Open Records

South Carolina’s public records law is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), S.C. Code § 30-4-10 et seq. It was enacted on the principle that public business should be performed in an open and public manner, allowing citizens to learn and report on the activities of public officials at minimum cost or delay.

Who can request records

Anyone may request public records – a statement of purpose isn’t required. It’s unlawful to use information obtained through certain records (like police reports, information about individuals with disabilities, or employee information) for commercial solicitation purposes – a specific South Carolina restriction on downstream use.

What’s covered

South Carolina’s definition of records is broad: all records, regardless of physical characteristics, that were “prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body.”

How to request

Requests must be in writing (mail, email, fax, or hand delivery) and should explicitly reference the Freedom of Information Act. No specific form is required, though many agencies provide one to streamline processing. Be as specific as possible about what’s being requested.

Response timeline

For records 24 months old or less: the public body must acknowledge the request within 10 business days, then has up to 30 calendar days from that acknowledgment to actually produce the documents. For records older than 24 months: the public body has 20 business days to acknowledge, then up to 35 calendar days to produce. Note that this initial “response” is only the agency’s determination of availability – it isn’t necessarily the final word on whether specific information within the records will be redacted or withheld under an exemption.

Fees

– Public bodies may charge for search, retrieval, and redaction – based on the actual hourly wage of the lowest-paid employee with the skills and training to fulfill the request. Rates vary by agency, commonly in the $19-$37/hour range for search/redaction. – Copy rates are capped at the prevailing commercial rate for copies (comparable to a local commercial copier). – No fee can be charged just to examine and review documents to determine if they’re subject to disclosure. – A deposit of up to 25% of the total reasonably anticipated cost may be required before the agency begins searching for or copying records. – Every public body must develop and post online its own fee schedule for fulfilling FOIA requests. – Fees may be waived or reduced if disclosure is determined to be primarily in the public interest.

Exemptions

Common exemptions include certain personnel matters, criminal investigation records, and some real estate transaction information.

If your request is denied

The requester can pursue relief in court – a court may award attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff, and can assess fines up to $100 or up to 30 days’ imprisonment for a first offense violation of the Open Meetings portion of the law.

A note on terminology

South Carolina’s law is officially the “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) – commonly referred to locally as “FOIA Laws,” which is the terminology South Carolina’s own state agency pages and public-facing materials consistently use, distinct from how other states label the same basic type of law (an “Open Records Act,” or Tennessee’s “Public Records Laws”).