Lee County South Carolina Property Records
Lee County property records are maintained by the Clerk of Court in Bishopville, the county seat. Lee County is located in the central part of South Carolina, bordered by Darlington, Sumter, Clarendon, and Kershaw counties. The county is one of South Carolina's smallest and most rural, known for tobacco farming and peach orchards. The county seat of Bishopville is home to the South Carolina Cotton Museum, which reflects the agricultural history tied closely to land ownership in the county. The Clerk of Court records and indexes all real property instruments in Lee County, including deeds, mortgages, plats, and liens, making them part of the permanent public record.
Lee County Quick Facts
Lee County Clerk of Court
Under S.C. Code Ann. Section 30-5-10, Lee County is not designated as a county with a separate Register of Deeds. The Clerk of Court performs all recording functions for real property instruments in Lee County. The Clerk records, indexes, and preserves deeds, mortgages, plats, liens, easements, and other instruments that affect title to real property. Each recorded document receives a reel and page number, is scanned into the county system, and is indexed by the names of the parties and a short property description.
The Lee County Clerk of Court office is in Bishopville. Documents for recording are accepted in person during regular business hours and may also be submitted by mail if they meet all state requirements. Staff can help researchers search by party name or parcel information. The SC Land Records portal at sclandrecords.com indexes recorded instruments from Lee County and provides a free online name search.
The official Lee County website at leecountysc.org provides contact information and resources for county government services including property records.
| Office | Lee County Clerk of Court P.O. Box 532 Bishopville, SC 29010 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (803) 484-5341 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM |
| Website | leecountysc.org |
How to Search Lee County Property Records
The SC Land Records portal at sclandrecords.com provides a free name index for instruments recorded in Lee County. You can search by grantor or grantee name and find the reel and page number for any recorded instrument. This is a good first step for basic ownership lookups or lien checks. For full document images, contact the Lee County Clerk of Court or visit the office in Bishopville.
In-person research at the Clerk of Court gives you access to public terminals, microfilm records, and staff assistance. Bring a property address or tax parcel number if you have it. Older records going back before the scanning era are available on microfilm at the office. The Lee County Tax Assessor holds ownership and valuation data for all parcels in the county. The Assessor's records can confirm the current owner of a parcel and provide the tax map number needed to pull deed records. The county GIS system shows parcel boundaries and can help identify a tract by address before you search the recorded documents.
For a full title examination covering all prior owners, liens, and encumbrances, most buyers and lenders engage a licensed title company or real estate attorney experienced in Lee County property records. Lee County is small and rural, and its records office is correspondingly modest in size, so scheduling a research visit ahead of time is a good practice.
Note: Call the Clerk of Court at (803) 484-5341 to confirm current hours before traveling to Bishopville, especially around county holidays.
Types of Documents Recorded in Lee County
The Lee County Clerk of Court records the full range of real property instruments used in South Carolina real estate transactions. Warranty deeds are used for most arms-length sales and carry the grantor's guarantee of title. Quitclaim deeds transfer interest without warranties and are common in family transfers, corrections of prior deeds, and tax deed conveyances. Mortgages and deeds of trust filed by lenders are released by satisfaction when loans are repaid. Plats and surveys establish parcel boundaries and are filed when land is divided, a subdivision is created, or boundaries are adjusted in Lee County.
Other recorded instruments include mechanic's liens from contractors for unpaid construction work, judgment liens arising from civil court cases, releases of liens and mortgages, easements for utilities and access, deed restrictions running with land in residential developments, and tax liens for delinquent property taxes. Each of these instruments becomes part of the searchable public record in Lee County. The chain of recorded instruments forms the basis of title for any parcel in the county.
- Warranty deeds and quitclaim deeds
- Mortgages and deeds of trust
- Plats and boundary surveys
- Mechanic's, judgment, and tax liens
- Easements and deed restrictions
- Releases and satisfactions of mortgage
Recording Requirements and Fees
All instruments submitted for recording in Lee County must meet the requirements of S.C. Code Ann. Section 30-5-30. The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or another officer authorized to take oaths. Under Section 30-5-35, deeds executed after July 1, 1976, must include a derivation clause in the property description identifying how the grantor obtained title. The grantee's mailing address must be inscribed on the document. Instruments that fail these requirements will be returned without recording.
The South Carolina deed recording fee is $1.85 per $500 of consideration, or fraction thereof, after excluding the first $100 of value. This fee applies to all transfers of real property in Lee County. The Clerk of Court collects the total fee at recording and remits the state's $1.30 per $500 portion monthly through the SCDOR's MyDORWAY system. The county retains $0.55 per $500. A flat recording fee of $15 applies to the first page of any instrument, with additional charges per page thereafter. Full guidance on the fee and its many exceptions is at dor.sc.gov. The Clerk of Court must record all instruments within thirty days of lodgment under Section 30-5-90.
The SC Land Records portal at sclandrecords.com provides free public access to the index of recorded instruments in Lee County and across South Carolina.
Lee County Property Assessment
The Lee County Tax Assessor values all real property in the county for ad valorem taxation. South Carolina's assessment ratios under S.C. Code Ann. Title 12, Chapter 37 apply to Lee County property the same as to all other South Carolina counties. Owner-occupied primary residences are assessed at 4% of fair market value. Agricultural land is also assessed at 4%. Commercial property, second homes, and investment real estate carry a 6% assessment ratio. Lee County has a significant agricultural land base, and many parcels qualify for the agricultural use assessment ratio.
State law requires countywide reassessment in Lee County every five years. Act 388 of 2006 caps the taxable value increase at 15% between reassessments for properties that do not transfer. When a property is sold or transferred after December 31, 2006, it becomes subject to the Assessable Transfer of Interest (ATI) rule and is placed on the tax rolls at full fair market value the following year. This removes the cap for the new owner and can result in higher taxes than the prior owner was paying under the 15% limit. Buyers of Lee County property should verify the post-transfer tax liability with the Assessor's office before closing.
Historical Records in Lee County
Lee County was established in 1902 from parts of Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter counties. Land records for the area prior to 1902 can be found in the historical archives of those parent counties. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov holds colonial plat books, state plat books from 1784 forward, and surveyor general records for what is now Lee County. The Archives is located at 8301 Parklane Road in Columbia. Researchers tracing titles going back to original land grants should consult the Sumter and Darlington District records at the Archives as a starting point for chains of title predating the county's formation in 1902.
The Clerk of Court in Bishopville holds microfilm of deed and mortgage records for Lee County going back to the county's early years. For records before 1902, the Archives provides the most complete collection of historical property instruments covering the Lee County area.
Note: Lee County was formed in 1902, so pre-county property records are held at the SC Archives under the Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter district collections.
South Carolina Land Records and Statewide Tools
The SC Land Records portal at sclandrecords.com indexes recorded instruments from all 46 South Carolina counties, including Lee County. Searches by grantor or grantee name return reel and page numbers for matching documents. The South Carolina Judicial Branch at sccourts.org holds court records including foreclosure filings and civil judgments that may affect property titles in Lee County. The SC Association of Counties at scac.org provides guidance on county government and recording office operations. Title 30 of the SC Code governing property recording is available at scstatehouse.gov.
Nearby Counties
Lee County is a small county in central South Carolina, bordered by Darlington, Sumter, Clarendon, and Kershaw counties. If you are unsure which county holds a property's records, check the parcel address to confirm jurisdiction.