Summerville, not St. George. The 1st Judicial Circuit, not the 9th. What a Dorchester County divorce filing actually involves.
Dorchester County's Family Court is in Summerville, at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex, not at the St. George county seat, and the county sits in South Carolina's 1st Judicial Circuit rather than the 9th. Here is where a Dorchester divorce is filed, what it costs, and the deadlines it runs on.
A Dorchester County divorce is filed on paper with the clerk of court, and S.C. Code § 20-3-60 — not where you hire an attorney — sets which county hears it. Dorchester publishes its Family Court at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville, not at the St. George county seat, and sits in the 1st Judicial Circuit. Hall & Means, LLC serves Dorchester County from our West Ashley office in Charleston.
Dorchester County publishes its Family Court at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville, SC 29483. St. George is the county seat and holds Circuit Court and the main Clerk of Court office, roughly 25 miles away. No primary source we could reach says whether St. George takes a family-court filing, so call (843) 832-0360 before you drive.
Dorchester also sits in a different circuit from its neighbors: the 1st Judicial Circuit, administered with Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. Charleston and Berkeley are in the 9th. There is no “tri-county circuit.”
| Dorchester County Family Court | Published detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville, SC 29483 |
| Mailing | PO Box 1885, Summerville, SC 29483 |
| Phone | (843) 832-0360 |
| Hours | 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday–Friday, excluding holidays |
| Circuit | 1st, with Orangeburg and Calhoun |
| Case records | FCCMS Public Access Portal |
Court locations, phone numbers and hours change. Confirm with the Clerk of Court before you go.
Not automatically. South Carolina keys venue to a county, and S.C. Code § 20-3-60 decides which one — not simply where you live, and not which attorney you hire:
“Actions for divorce from the bonds of matrimony or for separate support and maintenance must be tried in the county (a) in which the defendant resides at the time of the commencement of the action, (b) in which the plaintiff resides if the defendant is a nonresident or after due diligence cannot be found, or (c) in which the parties last resided together as husband and wife unless the plaintiff is a nonresident, in which case it must be brought in the county in which the defendant resides.”
Because Dorchester, Charleston and Berkeley adjoin, prongs (a) and (c) routinely point to different counties once a couple separates. Venue is separate from your right to file at all: under § 20-3-30 the plaintiff must have resided in South Carolina for at least one year before commencing the action, and the period drops to three months if both parties are South Carolina residents when the action is commenced.
| Place | County or counties (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020) |
|---|---|
| Summerville (town) | Dorchester (732 census blocks), Berkeley (63), Charleston (33) |
| North Charleston (city) | Charleston (1,746 blocks), Dorchester (227), Berkeley (1) |
| Ladson (census designated place) | Berkeley (147 blocks) and Charleston (44) only |
Ladson is the trap. It is described almost everywhere as a three-county community; in the Census Bureau’s 2020 place-to-county data the Ladson census place sits in Berkeley and Charleston counties only. The impression comes from the USPS “Ladson, SC” ZIP area — a mail construct, not a boundary — and Dorchester addresses do carry Ladson mail. A ZIP code is never a venue fact. Check the street address against the county parcel systems or the Census Bureau’s address geocoder, then apply § 20-3-60.
A divorce starts with a Summons and Complaint, filed on paper with the Dorchester County Clerk of Court. There is no Family Court e-filing anywhere in South Carolina. The state’s e-filing system is a Common Pleas program, so every divorce here is on paper.
| Document | Form | What the rule requires |
|---|---|---|
| Family Court Coversheet | SCCA 467 | Required for docketing; carries the nature-of-action code (Divorce is 110) and is served with the Summons and Complaint |
| Summons | SCCA 400.01 SRL-DIV (self-represented version) | Gives the defendant notice of the action; filed together with the Complaint |
| Complaint | SCCA 400.02 SRL-DIV (self-represented version) | States the ground and the relief requested |
| Financial Declaration | SCCA 430 | Required by SCRFC 20(a); under 20(b) it is filed and served before or at the first hearing, or no later than 45 days after the complaint is served, whichever comes first |
| Certificate of Exemption | SCRFCMFORM02 | Only if one of the form’s four listed grounds applies; ADR Rule 3(b) and 3(c) are separate exemption routes |
Service follows SCRCP 4: the sheriff, a deputy, or any non-party who is not an attorney and is at least 18. Rule 4(d)(1) allows personal delivery, or delivery at the defendant’s usual abode to a resident of suitable age and discretion; Rule 4(j) allows an Acceptance of Service. Your spouse then has 30 days to answer under SCRCP 12(a), and a spouse who never answers still gets notice of the merits hearing and may be heard there (SCRFC 17(a)). For the county next door, see how to file for divorce in Charleston County, and for the ground itself, the five grounds for divorce in South Carolina.
The Family Court filing fee for a divorce is $150 on the statewide schedule. It is a stack of two statutes: $100 under S.C. Code § 8-21-310(C)(1), plus a $50 add-on under § 14-1-204(B)(1).
| What it is | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce, annulment, separate support and maintenance | $150 | § 8-21-310(C)(1) + § 14-1-204(B)(1) |
| Defendant’s answer, return or other papers | No fee | § 8-21-310(D) |
| Motion fee, family court | $25 | § 8-21-320 |
| Motion for Temporary Relief, SCRFC Rule 21 | $25 | Motion Fee List — one fee, however many forms of relief |
| Rule to show cause, child or spousal support | No fee | Motion Fee List |
| Rule to show cause, court-ordered custody or visitation | $25 | Motion Fee List |
| Sheriff serving a summons and complaint | $15 initial, $5 per later attempt, $25 maximum | § 23-19-10(d) |
Read August 25, 2026 on the South Carolina Judicial Branch Family Court fee schedule and Motion Fee List, with the statutes at scstatehouse.gov. Fees change — confirm before you file. Clerks may also charge their standard copy fee.
