Charleston property records: parcel, zoning, flood, tax, permits and deeds

Charleston County, Berkeley County, Dorchester County. County and city sources, kept separate.

Zoning and permits usually belong to the city, not the county, and a postal address does not tell you which. Each jurisdiction is listed on its own below; confirm the governing authority before you trust a district.

Key numbers

What this directory counts in Charleston

Every line below is computed from sources.json when the page is built, so it cannot drift from the entries underneath it. Each one is written to stand alone if you quote it.

15 official public property-records sources are listed and dated across 3 counties and 4 jurisdictions in Charleston. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
Those 15 sources are 5 parcel & appraiser, 4 zoning, 2 flood, 2 permits, 1 tax and 1 recorded documents. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
Permits, tax and recorded documents still need a human in Charleston: not one of the 4 sources listed for them is returned by an automated lookup. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
3 of the 15 sources got no further than a visible search form on the last check; none of the rest was recorded as retrieving a named record. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
13 of the 15 entries carry a recorded gotcha — a renamed agency, a moved path, a login wall or a jurisdiction trap found while checking. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
11 of the 15 sources are returned by Glove, 0 partly, and 4 remain a manual click. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
1 county zoning, permit or long-range-plan source here covers the unincorporated county only — the municipalities inside it keep their own, and the entry says so. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.
Every entry carries its own check date; the most recent human check covering Charleston was 20 Sep 2026. Glove records source directory, Sterling Digital Partners, checked 20 Sep 2026.

How to read a card

What a check level means

Every card says what the last check actually did. The wording is deliberate and it is never rounded up.

lookup completed — a named record was actually retrieved and read
locate only — a map point was found; no attributes read
form reached — a search form was visible; nothing retrieved
page opened — the entry page loaded
blocked — CAPTCHA, WAF or authority block; stated plainly

Dates are UTC and belong to the recorded check, not to this page's assembly. A date here means a person opened the page on that day. Our link checker runs weekly, but it only ever proposes a re-check — it cannot move a date.

The directory

Every source we have checked in Charleston

Charleston County, Berkeley County, Dorchester County

Charleston

Charleston County 8 sources

Parcel & appraiser

Where do I look up who owns a property in Charleston County?

This directory lists 2 checked sources for parcel and ownership records in Charleston County: Charleston County Assessor and Charleston County Online Services — Real Property Record Search.

Who values the property, what is the assessment ratio, and how do I reach the appraiser?
Charleston County Assessor
Checked: page opened
Open the Assessor's department page; the real property search and the appraisal forms are linked from the body.
You need TMS (Tax Map Serial) number
Watch out
Charleston County's domain moved from charlestoncounty.org to charlestoncounty.gov — old bookmarks still redirect, but anything you have saved is worth re-copying.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this Returned by the charleston packet map.
What are the owner, appraised value, characteristics and assessment for this TMS?
Charleston County Online Services — Real Property Record Search
Checked: form reached
Search by TMS, owner name or address on the Real Property Record Search form.
You need TMS number
Watch out
This portal is the county's record search; the Assessor's department page is a landing page around it. Go straight here for the record.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this Returned by the charleston packet map.

Zoning

Does county zoning in Charleston County cover the whole county?

No. The county zones only unincorporated land. Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville and the island towns each zone their own — check the municipality before reading a district.

Where is the parcel, and what county map layers cover it?
Charleston County GIS
Checked: page opened
Open the GIS department page and follow to the county's mapping applications.
You need TMS number or address
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers zoning for Charleston County.
What zoning district applies in unincorporated Charleston County, and who issues a zoning verification?
Charleston County Zoning & Planning Department
Checked: page opened
Open the department page and follow to the zoning ordinance and district information.
You need TMS number or address
Watch out
The county zones only unincorporated land. Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville and the island towns each zone their own — check the municipality before reading a district.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers zoning for Charleston County.

Flood

How do I find the flood zone for a property in Charleston County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for flood zone lookups in Charleston County: FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

What flood zone and FIRM panel govern the property?
FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Checked: form reached
Enter the street address in Search By Address, then open the effective FIRMette for the panel.
You need Street address
Watch out
Charleston's coastal panels are revised often. Check the effective date on the panel, not just the zone letter.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers flood for Charleston County.

Tax

Where do I check property taxes in Charleston County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for property tax records in Charleston County: Charleston County Treasurer. Glove does not return it, so this stays a manual lookup.

Is the property tax paid, and what does the bill history show?
Charleston County Treasurer
Checked: page opened
Open the Treasurer's page and follow to tax bill search and payment.
You need TMS number
Watch out
Three offices touch one bill in SC: the Assessor values it, the Auditor calculates it, and the Treasurer collects it. A value question answered by the Treasurer is the wrong office.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Your click No promoted map returns tax in any market. This is a click you make yourself.

