Guide to S.C. Public Notices

Please note: This is not a legal reference. This guide,  now available to the public, was created to help SCPA member newspapers. If in doubt about the guidance offered, please check the South Carolina Code of Laws. 

A compendium of public notice/legal advertising laws including exact wording and details on when and where an ad has to be run. Organized by topic, this resource is the best way to navigate our state’s public notice laws. If you are unsure of which topic to select, search by keyword using our site’s search function above. 

“‘Advertisement’ means the publication, dissemination, circulation, or placing before the public an announcement or statement in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication in the form of a book, notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, handbill, poster, bill, sign, placard, card, label, or tag, or over radio or television. The term does not include funeral or death notices and obituaries.” (40-19-20)

• General Assembly
• Counties
• Municipal Corporations
• Local Government
• Elections
• Public Buildings and Property
• Public Finance
• Taxation
• Planning Research and Development
• Courts
• Civil Remedies and Procedures
• Crimes and Offenses
• Criminal Procedures
• Domestic Relations
• Law Enforcement and Public Safety
• Property and Conveyances
• Mortgages and Other Liens
• Housing and Redevelopment
• Contracts and Agents
• Corporations, Partnerships and Associations
• Banking, Financial Institutions and Money
• Commercial Codes
• Consumer Protection Code
• Insurance
• Trade and Commerce
• Professions and Occupations
• Health
• Agriculture
• Waters, Water Resources and Drainage
• Fish, Game and Watercraft
• Port and Maritime Matters
• Aeronautics
• Motor Vehicles
• Highways, Bridges and Ferries
• Public Utilities
• Education
• Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages
• South Carolina Probate Code
• Tattoo Parlors

Every state in our nation, including South Carolina, has laws that regulate the manner in which legal ads (public notices) are published. These laws are designed to ensure that people within a community receive important information about the actions of their government and courts. Local newspapers remain the approved venue to distribute public notices. In addition to their print editions, S.C. newspapers have created a website to serve as a central repository for all legal public notice ads in South Carolina. Visit SCPublicNotices.com to search the public notices/legal advertisements that have run in S.C. newspapers.