Divorce in South Carolina

1. Waiting period

   3 months

   A final divorce decree may not be granted until three months after the complaint is filed, except that for the one-year separation or desertion grounds the hearing and decree may come once responsive pleadings are filed or the respondent is in default.^[1]

   S.C. Code § 20-3-80 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “No reference shall be had before two months after the filing of the complaint in the office of the Clerk of Court, nor shall a final decree be granted before three months after such filing.”

   “Provided, however, that when the plaintiff seeks a divorce on the grounds of desertion or separation for one year, the hearing may be held and the decree issued after the responsive pleadings have been filed or after the respondent has been adjudged to be in default whichever occurs sooner.”

2. Residency requirement

   1 year (3 months if both reside in SC)

   The filing spouse (or, if nonresident, the other spouse) must have lived in South Carolina for one year before filing; if both spouses live in the state, three months is enough.^[1]

   S.C. Code § 20-3-30 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “the plaintiff must have resided in this State at least one year prior to the commencement of the action or, if the plaintiff is a nonresident, the defendant must have so resided in this State for this period;”

   “provided, that when both parties are residents of the State when the action is commenced, the plaintiff must have resided in this State only three months prior to commencement of the action.”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, fault grounds also exist

   South Carolina's only no-fault ground is living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year; fault grounds include adultery, desertion, physical cruelty and habitual drunkenness.^[1]

   S.C. Code § 20-3-10 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “on the application of either party if and when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year.”

   “(1) adultery; (2) desertion for a period of one year; (3) physical cruelty;”

4. Property division

   Equitable apportionment

   In a divorce, the court makes a final equitable apportionment of the spouses' marital property.^[1]

   S.C. Code § 20-3-620(A) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “the court shall make a final equitable apportionment between the parties of the parties' marital property upon request by either party in the pleadings.”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Not yet verified

   We list a rule only once we can quote it from South Carolina’s statute or court rules.

6. Divorce rate

   2.2 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   South Carolina’s courts granted 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.8 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 5.9 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in South Carolina divorced in the past year (±1.0; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[3][4]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in South Carolina: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in South Carolina →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in South Carolina (994) ÷ population (5,478,831, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[2]