Horry County Deed Records and Online Land Search

Horry County deed records include over 624,000 recorded deed documents in a permanent property archive dating back to the county's formation. The appointed Register of Deeds office in Conway manages all real property recording for South Carolina's Grand Strand region, which includes Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Socastee, and dozens of other communities. Searching Horry County deed records gives access to property ownership history, legal descriptions, mortgage instruments, plat maps, and a wide range of other recorded land documents. Both online search and in-person access are available, with GIS mapping integration providing an additional tool for locating and identifying Horry County properties.

Horry County Register of Deeds Office

The Horry County Register of Deeds is located at 1301 Second Avenue, Suite 1600, Conway, SC 29526. The phone number is (843) 915-5430 and office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The Register is appointed rather than elected, distinguishing Horry from the six South Carolina counties that have elected registers.

The office maintains Horry County's permanent property records archive, which dates back to the county's formation. This archive holds over 624,686 deed documents and 378,680 mortgage documents, reflecting the high transaction volume typical of a major coastal tourist and residential county. The Horry County Assessor's office is located nearby at 1301 Second Avenue, Suite 1C01, Conway, SC 29526, phone (843) 915-5040, and the two offices work together to maintain accurate property ownership and assessment records.

Searching Horry County Deed Records Online

The Horry County Online Land Records system allows free searches by grantor name, grantee name, book and page, document type, legal description, and consideration amount. This system gives access to the full index of recorded instruments in Horry County without requiring a courthouse visit. For property context, the Horry County GIS Application maps property boundaries, owner information, transfers, permits, and zoning data alongside deed record information.

The Horry County property records page provides a comprehensive guide to available search tools, copy fees, and GIS mapping resources for deed record research in the county.

For property-level deed data and ownership history, SC Property Checker Horry County aggregates recorded instrument information tied to specific parcels.

SC Property Checker integrates Horry County deed records with property values and tax information, providing a single point of access for multiple types of property data.

The Horry County government website links to online services for the Register of Deeds. The SCIWAY recording offices directory lists contact details for the Conway office and provides links to state-level resources.

Note: Mail requests for copies require the Copy Request Form with the requester's name, document type, book and page, tax map number, property address, and a brief description. The fee is $8 for the first four pages plus $1 for each additional page, with a minimum charge of $5.

Horry County Deed Record Copy Fees

Copy fees for Horry County deed records vary depending on the requester's account status. Account holders pay $0.50 per page for standard documents and $1 per page for 11x17 plats. Non-account holders pay $1 per page for standard documents. Certification of a document costs an additional $2. Mail requests follow a different fee schedule: $8 for the first four pages plus $1 for each additional page, with a $5 minimum charge for any mail request.

These fees are separate from the statewide recording transfer fee of $1.85 per $500 of consideration under Section 12-24-10. The transfer fee is paid at the time a deed is submitted for recording, while copy fees apply when someone requests copies of previously recorded documents.

The online land records system allows viewing of indexes and documents without incurring copy fees, making it possible to do preliminary research at no cost. Copy fees apply only when a physical or certified copy is needed for a transaction, court proceeding, or other formal purpose.

What Horry County Deed Records Contain

The Horry County Register of Deeds maintains records of deeds, mortgages, plats, mechanics liens, tax liens, UCC filings, powers of attorney, trusts, and death certificates among its recorded instruments. With 624,686 deed documents and 378,680 mortgage documents, the archive represents one of the largest county property record collections in South Carolina.

The online land records system indexes these documents by grantor name, grantee name, book and page, document type, legal description, and consideration amount. Multiple search paths make it possible to locate a document even when partial information is available. A search by consideration amount, for example, can help identify transactions within a certain price range when exact names are unknown.

Horry County's parcel statistics reflect its role as South Carolina's most visited county. The total parcel count is 282,135, including 11,669 commercial parcels and 254,282 residential parcels. The median home value is $219,700 with a median rent of $1,108 and median income of $60,148.50. The median tax rate is 0.35%. These figures provide context for understanding the scale of deed record activity in the county.

GIS Mapping and Horry County Deed Records

The Horry County GIS Application integrates with the deed records system to provide a geographic view of property data. Users can search by address or parcel number in the GIS system to pull up property boundaries, ownership information, transfer history, permits, and zoning data alongside the associated deed records.

GIS integration is especially useful for Horry County given the county's complex mix of coastal, suburban, and rural properties. A parcel in Myrtle Beach has different physical characteristics than one in the rural northern part of the county, and the GIS map helps researchers understand the property's setting and relationship to neighboring parcels.

For properties near the coast, GIS layers can show setback lines, flood zones, and environmental designations that affect property use. These factors are reflected in recorded plats and deed restrictions, and the GIS system helps connect spatial data to the recorded document archive.

Note: The GIS system is a separate tool from the online land records system, though both draw on the same underlying parcel and ownership data. Using both systems together gives the most complete picture of a Horry County property.

South Carolina Recording Law in Horry County

All Horry County deed recordings must comply with state law. Under Title 30, Chapter 5, a deed must be acknowledged before recording under Section 30-5-30. Deeds executed after July 1, 1976 must include the derivation clause and grantee address under Section 30-5-35. The Register must record a lodged document within 30 days under Section 30-5-90.

Public access to Horry County deed records is governed by the Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code Section 30-4-10, as well as the FOIA statute referenced in the Horry County records framework at S.C. Code Section 30-4-10 et seq. Any person may inspect or copy recorded instruments. Social Security numbers in online deed images may be redacted from the digital version upon request without altering the physical record.

Under Section 30-7-70, recording provides constructive notice to all subsequent purchasers and creditors. Horry County's high transaction volume makes this principle especially important — with thousands of deeds recorded each year, buyers and lenders must search the indexes before any closing to confirm clean title.

Horry County Deed Records for Real Estate and Genealogy

Real estate professionals in Horry County rely on deed records for every transaction. Title attorneys search grantor and grantee indexes, review mortgage records, and check lien files to confirm clear title. The county's free online system makes preliminary research accessible, though a formal title examination requires a complete search by a qualified attorney familiar with Horry County property records.

Genealogical researchers tracing coastal South Carolina families find Horry County deed records a rich source. The permanent archive dating back to the county's formation includes early transfers of agricultural land, plat records from the development of beach communities, and decades of residential transactions in communities that grew rapidly during the second half of the twentieth century.

For researchers tracing specific families, the grantor and grantee indexes allow systematic searching across all recorded instruments. Finding a family member in the grantee index shows when they bought property and from whom. The grantor index shows when and to whom they sold. Cross-referencing these entries with mortgage records and plat files builds a detailed picture of land ownership over time.

Nearby Counties

Horry County borders Georgetown County to the south and Marion County to the west. Each maintains its own recording office for real property instruments.

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