Passport Acceptance Offices in South Carolina
South Carolina spreads its passport help from the tidal Lowcountry all the way up to the Blue Ridge foothills, and the network follows where people actually live and travel.
🔎 Find an office near you
126 cities
📖 About South Carolina
South Carolina spreads its passport help from the tidal Lowcountry all the way up to the Blue Ridge foothills, and the network follows where people actually live and travel. Charleston, the state's historic port and a busy cruise departure, keeps the largest cluster of counters, while the capital, Columbia, anchors the Midlands with its own group of offices. Between them, 199 acceptance locations are scattered across 126 cities and towns, most of them ordinary post offices where a clerk can witness your application and take your photo.
The coast does a lot of the heavy lifting here. Vacation crowds head for the Grand Strand around Myrtle Beach and for the resort islands of Hilton Head and Beaufort, so beach-town branches see a steady flow of first-time applicants and expiring books. Inland, the Greenville and Spartanburg corridor has grown into a manufacturing magnet, anchored by the BMW plant near Greer, which means plenty of workers and families sorting out international travel on short notice. Rock Hill near the North Carolina line, Florence at the Pee Dee crossroads, and Sumter beside Shaw Air Force Base round out the reach.
Military communities shape the map too, with counters serving families around Charleston Air Force Base and Shaw. Wherever you start, the pattern is the same: locate a nearby office, confirm it accepts passport applications, and call ahead, since many smaller branches take these appointments only during set windows.
🗺️ Areas covered
📝 How applying works
Most passport acceptance offices are U.S. Post Offices, public libraries, and county or city clerk offices that act as official acceptance facilities. You apply in person using Form DS-11 if you are getting a passport for the first time, if your previous passport was lost, stolen, or damaged, if it was issued more than 15 years ago, or if you were under 16 when it was issued.
Fill out the form ahead of time but do not sign it — a passport agent must watch you sign. Some facilities accept walk-ins during set passport hours, while others require an appointment, so it is worth calling the office listed on your city’s page before you go.
🎒 What to bring
💳 Fees
| Service | To U.S. Dept. of State | To the facility |
|---|---|---|
| Adult passport book (age 16+) | $130 | $35 |
| Adult passport card (age 16+) | $30 | $35 |
| Adult book + card | $160 | $35 |
| Child passport book (under 16) | $100 | $35 |
| Child passport card (under 16) | $15 | $35 |
| Child book + card | $115 | $35 |
The application fee is paid to the U.S. Department of State; the $35 execution (acceptance) fee is paid to the facility where you apply. Expedited service adds $60, and faster return delivery is available for a small extra charge. Fees are set nationally and are the same at every acceptance office in the country.
⏱️ Processing times
As of 2026, routine passport applications take about 4–6 weeks to process, and expedited applications about 2–3 weeks, counted from the day the State Department receives your application. Add roughly 2 weeks for mailing on each end.
The busiest season runs from late winter through summer, so apply between October and December when you can. If you are traveling within 14 days, you will need an appointment at a regional passport agency rather than a local acceptance facility.
💡 Good to know
Nearly all of these locations are counter services inside U.S. Post Offices, so hours can be narrow and some accept passport work only by appointment. It pays to phone the exact branch before driving over, especially in smaller Lowcountry and Pee Dee towns.
Bring proof of citizenship, a photo ID, a photocopy of that ID, and payment; most offices can shoot the passport photo on-site for an extra fee, though a few ask you to bring one. Children under 16 must appear in person with both parents or guardians, who need to show their own consent and identification.