State Vital Records Office onsite services suspended this summer

COLUMBIA - The State Vital Records office will be upgraded over the summer and will not be able to provide walk-in customer service.

The office will continue to accept applications by mail and the additional fee for expediting mail requests will not be charged while the customer service area is closed. People who need to make corrections or amendments to a birth or death certificate may schedule an appointment at the state office or complete the paperwork by mail.

"Each county's vital records office will continue to issue certificates for deaths that occurred in the county within the last five years, as well as the short form for any birth that occurred in the state since Jan. 1, 1915," said Luanne Miles, director of DHEC's Division of Vital Records. "County staff can also provide information and assistance to people who need to make a correction or change to a birth certificate, although it is important to note that birth certificates needed for travel or passport applications must be the longform, which can only be issued by the state office."

For more information, go to http://www. scdhec.gov; write DHEC's Vital Records Office at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, S.C. 29201; or call (803) 898-3630.