The mission of the Berkeley County Register of Deeds Office is to provide for the recordation, maintenance and availability of county records dealing with real and personal property. Our ultimate goal is to provide the best and most efficient services possible to all citizens.
Mission Statement
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Department Functions
What we do . . .
- Records deeds, plats, mortgages, state and federal tax liens, and any document pertaining to real estate transactions in Berkeley County
- Assures that clearly established legal requirements are met prior to recording
- Provides public access in the most efficient and courteous manner possible
- Assists the general public in obtaining for a fee, photo-copies of deeds, plats or other recorded documents
- Collects state mandated recording fees on all documents (see Fee Schedule)
- Provides certified true copies of recorded documents at the rate of $10.00 per document
- Provides on-site information on recordings
- Provides access to available records from other county offices via networked computers
- Provides online access to indexing information and images of all records beginning July 1, 1983 to present date. With accurate book and page information, “deed” images are available online beginning in January, 1974.
- Provides online access to indexing information and images of all records beginning July 1, 1983, to present date. With accurate book and page information, “deed” and “miscellaneous images” are available online beginning January 1974 and “plat” images beginning 1884.
. . . and do not
- Perform title searches or extensive record or lien searches.
- Give legal advice or make legal recommendations of any kind. (For attorney information, call the S.C. Lawyers Referral Service at 800-868-2284 or the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program (843) 761-8355
- Witness or notarize documents
- Prepare or complete deeds or other legal documents of any kind
- Check taxes: check Clerk of Court records, delinquent taxes, probate court records, or any other office’s records in county. Although access is provided, The Register of Deeds office is unable to interpret records of other offices
- Report any public information to credit bureaus or agencies of any kind
Public Notice:
There are some companies that access County public records for commercial use. If you should receive a letter from an independent company offering copies of your deeds for a large amount, (i.e. $79.00, etc.) please be aware that copies of your documents from 1983-Present can be obtained from the Register of Deeds website search.berkeleydeeds.com at no cost or can be obtained in the office for a nominal fee.
HELP US FIGHT IDENTITY THEFT!
A person preparing or filing a document for recordation or filing in the official records may not include a social security, driver’s license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or PIN code, or passwords in the document, unless expressly required by law.
An individual has a right to request a register of deeds or clerk of court to remove from an image or copy of an official record placed on a publicly available Internet web site used by a register of deeds or clerk of court to display public records, any social security, driver’s license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, or debit card number, or PIN, or passwords contained in an official record.
The request must be in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission or in person, to the register of deeds or clerk of court.
The request must specify the identification page number that contains the social security, driver’s license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, debit card number, or PIN code, or passwords to be redacted.
There is no fee for the redaction pursuant to request.
If you see a Social Security or other personal information on line, please e-mail us.
A Word About Title Fraud
A home is one of our most valuable tangible possessions. Much is being said currently about title fraud and about the act of stealing properties or borrowing monies against your property. It is not nearly as easy as the commercial ads want you to believe. If a property is to be conveyed by a supposed owner to another individual, the owner’s signature must be forged, which is a crime. To be placed on public record, a document must have requirements per SC law and must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and be properly acknowledged before a notary public. No lender is going to loan monies without a proper title search making certain that there is sufficient legal collateral. There is no guarantee that fraud will never be perpetrated, but no company can be employed to “prevent” fraud from happening. Credit monitoring or public record monitoring can only notify you after a document has been recorded. “Free” monitoring of property records is available through my record’s webpage. To sign up for the monitoring, go to search.berkeleydeeds.com. At the lower left of the screen, press “recording alert”. Follow the prompts to accept disclaimers, and to include the names to be monitored as well as an email address at which you will be notified if any document is recorded including the name you entered. It is my responsibility to record a document if it appears to be legitimate by meeting all the prerequisites per SC law, so please understand that the recording alert does not preclude a recording. It will simply notify you after the recording and allow you to begin a process of addressing the situation more quickly.
DISCLAIMER: Forms provided on the Berkeley County Register of Deeds web site are to illustrate the ‘form’ of documents that meets the basic Recording requirements of the State of South Carolina and local Ordinances, Rules and Regulations. No suitability or sufficiency of purpose is expressed or implied by the Berkeley County Register of Deeds.
Users of these forms are encouraged to engage the services of a licensed Attorney to ensure the suitability and sufficiency of any form obtained from this site, as to the form, content, and proper execution necessary to perfect the desired effect, and to ensure recordability compliance of any instrument to be filed in the office of the Berkeley County, SC Register of Deeds.
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