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Legal Information: South Carolina

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
November 13, 2023

Do I need anything special to get my order of protection enforced in another state?

In some states, you will need a certified copy of your order of protection. A certified copy says that it is a true and correct copy; it is signed and initialed by the clerk of court that gave you the order, and usually has some kind of court stamp on it. In South Carolina, a certified order either has an original judge’s signature or a stamp and seal on it.

The copy you originally received should have been a certified copy.1 If your copy is not certified, go to the court that issued the order and ask the clerk of court for a certified copy. There is no fee to get a certified copy of a South Carolina order of protection.

Note: It may be a good idea to keep a copy of the order with you at all times. You may also want to bring several copies of the order with you when you move. Leave copies of the order at your work place, at your home, at the children’s school or daycare, in your car, with a sympathetic neighbor, and so on. You may want to give a copy to the security guard or person at the front desk where you live and/or work and to anyone who is named in and protected by the order.

1 S.C. Code Ann. § 20-4-80