South Carolina · Freedom of Information Act

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, on a two-step clock

AccessPoint manages Freedom of Information Act requests under S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 et seq. — the 10- or 20-business-day determination, then the separate 30- or 35-calendar-day production window — pre-configured for South Carolina and running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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South Carolina at a glance

Response standard: Determination within 10 business days; 20 business days for records 24 months or older (§ 30-4-30)
Production: Furnished within 30 calendar days of the determination (35 for older records); a required deposit starts the clock (§ 30-4-30)
Exemptions: Matters exempt from disclosure (§ 30-4-40)
Charges: Actual cost of search, retrieval, and redaction; copies at no more than the prevailing commercial rate; deposit up to 25% (§ 30-4-30)
Oversight: Enforced in the circuit court (§§ 30-4-100, 30-4-110); Attorney General advisory opinions
Languages: English

Governing legislation

South Carolina Freedom of Information Act

S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 et seq.

Public access to records of state and local public bodies

Response and production deadlines

S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30

A public body must give its determination within 10 business days (20 for records 24 months or older), then furnish records within 30 calendar days of that determination (35 for older records) — or, where a deposit up to 25% is required, within 30 days of receiving it

Oversight

South Carolina circuit court (judicial enforcement)

South Carolina has no FOIA commission or ombudsman with binding power. A requester denied records may apply to the circuit court under § 30-4-100 for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief within one year, and either side may seek a § 30-4-110 hearing — with an initial hearing set within ten days, the matter concluded within six months, and a civil fine up to $500 for an arbitrary and capricious violation. The Attorney General issues advisory FOIA opinions, but they do not bind.

Built for South Carolina

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

FOIA request lifecycle

Intake to release under the South Carolina FOIA (§ 30-4-10 et seq.) — the written determination, the exemption review, and the production of records — all on Microsoft 365.

The two-step clock

South Carolina splits the deadline in two: a determination within 10 business days (20 for records 24 months or older), then production within 30 calendar days (35 for older records). AccessPoint runs both clocks, keyed to any required deposit.

Circuit-court enforcement

There is no binding FOIA commission. AccessPoint keeps the file a requester or public body needs for the § 30-4-100 declaratory-and-injunctive route and the § 30-4-110 hearing, with the one-year limit tracked.

Exemptions and redaction

Apply the § 30-4-40 matters exempt from disclosure line by line — law enforcement records, personal privacy, trade secrets, attorney-client, and more — on a colour-coded, audit-trailed redaction record.

Cost-based charges

Charge only the actual cost of search, retrieval, and redaction, with copies capped at the prevailing commercial rate and a deposit up to 25% of the anticipated cost — with no fee for the review to determine disclosability.

In your own tenant

Every request and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, and no per-user fees.

The two-step clock

In South Carolina, the deadline to decide is not the deadline to deliver.

Most records laws run one clock. South Carolina runs two. A public body first has to give its written determination — whether it will comply — within ten business days of the request, or twenty business days if the records are more than twenty-four months old. Only then does the production clock start: the records must be furnished within thirty calendar days of that determination, or thirty-five for older records, with a required deposit of up to twenty-five percent starting the count. AccessPoint tracks both deadlines from intake, so the response clock and the delivery clock never get confused.

Determination first 10 business days to decide — 20 for records over 24 months old.

Production second 30 calendar days to furnish the records — 35 for older records.

Deposit starts the clock A deposit up to 25% may be required, and the production clock runs from it.

Configured out of the box

Installing the us-sc-foia configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10 et seq.) as the legal-authority and citation spine
The South Carolina state-holiday calendar and the two-step deadline rules — 10/20 business days to determine, 30/35 calendar days to produce
Separate determination and production clocks, with the production clock keyed to any required deposit
The § 30-4-40 matters exempt from disclosure, colour-coded for redaction
Cost-based charges — search, retrieval, and redaction, with copies capped at the prevailing commercial rate and a deposit up to 25%
Circuit-court enforcement support — the § 30-4-100 declaratory-and-injunctive route and § 30-4-110 hearings, with the one-year limit tracked
South Carolina timeliness tracking across both the determination and production deadlines
FOIA correspondence templates with statutory wording — determination notices, deposit requests, and exemption citations

South Carolina Questions

When must a South Carolina public body respond to a request?

In two steps. The public body must notify the requester of its determination whether it will comply within 10 business days — or 20 business days if the records are more than 24 months old. It must then furnish the records within 30 calendar days of that determination (35 for older records), and where a deposit is required the production clock runs from when the deposit is received. AccessPoint computes both deadlines from intake.

What makes South Carolina different — the two-step timeline?

Yes. Unlike laws that set one deadline, South Carolina separates the decision from the delivery: a determination within 10 or 20 business days, then a distinct 30- or 35-calendar-day window to produce the records. AccessPoint tracks the response clock and the production clock as separate deadlines so neither slips.

What can a public body charge?

Reasonable fees not to exceed the actual cost of the search, retrieval, and redaction of records, with copies at no more than the prevailing commercial rate. There is no charge for the examination and review to determine whether records are subject to disclosure, and a deposit of up to 25% of the anticipated cost may be required. AccessPoint computes the charge and issues the deposit request.

Where does data reside?

Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no cross-border data transfers.

Run the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for South Carolina. No credit card required.

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