Document Recording

The County Clerk serves as the recorder and custodian of several legal documents.  Some of these documents, but not limited to are:

  • Assignments
  • Affidavits
  • Births
  • Deaths
  • Deeds
  • Deeds of Trust
  • Home Owner Association Covenant & Restrictions
  • Judgments
  • Liens
  • Marriages
  • Military Discharges
  • Modification Agreement
  • Power of Attorneys (POA)
  • Releases
  • Substitution of Trustee
  • Subordination
  • Surveys
  • Wills

The majority of the records housed in the County Clerk’s Office are public record, excluding military discharges.  Documents presented for recordation must be original and signature(s) must be notarized. Original documents are scanned and the originals are returned within a week to 10 days. Normally, the documents are mailed out within 1 day.

The property transfer tax on real estate for Berkeley County is $7.70 per one thousand dollars of value (Note: This fee went into effect 1 August 2017). This tax is paid at the time the deed is recorded, along with the recording fee.  Public documents that are recorded in the County Clerk’s Office may be copied for a fee.  The copy fee is $1.50 for the first two pages.  Additional copies will then be at the rate of $1.00 for each additional page. 

Land records are public documents and individuals who need information must perform their own research. Our clerks are available to assist you with your research, but they cannot perform it for you. For assistance with extensive land record's research, you should consider hiring a local title company or an attorney familiar with Land Records. Our Record Rooms are open to the public from 8:00 am until 4:45 pm, Monday through Friday. Online documents range from 1970 to the present are available for viewing.

Below is a breakdown of our fees:

  • Recording Fee for Deeds, Deeds of Trusts, Memorandum of Trusts and Fixture Filings:

                  1. 1 - 5 Pages ($32.00)
                  2. Additional per Page after 5 ($1.00)

  • Fees relating to POA, Releases, Substitution of Trustee, Subordination, Judgments, Assignments, Affidavits and Modification Agreement, please click here.
  • Plat ( 24"x 18" OR 8 1/2" X 14")
  1. $12.00
  • Plat (24"x36")
  1. $15.00
  • All other documents
  1. $12.00 for the first 5 pages, $1.00 for each additional page.
  2. Preservation fee is $1.00 per page for pages 1-9, $2.00 per page for pages 10-19,
  3. $3.00 per page for pages 20-29,
  4. $4 per page for pages 30-34.
  5. For 35+ pages, please contact the County Clerk's office at (304) 264-1927.

* Preservation fee added to every recorded document.

* * If pages are two-sided- each side will be counted as 1 page.

* * No additional charge for a document that has more than one lien to be assigned or released.

  • Copying charges
  1. $1.50 for the first 2 pages, $1.00 for each additional page.
  • True Copy Attest
  1. $2.50 for each document
  2. PLUS cost of copying the document
  • Birth/Death/Marriage Certificate
  1. $5.00 for each document
  • Clerk Certificate
  1. $3.00 for each document
  2. PLUS cost of copying the document

As always, you’re more than welcome to stop in and allow us to personally assist you.  Our hours are; Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.  Also, please don’t hesitate to call us at (304) 264-1927.

Downloads:

Other Fee Worksheet.pdf
Deeds Fee Worksheet.pdf