If the fee is out of reach, SCRCP 3(b)(1) allows a Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (SCCA 405, order at 405.1), with a presumption that you cannot pay where net household income is at or below the federal poverty guidelines. Under 3(b)(2), legal aid, nonprofit and SC Bar pro bono representation waives fees on the attorney’s certification alone.
Yes, if your case fits the South Carolina Judicial Branch’s self-represented divorce packet, SCCA 400P SRL-DIV. It is free, and it is written for people who meet all of these conditions: filing on the ground of one year of continuous separation without cohabitation; no marital property or debt, or an agreement on how to divide it; and no children and none expected, or minor children and an agreement on custody, visitation and child support that meets the minimum requirements set by the South Carolina Child Support Guidelines.
That last condition is the one most content gets backwards. Minor children do not disqualify you from the packet, and neither does owning property. Disagreement does. The packet says that if you have been separated less than one year, or cannot agree on children, property and debt, obtaining a divorce on your own is not recommended. It cannot be used on a fault ground.
The packet tells you to make two copies and take the originals and copies to the Clerk of Court in that county. South Carolina Legal Services publishes a free interactive version at lawhelp.org/sc. When you pay in person, bring cash, a cashier’s check or a money order — not a personal check. If you are close to agreement but not there, talk to a Charleston divorce lawyer before you sign anything.
A temporary hearing is set no sooner than 21 days and no later than 45 days from the date the request is filed with the clerk, under SCRFC Rule 21(c). Rule 21 was amended by order dated April 29, 2025, effective October 1, 2025, and governs requests submitted on or after that date.
| Rule 21 step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Hearing date, from the filed request | Not sooner than 21 days, not later than 45 — 21(c) |
| Moving party serves motion and notice | At least 20 days before — 21(d) |
| Responding party’s return and any request for affirmative relief | No later than 10 days before — 21(e) |
| All written evidence served and filed | No later than 5 days before — 21(f)(2) |
| Reply affidavits | May be served at the hearing — 21(f)(2) |
Temporary hearings are decided on paper. Rule 21(f)(1) confines the evidence to affidavits, financial declarations and other statutorily required documents such as a parenting plan, though the judge may permit more for good cause. A page budget tracks hearing length: 10 pages of affidavits for a 15-minute hearing, 20 for a 30-minute one.
South Carolina sets two waiting periods by statute, and § 20-3-80 uses months rather than days. No reference may be had before two months after the complaint is filed, and no final decree before three months. On the ground of desertion or one-year separation, the decree may issue once the responsive pleadings are filed or the respondent is adjudged in default. Note what that exception covers — desertion is a fault ground.
| Interval | Published deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Filing to reference | Not before 2 months | § 20-3-80 |
| Filing to final decree | Not before 3 months; waived for desertion or one-year separation | § 20-3-80 |
| Mediator appointed to initial conference | Within 30 days | ADR Rule 4(d)(4) |
| Hearing to written order | Not later than 30 days | SCRFC 26(c) |
| Filing to final hearing, contested | No figure is published | — |
No South Carolina court publishes a median time from filing to disposition, so we quote no average.
Cost tracks how much of the case has to be litigated, not the courthouse. The statewide filing fee is $150 and a Rule 21 motion carries one $25 fee, so the money goes elsewhere:
What lowers cost is agreement. Support rules to show cause carry no fee, and settling at or before mediation can reduce the attorney time further litigation would require. It is also worth getting your finances in order before you file.
Questions we hear
Short answers about Dorchester County Family Court.
No. Dorchester County publishes its Family Court at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville. St. George is the county seat and holds Circuit Court, about 25 miles away. No primary source says whether St. George takes a family filing, so call (843) 832-0360.
Maybe. A Ladson mailing address can sit in Dorchester County, but the Ladson census place does not: in the Census Bureau’s 2020 place-to-county data it falls in Berkeley and Charleston counties only. The three-county impression comes from the USPS ZIP area, which is not a boundary. Check the address, then apply § 20-3-60.
No. South Carolina has no Family Court e-filing. The state’s e-filing system is a Common Pleas program, so every divorce in Dorchester County is filed on paper. FCCMS is a records-access portal, not a filing system.
Usually. Rule 3(a) subjects contested domestic-relations issues to court-ordered mediation in all South Carolina counties, though Rule 3(b) exempts nine categories and Rule 3(c) allows a case-specific exemption for good cause. Under Rule 4(d)(2)(A) the court shall not schedule a merits hearing until a Proof of ADR is filed.
Hall & Means, LLC concentrates in family law and works with clients across Dorchester, Charleston and Berkeley counties, including Summerville and North Charleston, from our West Ashley office at 1816 Belgrade Avenue, Ste. 101, Charleston, SC 29407.
Call (843) 377-1341 or send a confidential message to request a consultation. You work directly with Mary Ann or Jessica; your calls and emails are returned by your attorney.
Last reviewed: August 25, 2026.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. South Carolina law changes and every case turns on its specific facts. Consult a licensed South Carolina family-law attorney about your situation.
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