The bill H. 4813 proposes amendments to the South Carolina Code of Laws concerning fees and costs associated with magistrate courts. It seeks to increase various fees collected by magistrates, including raising the fee for receiving and filing a bond in claim and delivery from five to ten dollars, and increasing the fee for issuing a summons and a copy for the defendant from forty-five to sixty-five dollars. Other notable increases include the fee for proceedings by a landlord against a tenant, which would rise from twenty to forty dollars, and the fee for serving a summons in a civil action, which would increase from five to twenty dollars.

Additionally, the bill amends the assessment on filings in magistrate court, raising the assessment on summons and complaint filings from twenty-five to forty dollars, and increasing the assessment on all other civil filings from ten to fifteen dollars. These changes aim to enhance the financial resources available to the magistrate courts and are set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Statutes affected:
12/17/2025: 8-21-1010, 22-3-340
Latest Version: 8-21-1010, 22-3-340