Permits

Where do I find building permits in Charleston County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for permits in Charleston County: Charleston County Building Inspection Services. Glove does not return it, so this stays a manual lookup.

Who permits and inspects construction in unincorporated Charleston County?
Charleston County Building Inspection Services
Checked: page opened
Open the department page and follow to permit application and inspection links.
You need Address or permit number
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Your click No promoted map returns permits in any market. This is a click you make yourself.

Recorded documents

Where do I find Charleston County deed records?

This directory lists 1 checked source for recorded documents — deeds, mortgages, liens and plats in Charleston County: Charleston County Register of Deeds (RMC). Glove does not return it, so this stays a manual lookup.

What deeds, mortgages, plats and easements are recorded against the parcel?
Charleston County Register of Deeds (RMC)
Checked: page opened
Open the Register of Deeds page and follow the online records search link.
You need Grantor/grantee name, or book and page
Watch out
South Carolina's recorder is the RMC/Register of Deeds, a separate office from the Clerk of Court. Asking the Clerk for a deed sends you to the wrong counter.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Your click No promoted map returns recorded_documents in any market. This is a click you make yourself.

Not yet harvested for Charleston County: future land use. Know a source? Send it.

Berkeley County 3 sources

Parcel & appraiser

Where do I look up who owns a property in Berkeley County?

This directory lists 2 checked sources for parcel and ownership records in Berkeley County: Berkeley County Real Property Services and Berkeley County Real Property Services — Property Card Search.

What is the official entry point and disclaimer for Berkeley property assessment data?
Berkeley County Real Property Services
Checked: page opened
Read the two disclaimers (Real Property, and Auditor/Treasurer/Tax Collector), then press I Agree to reach the search.
You need TMS number
Watch out
An I Agree gate stands in front of the search, and the disclaimer states assessment data reflects ownership as of 31 December of the prior year unless the law says otherwise — so a recent sale may not show here yet.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this Returned by the charleston packet map.
Who owns it, what is the assessed value, and what does the property card show?
Berkeley County Real Property Services — Property Card Search
Checked: form reached
Either enter the TMS directly under Retrieve property by TMS, or search real property by street number/name or owner name. Comparable Sales Search and Flood Certificate Search are tabs across the top.
You need TMS number
Watch out
The site tells you itself: search the street name WITHOUT the type — 'Oakley', not 'Oakley Road' — because the same street is stored as Road, Rd and Rd. in different records. Owner names are stored LASTNAME FIRSTNAME; search the last name alone first.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this Returned by the charleston packet map.

Flood

How do I find the flood zone for a property in Berkeley County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for flood zone lookups in Berkeley County: Berkeley County Real Property Services — Flood Certificate Search.

Does the county hold a flood certificate for this parcel?
Berkeley County Real Property Services — Flood Certificate Search
Checked: page opened
From the property search page, use the Flood Certificate Search tab in the top navigation.
You need TMS number
Watch out
A county flood certificate is not a FEMA determination. Pull the FEMA FIRMette as well for anything a lender will read.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers flood for Berkeley County.

Not yet harvested for Berkeley County: zoning, future land use, tax, permits, recorded documents. Know a source? Send it.

Dorchester County 2 sources

Parcel & appraiser

Where do I look up who owns a property in Dorchester County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for parcel and ownership records in Dorchester County: Dorchester County Assessor.

Who values the property, and what forms and deadlines apply?
Dorchester County Assessor
Checked: page opened
Open the Assessor page under Property Tax Services; the search and form links run down the body.
You need TMS number
Watch out
The Assessor sets value only — not the tax amount. The page says so in its first line, and it is the most common wrong-office call in this county.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this Returned by the charleston packet map.

Zoning

Where do I check the zoning of a property in Dorchester County?

This directory lists 1 checked source for zoning in Dorchester County: Dorchester County Planning & Development — Maps / GIS.

Where is the parcel, what layers cover it, and what does the county map show?
Dorchester County Planning & Development — Maps / GIS
Checked: page opened
Use On Line Mapping for the viewer, or Property Lookup Without Mapping if you only want the record. GIS Data Layers is a separate page.
You need TMS number or address
Watch out
The county advertises a 'GIS Property Search' under Business, but it redirects to this Maps/GIS page — the two entry points are the same destination.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers zoning for Dorchester County.

Not yet harvested for Dorchester County: future land use, flood, tax, permits, recorded documents. Know a source? Send it.

