate filings are indexed at scprobate.net, which covers all 46 South Carolina counties and is free to search. Probate records often include the decedent's death date, the names of heirs, and sometimes a copy of the death certificate. When you know a Myrtle Beach resident died but do not yet have the certificate, a probate search can quickly confirm the basic facts of the death.
The South Carolina Courts Public Index provides online access to Horry County court filings at sccourts.org. These records supplement probate searches and can include guardianship or other proceedings that arose from a death. FamilySearch holds South Carolina death records collections that include Horry County, with many records from 1915 through the 1960s indexed and searchable for free. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov holds microfilm of statewide death registrations and is open for on-site research in Columbia.
Myrtle Beach Local Library and Genealogy Resources
The Chapin Memorial Library at 400 14th Avenue N, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577, phone (843) 918-1275, is the primary library for Myrtle Beach death records research. The library website is at chapinlibrary.org. The South Carolina Room at Chapin Memorial holds the Shirley Walker Boone Collection, which is a locally significant genealogy collection that includes Horry County cemetery records, local history materials, and obituary indexes spanning many decades. Researchers tracing Myrtle Beach and Horry County families will find this collection particularly useful for deaths in the twentieth century.
Library staff in the SC Room at Chapin Memorial are experienced with Horry County genealogy and can guide researchers to the right collection for a specific time period or family name. Obituary files and local newspaper archives covering the Myrtle Beach area are also accessible at the library. For residents who cannot visit in person, some of the library's digital collections are accessible remotely with a library card. The library provides access to Ancestry Library Edition on-site, which includes South Carolina vital records and historical newspapers that frequently contain Myrtle Beach death notices.
Note: The Shirley Walker Boone Collection at Chapin Memorial Library is a unique local resource for Horry County genealogy that is not replicated in statewide databases.
Historical Myrtle Beach Death Records
Myrtle Beach as a developed resort city is a relatively recent phenomenon, with significant growth occurring in the post-World War II era. Before the 1920s, the area was sparsely populated and known primarily as a farming and timber region within Horry County. Deaths before 1915 in what is now Myrtle Beach were recorded, if at all, through church registers, plantation records, and county court documents. Most pre-1915 death records for the Horry County area must be traced through these alternate sources, many of which are held at the SC Archives or accessible through FamilySearch.
From 1915 forward, the state death registration system covers all Myrtle Beach deaths. The early decades of registration in Horry County saw some gaps and late filings, as was common across rural South Carolina. The SC Archives microfilm collection for Horry County covers the full registration period and is the most reliable source for verifying deaths from the 1915 to 1963 era. FamilySearch has digitized much of this microfilm and provides free online access to many of the indexed records. Researchers looking for a Myrtle Beach or Horry County death from before 1970 should check both the SC Archives and FamilySearch before ordering a certified copy from the state.
South Carolina Vital Records Law and Myrtle Beach Death Records
South Carolina's vital records law at Title 44, Chapter 63 governs all deaths registered in the state, including those in Myrtle Beach and Horry County. The full statute is at scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c063.php. Section 44-63-74 requires the attending physician or, in the absence of a physician, the coroner to file the death certificate within five days. South Carolina mandated electronic filing statewide in 2022. Given the large tourist population, Myrtle Beach deaths involving out-of-state decedents follow the same filing rules, with the Horry County Coroner often taking a lead role when no local physician attended the death.
Under Section 44-63-84, certified copies of death certificates for deaths within the last 50 years are restricted to the decedent's immediate family or legal representatives. After 50 years, the records become public. Section 44-63-161 makes fraudulent use or alteration of a vital record a felony. Section 44-63-150 provides the procedure for correcting errors on a filed death certificate, which requires supporting documentation. For families of tourists who die in Myrtle Beach, these rules apply just as they do for permanent residents, and the coroner's office can provide guidance on obtaining the needed documents.
Horry County Death Records
Myrtle Beach is in Horry County, and all vital records for Myrtle Beach residents and those who die in the city flow through the Horry County system. For complete information on county-level offices, the probate court, historical record collections, and all resources serving Horry County, visit the county page.
Nearby South Carolina Cities
Residents of nearby communities use their own county systems for death records. Select a city below to find information for that area.