How much does probate cost in South Carolina?
5 Aug 2026
South Carolina caps the personal representative at 5% of the appraised value of the personal property, plus the proceeds of any real estate actually sold — with a floor of $50.00 — and sets no rate at all for the attorney.
The base is narrower than most people expect. Real estate that simply passes to the family is not in it; only real estate actually sold under the will or a court order counts. A separate commission of up to 5% may be taken on income the estate earns, on a different base, and the two must never be added together as though they were one rate. South Carolina is also one of the few states that charges the court on a percentage ladder rather than a flat fee: a $500,000 estate pays $695.00 to the probate court.
S.C. Code §62-3-719 — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 62 Chapter 3, published by the South Carolina Legislature · Verified 5 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Two South Carolina numbers can be worked exactly: the representative’s ceiling and the probate court’s banded fee. Both are below, with the base each one runs on stated plainly, because getting the base wrong is where South Carolina estimates go astray.
| Less than $5,000.00 | $25.00 |
| $5,000.00 but less than $20,000.00 | $45.00 |
| $20,000.00 but less than $60,000.00 | $67.50 |
| $60,000.00 but less than $100,000.00 | $95.00 |
| $100,000.00 but less than $600,000.00 | $95.00 + 0.15% of the value above $100,000.00 |
| $600,000.00 or higher | the band above, + 0.25% of the value above $600,000.00 |
| Personal representative — appraised value of the personal property, plus proceeds of real property actually sold | no more than 5% |
| Personal representative — minimum commission, whatever the size of the estate | $50.00 |
| Personal representative — income earned by the probate estate, a separate base | no more than 5% |
Worked through: a probate estate with $500,000.00 of personal property pays the probate court $695.00 and carries a representative’s ceiling of $25,000.00. At $250,000.00 the court fee is $320.00 and the ceiling is $12,500.00. At $1,000,000.00 the court fee is $1,845.00; at $2,000,000.00 it is $4,345.00.
The court fee runs on the gross value shown on the inventory and appraisement. The representative’s 5% runs on a narrower base — personal property plus the proceeds of real estate actually sold. Feeding one figure into both will overstate the commission on any estate whose main asset is a house that stays in the family.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where South Carolina fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory rateSouth Carolina fixes no attorney fee. There is no percentage and no schedule anywhere in the Probate Code, and this is a positive finding rather than a gap — the chapter was read end to end. What the law gives instead is a check: on the petition of any interested person, and after notice to all interested persons, the probate court may review whether the personal representative should have employed that attorney at all, and whether what was charged was reasonable. Anyone who has received excessive compensation may be ordered to refund it. Separately, where the representative has defended or brought a proceeding in good faith — successfully or not — the estate pays the necessary expenses and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees. | Agreement, reviewable by the probate court | S.C. Code §62-3-721, with §62-3-720 Title 62 Chapter 3 is published as one page; the section numbers are on it | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | No more than 5%, minimum $50.00A sum not exceeding five percent of the appraised value of the personal property of the probate estate, plus the sales proceeds of real property received on sales directed or authorised by the will or by proper court order — but not on a sale to the representative as purchaser. Real estate that simply passes to the family is not in the base at all. The minimum commission is $50.00 however small the estate. A further commission of not more than five percent may be taken on the income the probate estate earns, which is a separate rate on a separate base. None of this applies where a contract provides for compensation, where the will directs otherwise, or where the representative qualified before 28 June 1984. Where more than one representative serves, the court apportions, and the total may not exceed what a sole representative could have taken. | Statutory ceiling, with a statutory floor | S.C. Code §62-3-719 Ceiling and floor in one provision — unusual, and both are printed here | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeProbate court, banded on estate value | $25.00 to a percentage ladderBanded on the gross value of the probate estate as shown on the inventory and appraisement — property passing under the will plus property passing by intestacy. Under $5,000.00 it is $25.00; from $100,000.00 it becomes $95.00 plus fifteen hundredths of one percent of everything between $100,000.00 and $600,000.00; above $600,000.00 a further quarter of one percent applies to the excess. It is due when the application or petition is filed, but the judge may defer payment to the filing of the inventory and appraisement — useful when the value is not yet known — and adjust it before or at final settlement. The full ladder is in the calculator block above. | Statute — statewide schedule, not county-set | S.C. Code §8-21-770 Read as a PDF of Title 8 Chapter 21 | 5 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Not fixed by statute — and payable before it runsNot fixed by statute — the newspaper sets its own rate. But South Carolina is unusually explicit about who carries it: the fee statute states that the cost of the notice to creditors or other legal advertisement is in addition to the prescribed court costs and is due and payable prior to publication. The schedule is fixed: once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, announcing the appointment and address and notifying creditors to present claims within eight months after the first publication or be forever barred. The representative may also post creditors directly, which shortens their window to thirty days from the mailing where that is earlier. If no personal representative is appointed within one year of the death, no notice is required at all. | The newspaper — paid up front, on top of court costs | S.C. Code §62-3-801, with §8-21-770(D) Three insertions, one week apart; eight-month claim bar | 5 Aug 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | Not required for most representatives — the exemptions are listed
|
Not required unless the will or the court requires it | S.C. Code §62-3-603 §62-3-605, the demand section, is named in the statute and is not read here | 5 Aug 2026 |
The $20,000.00 in the bond row is not a small-estate limit. It is the gateway to waiving a bond that would otherwise be required, and it has nothing to do with the affidavit route. South Carolina’s small-estate figure is $45,000.00 and it is in the sage box below. The two are confused constantly.
