McCormick County Death Records Guide
McCormick County death records require special attention because the county was not formed until 1916, one year after South Carolina began statewide death registration. McCormick County was carved from portions of Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood Counties. Any death in what is now McCormick County before 1916 will be recorded under one of those three parent counties. For deaths from 1916 forward, McCormick County records are on file with the South Carolina Department of Public Health. This guide explains how to find McCormick County death records at the state and local level, and where to look for deaths in the parent counties that predate the county's formation.
McCormick County Quick Facts
McCormick County Death Certificates
Certified death certificates for McCormick County are issued by the South Carolina Department of Public Health Vital Records office at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, phone (803) 898-3630. Since McCormick County was established in 1916 and South Carolina's statewide registration began in 1915, McCormick County records in the state system run from 1916 forward. Full ordering details are at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/death-certificates. Mail requests cost $12 and take approximately four weeks. Online orders through VitalChek or GoCertificates cost $17 and typically process in five to seven business days. Each additional copy ordered at the same time costs $3.
The McCormick County Health Department is at 133 S. Mine Street, Room 102, McCormick, SC 29835, phone (864) 852-2511, open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Staff can answer questions about vital records and direct you to the appropriate state resources. For in-person requests, bring a valid government-issued photo ID. Records from the last 50 years are restricted under Section 44-63-84 to immediate family and legal representatives.
For deaths that occurred in the area before 1916, records are held by Abbeville, Edgefield, or Greenwood County depending on which jurisdiction the decedent lived in at the time. Researchers should determine which of those three parent counties corresponds to the specific geographic location before requesting records.
Note: McCormick County is South Carolina's least populous county, with about 10,000 residents. Local offices are small, and routing requests through the state Vital Records office in Columbia is the most reliable approach.
McCormick County Coroner Death Records
Coroner services for McCormick County are handled through the County Administration office at 133 S. Mine Street, McCormick, SC 29835, phone (864) 852-2931. The coroner investigates deaths that are sudden, unexpected, violent, or occur without a treating physician present. Given the county's small size and rural character, the coroner coordinates with state forensic resources for cases requiring autopsy or specialized analysis. The coroner's determination of cause and manner of death is filed with the state vital records system and becomes part of the official death certificate.
Investigative files and related case documents are maintained separately from the standard certificate. Immediate family members and legal representatives may request those records through the county administration office by providing written identification of their relationship to the decedent. These records may include details relevant to estate proceedings, insurance claims, or genealogical research that are not available in the certified certificate alone.
McCormick County's coroner responsibilities reflect the county's small population. Most deaths in the county occur in private homes or medical facilities where a treating physician can certify the cause of death without coroner involvement. The coroner is called when circumstances require an official investigation.
Note: For coroner records in McCormick County, contact the county administration office at (864) 852-2931 to be directed to the correct point of contact for your records request.
Searching McCormick County Death Records Online
Several online tools support McCormick County death records research. The SC Courts Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org/mccormick/publicindex is a free resource that allows searches of court and probate filings. Estate cases in the probate index frequently confirm death dates, list surviving heirs, and provide family relationship information. scprobate.net indexes South Carolina probate records statewide and is searchable by county, providing another path to McCormick County estate filings.
The McCormick County Public Index is a free online search tool for locating court and probate case records connected to McCormick County death records and estate proceedings.
Searching the Public Index by surname is often the quickest way to confirm whether a McCormick County estate was opened after a death, which in turn provides approximate death date information.
The McCormick County government website lists all county departments and contact information. FamilySearch holds indexed McCormick County Marriage Licenses from 1916 to 1950 and the statewide South Carolina Deaths database from 1915 to 1965. Since McCormick County was formed in 1916, the 1915 state death index will contain relevant records under Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood Counties for geographic areas that later became McCormick. African American cemetery surveys for McCormick County are available on FamilySearch as well, which can help document deaths from earlier periods.
