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Click on your state to view detailed FOIA guidance
Click on your state to view detailed FOIA guidance
Each state page includes: response deadlines, fee structures, special rights, exemptions, enforcement options, and success strategies
- Year Enacted
- 1970 (amended 2024)
- Response Deadline
- 15 business days
- Who Can Request
- Anyone
- Fees
- Yes
- Attorney Fees
- Recoverable if you win
- Enforcement
- Multiple mechanisms
Last verified: February 18, 2026
Use South Carolina FOIA TemplateDefinition of Public Record
South Carolina’s definition of records includes all records, no matter their physical characteristics, that were “prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body.”
Exemptions to Public Records
Exempt: Pending investigation documents; confidential attorney communications; identification of informants; certain bank and business transactions; and income tax returns.
🔍 Search Common Exemptions
Exemption database for SC is being compiled. Check back soon!
Who Can Make a Request?
Anyone
Response Timeframe
15 days
📅 Calculate Your Response Deadline
Information on Fees
Agencies can charge fees, but they must not exceed the actual costs to provide the record.
Enforcement Mechanisms
There are no administrative appeals options. However, you can take the matter court. Those with prevailing challenges may be awarded attorney fees. In addition, willful violators are subject to escalating fines and potential jail time as a result of its misdemeanor status. However, there is no historical precedent for this, and to date there have only been not guilty verdicts rendered for those who claimed they had no knowledge of how they were breaking the law.
Attorney Fees
Yes, you can win attorney’s fees.
🚀 Ready to Request Records?
Choose how you want to proceed with your SC public records request:
💡 Both options provide comprehensive, well-formatted requests based on SC transparency law.