City of Charleston 2 sources

Zoning

Where do I check the zoning of a property in Charleston?

This directory lists 1 checked source for zoning in Charleston: City of Charleston.

Which city department governs zoning inside the city limits, and where do its pages live?
City of Charleston
Checked: page opened
Navigate from the city home page to Planning, Preservation & Sustainability; do not guess a page URL.
You need Address or TMS number
Watch out
The city runs CivicEngage numeric page IDs (/162/…, /1024/…). A stale or wrong ID does not 404 — it silently redirects you somewhere else entirely; one guessed ID landed on a staff directory and another on the South Carolina tourism site. Always reach city pages by navigating from the home page.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Glove returns this A promoted map covers zoning for City of Charleston.

Permits

Where do I find building permits in Charleston?

This directory lists 1 checked source for permits in Charleston: City of Charleston — EnerGov Citizen Self Service. Glove does not return it, so this stays a manual lookup.

What permit, plan and inspection records exist at this address, and what is their status?
City of Charleston — EnerGov Citizen Self Service
Checked: page opened
From the Self Service home, choose the Permits or Plans search and query by address or permit number.
You need Permit number or address
Watch out
Exact Phrase is ticked by default and addresses are stored abbreviated and uppercase, so "100 Meeting Street" returns nothing while "573 MEETING ST" returns records. Unticking it swings the other way — it matches each word separately and returns thousands.
Checked 2026-09-20 · UTC
Your click No promoted map returns permits in any market. This is a click you make yourself.

Not yet harvested for City of Charleston: parcel & appraiser, future land use, flood, tax, recorded documents. Know a source? Send it.

The honest part

What still needs a human

This is the most useful block on the page, so it is computed from the data rather than written by hand. Counted across Charleston only.

Record type	Sources listed	Where it stands
Parcel & appraiser	5	returned in every published market
Zoning	4	returned in every published market
Flood	2	returned in every published market
Tax	1	a manual click in this market
Permits	2	a manual click in this market
Recorded documents	1	a manual click in this market

Recorded documents and permits are the two that never automate cleanly. Every county clerk and every permit portal is its own small piece of software, several of them sit behind a bot challenge, and a few still want a login. If someone tells you they have all of them, ask which clerk's search they used last week.

Optional product path

Doing this every week?

Glove returns parcel, value, zoning, land use and flood in Charleston in one call, inside Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. Recorded documents and permits are still yours to click — this directory is where you click them.

See what comes back in your market See a sample packet

Supported clients are Claude Code, Cursor and Codex; connection setup is required. This directory stays free and complete whether or not you ever use it.

A Glove packet sheet for 2024 Princeton St, Sarasota: parcel and account identifiers, assessed values, zoning and land-use labels and flood zone, each with its source and check date.

Use the data

The whole directory, as one file

Everything on these pages is generated from a single JSON file. It is published under CC BY 4.0: use it, build on it, ship it in your own tool. The only condition is attribution.

Download sources.json Read the schema

Attribution

Klebl, C. (2026). Public property-records sources for ten US commercial real estate markets. Sterling Digital Partners. CC BY 4.0. https://glvtl.com/records-sources/

Entries: 163
Counties: 22
Markets published: 10 of 10
Last human check: 20 Sep 2026

Each entry carries its own checked date, so you can filter by freshness rather than trusting one number at the top.

Method

How an entry gets on this page

A person opens the URL in a browser, does the smallest real lookup the source allows, and records what happened in the wording of the level key above. Nothing is listed from a search result, a press release or another directory. If a source blocked the check, it says blocked. If only the search form was reached, it says form reached. The full method, worked end to end on two real addresses, is in the Sarasota and Manatee first-look guide.

Re-verification is quarterly, with an automated link check in between. The link checker can flag that a URL moved or started returning a challenge; it cannot change a date. Only a person can do that.

Use it & cite it

Link to this directory

Free to use and to share. If it saved you a lookup, a link back is what keeps it maintained.

Cite it

Klebl, C. (2026). Charleston property records sources. Sterling Digital Partners. Retrieved from https://glvtl.com/records-sources/charleston/

Link to it

<a href="https://glvtl.com/records-sources/charleston/">Charleston property records sources</a>, Chris Klebl, Sterling Digital Partners, 2026.

Upkeep

Corrections, and the promise attached to them

Portals move constantly and nobody tracks it publicly. If a link here is wrong, moved or now needs a login, tell us and we will check it and re-date the entry the same week. [email protected] — include the market, the agency and the URL. Please leave private client information out of it.

Every real move is logged in the change log, so the dates on this page can be checked rather than taken on trust. A date means a person opened the page that day. It is never stamped by a script.