Equity Court Fees

Required Statutory Fees:     S.C. Code §14-11-310             

Masters-in-Equity shall collect the following fees which must be deposited in the general fund of the county:

  1. in actions for partitions, foreclosure of liens upon real property, or sales of real property, either in private or by auction, a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). If the matter requires more than one day of hearing, there is a thirty-five dollar ($35.00) charge for each additional day or portion of the day until the matter is concluded;
  2. for the preparation of a deed, a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00);
  3. on sales of land, a fee equal to one percent of the bid or of the funds passing through the court, whichever is greater. The minimum commission collectible under this item is twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and the maximum commission is two thousand, five hundred dollars ($2,500.00);
  4. for a supplemental proceeding, a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00);
  5. in all other cases, fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first day's hearing or any portion of the day and for each day after the first day, thirty-five dollars ($35.00). The fees must be assessed at the time of the order or report of the master-in-equity.

The fees provided for in this section, including the first day's fee provided for in item (5) and excluding the commission on sale, must be paid at the time the order of reference is signed and is nonrefundable unless so ordered by the Master-in-Equity on proper cause being shown. The cost of transcribing the record is in addition to the fees provided for in this section and must be assessed at the rate prescribed for circuit courts.

Payment: Equity Court fees payable pursuant to S.C. Code §14-11-310, may be paid directly to the Court in person or by check made out to:  Beaufort County Master-in-Equity and mailed to the Court’s main address, Master-In-Equity, P.O. Drawer 1228, Beaufort, SC 29901-1228.  [If you overnight the check, please use the physical address:  Master-in-Equity, Beaufort County Courthouse, 2nd Floor, 102 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, South Carolina].  Law Firms may submit payment using a Law Firm Trust or Operating Account check.  Pro Se Litigants will need to make payment by certified check or money order.