How the South Carolina sources are linked. The South Carolina Legislature publishes Title 62 Chapter 3 as a single whole-chapter page with no address for an individual section, so every probate source above points at that chapter page and prints the section number beside it. Title 8 Chapter 21, which carries the fee ladder, is published the same way and was read as a PDF.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- The advertising bill comes on top, and it comes first. §8-21-770(D) states in terms that the cost of the notice to creditors or other legal advertisement is in addition to the prescribed court costs and is due and payable before publication. This is the clearest statement of that rule in any state in this database.
- The court fee can be deferred, but not waived on value. The judge may put payment off until the inventory and appraisement is filed, and adjust it before or at final settlement. But §8-21-800 forbids the probate judge from waiving fees associated with the value of an estate, except for indigent relief under Rule 3(b) SCRCP and §62-1-112.
- The small-estate affidavit attracts the same banded fee under §8-21-770(B), halved where the valuation is under $100.00. South Carolina’s short route is not a free route.
- Good-faith litigation costs are an estate expense. Where the representative prosecutes or defends any proceeding in good faith, whether successful or not, the estate pays the necessary expenses and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees.
- Excessive compensation can be clawed back. On the petition of an interested person, the court may review both the propriety of employing any person and the reasonableness of what they charged, and may order a refund.
- A creditor does not get a vote on the bond waiver. The written waiver has to be signed by known beneficiaries and interested persons; creditors are outside that group.
S.C. Code §8-21-770(B) and (D); §8-21-800; §62-3-720; §62-3-721; §62-3-603 — South Carolina Code of Laws · Verified 5 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in South Carolina
- The 5% base is personal property, not the estate
- This is the single most common way a South Carolina estimate comes out too high. The commission runs on the appraised value of the personal property, plus the proceeds of real estate actually sold under the will or a court order. A house that passes to the children adds nothing to the base. A house sold to pay debts adds its sale proceeds. A house sold to the representative as purchaser is expressly excluded.
- There is a floor as well as a ceiling
- South Carolina prints a minimum commission of $50.00 regardless of the value of the personal property, in the same subsection as the five percent cap. Very few states publish both bounds in one provision, and a page that says only “up to five percent” leaves out half of it.
- The income commission is a second rate on a second base
- Up to five percent of the income the probate estate earns may be taken in addition. It is not part of the first five percent and it does not run on the same money. Adding the two into a single ten percent is wrong. The judge may also refuse the income commission where the representative has been unreasonable or slow.
- The court fee grows with the estate, and it is gross
- South Carolina is not a flat-fee state. Above $100,000.00 the probate court takes a percentage of value, and above $600,000.00 a second percentage on the excess. The base is the gross value on the inventory and appraisement — before debts — which is a different and larger number than the one the commission runs on.
- Publication money leaves before anything else
- Because the advertising cost is payable before the notice runs, it is one of the few probate expenses a family pays out of pocket rather than out of the estate’s cash flow. Budget for it at the start rather than at settlement.
- None of the fee section applies if there is a contract or the will directs otherwise
- §62-3-719 stands aside where a contract provides for compensation, or where the will directs otherwise, or where the representative qualified before 28 June 1984. Check the will before assuming the ceiling governs.
