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South Carolina Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language South Carolina information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

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This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

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Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the South Carolina Family Court. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

  • South Carolina Family Court is the sole forum for custody and visitation cases and has a statewide system whose judges rotate primarily among counties in their circuits.Sources:Family Court

How South Carolina courts decide custody

For a custody decision, South Carolina law directs the court to decide the child's best interest based on what is presented.Sources:South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 15

  • A final custody order may award joint or sole custody; when custody is contested or a parent seeks joint custody, the court considers custody options and states its decision and reasons in the final order.Sources:South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 15

Key legal sources

Parenting time

South Carolina's custody statute refers to parenting time and permits the court to allocate parenting time in the child's best interest.Sources:South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 15

  • A custody order may include a parenting plan or appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent; the statute lists child and parent factors the court may consider in the child's best interest.Sources:South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 15

Key legal sources

How to file

This draft is limited to the official plaintiff packet for a parent's initial South Carolina Family Court request for visitation. It excludes custody requests, divorce, support-only matters, modification, enforcement, emergency or protection-order matters, nonparent claims, adoption, guardianship, and interstate matters.Sources:Self-Represented Litigant Request for Visitation Packet Plaintiff Instructions

  1. Confirm the plaintiff visitation packet fits

    The official instructions identify the plaintiff as the parent seeking visitation and the defendant as the other parent or person with custody. Confirm that this is the correct case type before using the packet.Sources:Self-Represented Litigant Request for Visitation Packet Plaintiff Instructions

  2. Prepare the filing materials for the child's county

    The instructions identify the coversheet, summons, visitation complaint, and financial declaration as filing materials; the fee-waiver motion is conditional. They say to file in the county where the child lives and to check the coversheet for a county subject to mandatory mediation.Sources:Self-Represented Litigant Request for Visitation Packet Plaintiff Instructions

  3. Use the packet's service and hearing materials as conditions require

    The instructions require a filed copy of the coversheet, summons, complaint, and financial declaration to be served, then proof of service. They identify alternative service forms and later hearing, notice, testimony-script, and proposed-order materials; follow the packet's stated conditions and the local clerk's current directions.Sources:Self-Represented Litigant Request for Visitation Packet Plaintiff Instructions

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • South Carolina Legal Services

    Area served: South Carolina

    Provides free civil legal services for low-income South Carolina residents through its intake process.Sources:Help With Family Court Cases

    Eligibility: Applicants are asked about income and the legal problem; limited resources mean the provider cannot accept every case and may refer an applicant elsewhere.

  • South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program

    Area served: South Carolina

    Identifies pro bono legal-service providers and describes a free civil-law question-and-answer program for income-eligible users.Sources:Pro Bono

    Eligibility: The program describes the question-and-answer program as income-eligible; confirm a listed provider's current matter eligibility and capacity directly.

Fee waivers

South Carolina Civil Rule 3(b) permits a plaintiff who cannot pay the filing fee to file an in-forma-pauperis motion with the proposed complaint and an affidavit of inability to pay.Sources:Rule 3

Who may qualify

What to do

  1. Use the packet's fee-waiver form if it applies

    The official plaintiff packet currently links SCCA 405F for a plaintiff who does not have funds for filing and service costs. The form includes a sworn affidavit and a judge order section; complete it only when the packet's condition applies.Sources:SCCA 405F Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, SRL Visitation Packets, Self-Represented Litigant Request for Visitation Packet Plaintiff Instructions

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

  • South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure § 3(b)Sources:Rule 3

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

Part of Family Law in Your State.