Please be as specific as possible in describing the documents you are requesting. If you have questions, please contact SCDOT's FOIA central number at 803-737-1347.
What is FOIA?
Pursuant to the S. C. Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") any person has the right to inspect or copy the public records of SCDOT unless the records are exempt from disclosure by Section 30-4-40, S.C. Code of Laws, 1976, as amended.
Request Copies of SCDOT Public Records
Related Information
Only submit your request once you have reviewed FAQ to see if correct documents have been provided.
Do I have a completed FOIA Form?
-
Find the County and location in Street Finder
Street Finder
Requirements to Submit a FOIA Request
- SCDOT FOIA Form
- Timeline / scope of research
(i.e. 1/1/24 - 12/31-2024) - County Name and location
- Photos of location - *optional
Submit
Email:
Fax:
803-766-1007
OR via mail; to:
- SCDOT
- ATTN: Freedom of Information Officer
- P.O. Box 191
- Columbia, SC 29202
Please note that sending by mail will take longer due to its mode of delivery.
How is my FOIA claim processed?
1
Request is Received & Tracking Number Assigned
Please quote the assigned number in all correspondence going forward.
2
Acknowledgment Email Sent
If the form is incomplete, this will delay the process of your request.
3
Timeline is Given
A timeline must be given to determine the processing time required. If no timeline is included this will delay your request (i.e. 1/1/2024 - 12/31/2024).
4
Request sent to the assigned office(s)
5
Notification of Available Documents
If requested information is less than 2 years old; you will be notified of available documents in 10 business days. More than 2 years old; you will be notified of available documents in 20 business days.
6
Notice of Fees
(If applicable)
7
Available Documents Delivered
Available documents less than 2 years old will be sent to you in 30 calendar days and the request will be closed. Documents more than 2 years old will be sent in 35 calendar days and the request will be closed.
8
No available documents?
If there are no available documents in 10 or 20 business days, a notice will be sent and the request will be closed.
** Please note, at times it may be necessary to extend the process. The most common causes are due to the nature of the request or the volume of FOIA requests being received by the agency.
Fee Schedule
- If the documents are readily available (defined as 2 hours or less, per staff person, of research and retrieval time) there will be no fee for staff research time. For every hour over 2 hours, there will be a research fee of $20 per staff-hour.
- If the request is for hard copies, the first 25 pages will be at no charge. For every page over the 25, the fee will be 10 cents per page.
- There will be no additional fee for the transfer of electronic files, if those are requested in lieu of hard copies, provided they can be easily e-mailed to the requester. If the material is too large to email and it needs to be placed on a CD/DVD or USB drive, the fee will be $1.00 for a CD/DVD and $7.00 for up to an 8GB USB Drive. Any USB drive required over 8GB will be charged at the cost paid by SCDOT for the USB drive.
Once research and reproduction is complete, you will be notified of any fees that may be due. Documents will be furnished upon payment of those fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Documents we don't provide:
Adoption records
Birth certificates
Body cam footage
Commercial Motor carrier records
Criminal records
Dash cam footage
Death Certificates
Drivers’ records
Inmate records
Vehicle Insurance records
Labor and Licensing records
Marriage certificates
Mining and Reclamation
Pedestrian accident reports
Sex Offenders’ register
Subcontractor certificate of insurance
Traffic Accident reports
Traffic citations
Traffic citations for commercial vehicles
Traffic tickets
Unclaimed monies or property items
Vessel registrations
Video camera footage