McCormick County Probate Court Death Records
The McCormick County Probate Court at 133 S. Mine Street, Room 102, McCormick, SC 29835, phone (864) 852-2195, holds estate and probate records from 1916, the year the county was formed. These records include wills, estate inventories, administrator accounts, and guardianship files. For estate records prior to 1916 in the area that became McCormick County, researchers must contact Abbeville County, Edgefield County, or Greenwood County depending on the geographic location of the decedent's residence at the time. The Clerk of Court at 133 S. Mine Street, same phone number, handles court records that may contain additional death-related documentation.
McCormick County has a historically notable connection to Huguenot settlers through the New Bordeaux settlement, a French Protestant community established in the eighteenth century in what is now the McCormick County area. Estate records from those families survive in Abbeville and Edgefield County probate files. Researchers tracing Huguenot ancestry in this region should search Abbeville County records in particular, as New Bordeaux fell within that county's jurisdiction before McCormick was formed.
The McCormick County government website provides department contacts including the probate court and clerk's office for McCormick County death records research.
The county website confirms current office hours and mailing addresses for the probate court before you submit a written records request.
Note: Because McCormick County probate records only go back to 1916, any estate research for families living in the area before that year must be conducted at Abbeville, Edgefield, or Greenwood County probate courts.
Historical McCormick County Death Records
McCormick County's formation in 1916 creates a clear division in its records history. Deaths in the geographic area before 1916 fall under Abbeville, Edgefield, or Greenwood County records. For deaths in 1916 and after, McCormick County records are held by the state vital records system. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov, phone (803) 896-6100, holds microfilm of the statewide death index from 1915 to 1965. For McCormick County, that index begins with 1916. Researchers at the Archives can access microfilm copies of death certificates in person and may request copies of specific records by mail.
FamilySearch holds indexed collections for McCormick County including Marriage Licenses from 1916 to 1950, African American cemetery surveys, and the statewide South Carolina Deaths database. The local history book "Old Families of McCormick County" by Willie Mae G. Wood is a useful genealogical resource for tracing early families in the area. The McCormick County Library at 212 Pine Street, McCormick, SC 29835, phone (864) 465-2821, holds archives of the McCormick Messenger newspaper, which has covered the county since its formation. Ancestry and HeritageQuest are available at the library, providing access to South Carolina death records and statewide indexes.
The South Carolina State Library genealogy guides outline research strategies for working with South Carolina death records, including guidance on how to handle counties like McCormick that have parent county complications.
The state library guides are helpful for researchers who need to track records across the three parent counties that contributed territory to McCormick County.
McCormick County's Huguenot heritage adds a distinctive layer to historical research in the area. The New Bordeaux settlement records, preserved through French Protestant church records and Abbeville County estate files, document some of the earliest families in the region. Researchers tracing these lines may also find relevant materials at the Huguenot Society of South Carolina. Note: African American cemetery surveys indexed on FamilySearch for McCormick County can help document deaths from the period before formal death registration, particularly for families not well represented in official estate records.
South Carolina Vital Records Law and McCormick County Death Records
Title 44, Chapter 63 of the South Carolina Code governs how McCormick County death records are created, filed, and accessed. Section 44-63-74 requires the attending physician or the coroner to file the death certificate within five days of a death. South Carolina adopted mandatory electronic filing statewide in 2022. Penalties for late or incomplete filings begin at $250 for a first violation and reach $1,000 for repeated non-compliance. For McCormick County, where medical resources are limited and some deaths occur in rural areas without immediate physician attendance, the coroner plays an important role in completing these filings.
Section 44-63-84 restricts certified copies of death records for deaths within the past 50 years to the decedent's immediate family and legal representatives. After 50 years, McCormick County death records are open to all requestors. Section 44-63-150 provides the process for correcting a filed death certificate, requiring documentary support for any proposed change. Section 44-63-161 makes fraudulent use or alteration of a vital record a felony. The full statute text is at scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c063.php.
Nearby Counties
McCormick County is surrounded by Abbeville, Greenwood, Saluda, and Edgefield Counties. These four counties are not only neighbors but also the source counties for pre-1916 records from the area that became McCormick County. A complete search often requires checking records in more than one of these jurisdictions.