How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, the County Probate Court appoints the personal representative and the Probate Court issues Certificate of Appointment of Personal Representative; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in South Carolina

Personal Representative

The form that opens the estate

300ES

Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment · Print-only PDF (no fill-in fields) · View source

Where you file

County Probate Court

What the court issues (with a will)

Certificate of Appointment of Personal Representative ("letters")

issued by Probate Court

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

Probate estates are opened at the county Probate Court using the statewide ES forms. There is no statewide probate e-filing, but a Supreme Court pilot program permits e-filing in the CHARLESTON COUNTY Probate Court for estate, trust, adult guardianship, and conservatorship cases (Admin. Order 2020-10-28-01, eff. Oct. 28, 2020: filings "may be E-Filed"; Rule 1(a) allows expansion "to other counties as ordered by the Supreme Court of South Carolina" — no expansion order found as of 2026-08-24, and the 2018 "Expansion of Electronic Filing Pilot Program" order covers the Court of Common Pleas, not probate). Within the pilot, e-filing is NOT attorney-only: Rule 4(b) lets "an Unrepresented Party who elects to do so" register as a Registered Filer. Even there the will cannot be e-filed — Rule 3(b)(1) requires traditional filing when the document "is an original testamentary document." The general statewide e-filing system otherwise covers common pleas/appellate matters. Per-county counter practices were not individually enumerated.

Bond

Required before Letters: No
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: Yes

Other official forms

Informal application: 300ESView source

What to file with the petition

Death certificate — county Probate Court intake practice, not required by Title 62 or by Form 300ES; the counties differ on form (Berkeley and Horry ask for a certified copy, Charleston for the original and "no copies", Lexington and York for a copy), so confirm with the county where the estate is opened
Original will and any codicils (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-901, delivery of will to court)
Qualification / Statement of Acceptance of the personal representative (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-601)
Fiduciary Bond (Form 341ES) when required (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-603)
Filing fee based on the gross value of the probate estate (S.C. Code Ann. § 8-21-770(B))

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: 420ESView source
Form name: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceedings

State-specific notes

Form 300ES is a single mandatory form whose "Application (Informal)" and "Petition (Formal)" halves cover both appointment tracks, and it serves both testate (probate of will) and intestate appointments — so no separate testate/intestate petition forms exist. After the court appoints, the personal representative qualifies under § 62-3-601 and the Probate Court issues a Certificate of Appointment evidencing authority. The FORMAL track carries two extras printed on the face of the form: "IF THIS IS A FORMAL PROCEEDING, IN ADDITION TO THIS FORM PETITION, YOU MUST ALSO FILE A SUMMONS (FORM SCCA 401PC), AND PAY THE STATUTORY FILING FEE OF $150.00. A HEARING IN THE PROBATE COURT ON THE PETITION MAY BE REQUIRED." No attorney mandate applies to opening the estate: S.C. Code Ann. § 40-5-80 preserves a citizen's right to "prosecut[e] or defend[] his own cause," and the Supreme Court order holding that a non-lawyer administrator must appear by counsel (Order 2005-07-07-01) is addressed to perfecting an APPEAL on the estate's behalf, not to filing the 300ES.

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

South Carolina uses Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment (300ES), filed with the County Probate Court. Probate Court issues Certificate of Appointment of Personal Representative after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, South Carolina generally requires: Death certificate — county Probate Court intake practice, not required by Title 62 or by Form 300ES; the counties differ on form (Berkeley and Horry ask for a certified copy, Charleston for the original and "no copies", Lexington and York for a copy), so confirm with the county where the estate is opened; Original will and any codicils (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-901, delivery of will to court); Qualification / Statement of Acceptance of the personal representative (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-601); Fiduciary Bond (Form 341ES) when required (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-603).

South Carolina does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.

South Carolina permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment (300ES). The South Carolina self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in South Carolina: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in South Carolina

Authority to act for the estate comes from Letters issued in South Carolina by Probate Court, on appointment by the County Probate Court. The document is Certificate of Appointment of Personal Representative. South Carolina has adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment (300ES) with the court. The filing fee is $25 - $95 (graduated by the probate estate). South Carolina offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

South Carolina does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one where it is needed to protect creditors or heirs.

For smaller estates, South Carolina offers a small-estate procedure for estates under $45,000 that can transfer assets without a full appointment or Letters (420ES). The South Carolina self-file probate assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from South Carolina statutes and official state code. How we research.

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