South Carolina’s small-estate figure is $45,000 — and a judge has to countersign
The entire probate estate — property passing under the will plus property passing by intestacy, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances — must not exceed $45,000.00. Thirty days must have passed since the death and nobody may have applied to be appointed personal representative in any jurisdiction.
- It is not a mail-the-bank-an-affidavit state. The affidavit has to be approved and countersigned by the probate judge of the county where the person lived, and filed in that probate court.
- The figure is net of liens and encumbrances.
- It covers personal property only.
- A filing fee applies on the same banded ladder as a full estate, under §8-21-770(B), halved where the valuation is under $100.00.
- A person who paid reasonable funeral expenses counts as a claiming successor.
- The $20,000.00 figure in the bond section is a bond-waiver gateway and has nothing to do with this route.
The $25,000 figure still printed in most South Carolina guides is wrong. The limit was raised to $45,000.00 by 2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), effective 8 May 2025. Any competing figure of twenty-five thousand dollars is stale, however recently it was published.
S.C. Code §62-3-1201 — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 62 Chapter 3 · Verified 5 Aug 2026
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South Carolina probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in South Carolina?
No more than five percent, and the base is narrower than most people expect: the appraised value of the personal property of the probate estate, plus the proceeds of any real estate actually sold under the will or a court order. Real estate that simply passes to the family is not in the base. There is a minimum commission of fifty dollars however small the estate. A further commission of up to five percent may be taken on income the estate earns, on a separate base, and the two should never be added together. On five hundred thousand dollars of personal property the ceiling is twenty-five thousand dollars.
Does South Carolina set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. There is no percentage and no schedule anywhere in the South Carolina Probate Code. What the law gives instead is a review: on the petition of any interested person, and after notice to all interested persons, the probate court may look at whether the representative should have employed that attorney at all and whether what was charged was reasonable, and may order a refund of anything excessive. Where the representative has brought or defended a proceeding in good faith, the estate pays reasonable attorney fees for it either way.
What does it cost to file for probate in South Carolina?
It depends on the size of the estate, because South Carolina charges on a ladder rather than a flat fee. Under five thousand dollars it is twenty-five dollars. From one hundred thousand dollars the fee is ninety-five dollars plus fifteen hundredths of one percent of the value between one hundred thousand and six hundred thousand, so a five hundred thousand dollar estate pays six hundred and ninety-five dollars. Above six hundred thousand a further quarter of one percent applies to the excess. The base is the gross value on the inventory and appraisement, and the judge may let you defer payment until that inventory is filed.
Does an executor need a bond in South Carolina?
Usually not, because the statute lists the exemptions and most ordinary cases are on the list: anyone named in the will, anyone who is the sole heir or devisee, any case where all the heirs and devisees agree to waive it, and any state agency, bank or trust company. The exemptions for a named representative and a corporate fiduciary fall away if the will expressly requires a bond. Where a bond is required anyway, a small-estate escape exists for gross estates under twenty thousand dollars, on affidavit plus personal liability plus every known beneficiary signing the court form.
Does South Carolina have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, for estates of forty-five thousand dollars or less after liens and encumbrances, thirty days after the death, provided nobody has applied to be appointed personal representative. It was twenty-five thousand dollars until the eighth of May 2025, so most guides in circulation are out of date. It is not a purely private affidavit: the probate judge of the county where the person lived has to approve and countersign it, and it is filed in that court. A filing fee applies on the same banded ladder as a full estate.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The South Carolina Legislature publishes Title 62 Chapter 3 as one whole-chapter page rather than one address per section, so the chapter link is given with the section number printed beside it.
- Attorney fee — the stated absence, and the review power — S.C. Code §62-3-721, with §62-3-720 www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · chapter read end to end; no attorney-rate section exists · annual statutory re-check
- Personal representative’s commission — S.C. Code §62-3-719 www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · ceiling, floor and a separate income commission in one section · annual statutory re-check
- Probate court fee ladder — S.C. Code §8-21-770, with §8-21-800 www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · read as a PDF of Title 8 Chapter 21 · annual statutory re-check
- Publication, and who pays for it — S.C. Code §62-3-801, with §8-21-770(D) www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · three insertions, eight-month claim bar, cost payable before publication · annual statutory re-check
- Bond and the waiver route — S.C. Code §62-3-603 www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · §62-3-605 named and not read · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate affidavit — S.C. Code §62-3-1201 www.scstatehouse.govVerified 5 Aug 2026 · raised from $25,000.00 by 2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), effective 8 May 2025 · closer watch than the annual re-check
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in South Carolina. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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