South Carolina: your 18-year-old’s paperwork

Turning 18 in South Carolina: the short answer

In South Carolina, your child becomes a legal adult at 18. From then on, you can't sign for them, and doctors and schools generally need your child's written permission before they share details with you.

The South Carolina kit covers four documents your child signs: the South Carolina Health Care Power of Attorney, which names who can make medical choices if your child can't; the South Carolina durable power of attorney (fill-in guide), which names who can handle money, bills and accounts; a HIPAA release, which lets doctors talk to the people your child names; and a FERPA consent, which lets the college share records like grades or bills.

Health care form

Two adult witnesses watch your child sign, then sign too. Witnesses can't be relatives (including parents), people who would inherit, the person named, or your child's doctor.

Financial form

Your child signs with two witnesses AND a notary.

HIPAA & FERPA

Your child signs and dates each one. No witnesses or notary needed.

Educational information, not legal advice. Covered18 is not a law firm.

1. What you’ll sign

• Health care form (South Carolina Health Care Power of Attorney): names who can make medical choices if your child can’t.
• Financial form (South Carolina durable power of attorney (fill-in guide)): names who can handle money, bills and accounts.
• HIPAA release: lets doctors talk to the people your child names. It shares information. It doesn’t give anyone decisions.
• FERPA consent: lets the college share records, like grades or bills, with the people your child names.

2. Step-by-step checklist

Health care form

• Two adult witnesses watch your child sign, then sign too.
• Witnesses can't be relatives (including parents), people who would inherit, the person named, or your child's doctor.
• A notary is optional.

Financial form

• Your child signs with two witnesses AND a notary.

HIPAA and FERPA forms

• Your child signs and dates each one.
• No witnesses or notary needed.
• Many colleges and doctors want their own form. Ask first.

Signing online

• Sign in person. South Carolina requires the signer to be in the same room as the notary.

What to bring

• ☐ Your child's current photo ID.
• ☐ The forms, printed and not signed yet.
• ☐ Everyone who needs to be there: your child, the witnesses, and the notary if needed.
• ☐ Names, addresses and phone numbers for the people being named and their backups.
• ☐ A black pen. Ask the notary about the fee before you go.

3. Watch out

Watch out: Recording: the financial form must be recorded with the county before the agent can use it if your child becomes too sick to act.

Watch out: Parents can't be witnesses for the health care form.

4. After you sign

Make copies

• ☐ Make paper copies of every signed form.
• ☐ Scan each form to a PDF, or take clear phone photos of every page.
• ☐ Keep the originals together in a safe, easy-to-find place, like a folder at home. Don't lock them where no one can reach them in an emergency.

Who gets a copy

• ☐ Your child.
• ☐ Each parent or person named as an agent, plus any backups.
• ☐ Your child's main doctor.
• ☐ The campus health center.
• ☐ Your child's bank, for the financial form.

Turn in the school and doctor forms

• ☐ FERPA: give it to the college registrar's office. Ask if they want their own form or a setting in the student portal instead.
• ☐ HIPAA: give it to your child's doctors and the campus health center. Ask them to put it in your child's file.
• ☐ Ask each office to confirm they got it.

Extra steps for South Carolina

• ☐ Record the financial form with your county's Register of Deeds.

Keep them handy

• ☐ Save the PDFs to your phone and a cloud folder the named people can open.
• ☐ Put a wallet card in your child's wallet. List who to call and where the papers are.
• ☐ Add the named people as emergency contacts in your child's phone.

When to review or redo

• ☐ Your child moves to a new state or starts a new school.
• ☐ Your child wants to change who is named.
• ☐ The HIPAA release hits its end date. Set a reminder.
• ☐ Every few years, even if nothing changes. A once-a-year look is a good habit.

How to cancel or replace them

• ☐ Your child can cancel a form at any time while they can still decide for themselves.
• ☐ Tell everyone who has a copy, in writing, that the old form is canceled.
• ☐ Get the old copies back or destroy them.
• ☐ Sign a new form the same way as the first one, with the same witnesses or notary rules.

Some South Carolina details are still being checked. Where you see “we’re confirming this,” ask the notary, the state, or a lawyer before you rely on it.

Questions South Carolina parents ask

Can I see my 18-year-old's medical records in South Carolina?

Not automatically. Once your child turns 18, doctors' offices generally need your adult child's written permission to share details with you. A HIPAA release signed by your child lets doctors talk to the people your child names. It shares information. It doesn't give anyone the right to make decisions.

Who can make medical decisions for my 18-year-old in South Carolina if they can't?

Your child can name that person in writing. In South Carolina, that's the South Carolina Health Care Power of Attorney, which names who can make medical choices if your child can't. While your child is able to decide, they decide.

What does my 18-year-old sign so I can help with money and bills in South Carolina?

Your child can sign a financial power of attorney that names who can handle money, bills and accounts. For South Carolina, the kit includes the South Carolina durable power of attorney (fill-in guide), with links to the official sources. Recording: the financial form must be recorded with the county before the agent can use it if your child becomes too sick to act.

Can I see my 18-year-old's college grades and bills?

FERPA is a federal law, so the rule is the same in South Carolina as everywhere else: at 18, or when a student starts college, the rights to see and release education records move from parents to the student. A FERPA consent signed by your child lets the college share records, like grades or bills, with the people your child names. Many colleges want their own form or a student portal setting, so ask the registrar.

Do we need witnesses or a notary in South Carolina, and can we sign online?

Health care form: Two adult witnesses watch your child sign, then sign too. Witnesses can't be relatives (including parents), people who would inherit, the person named, or your child's doctor. Financial form: Your child signs with two witnesses AND a notary. Parents can't be witnesses for the health care form. Signing online: Sign in person. South Carolina requires the signer to be in the same room as the notary. The HIPAA and FERPA forms need no witnesses or notary.

Educational information, not legal advice. Covered18 is not a law firm. Questions? Email [email protected]. — The Covered18 team

Sources

• S.C. Code §62-5-504 (Health Care Power of Attorney, S.C. statutory form; "must be substantially in the following form"), as amended by 2016 Act No. 279, eff. 2017-01-01 — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c005.php
• S.C. Code Title 62, Ch. 5, Part 5 (Health Care Power of Attorney) — official — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c005.php
• S.C. Code Title 44, Ch. 77 (Death with Dignity Act; living will) — official, not read by Covered18 — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c077.php
• S.C. Code Title 62, Ch. 8 (Uniform Power of Attorney Act) — official — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c008.php
• S.C. Code §62-2-502 (will execution: two witnesses) — official — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c002.php
• S.C. Code §30-5-30 (prerequisites to recording) — official — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c005.php
• Federal: 45 CFR 164.508 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.508); 34 CFR 99.30 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-99.30).

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