South Carolina Court of Appeals Rules: Deadlines and Briefs

To appeal a case to the South Carolina Court of Appeals, you have to serve a notice of appeal within a short, case-specific window and then meet a cascade of follow-on deadlines for transcripts, briefs, and the record. The South Carolina Court of Appeals filing deadlines are set by the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules (SCACR), and they are unforgiving: 30 days for most civil appeals, 10 days for criminal appeals, and successively shorter windows once the appeal is docketed. Miss one, and the appeal can end before a judge reads a word of it.

Deadline to Serve the Notice of Appeal

The clock that matters first is the deadline to serve the notice of appeal on every respondent. It depends on the court the case came from.

Civil Cases

For appeals from the Court of Common Pleas, you must serve the notice of appeal on all respondents within 30 days after receiving written notice that the order or judgment was entered. The same 30-day window applies to appeals from masters, special referees, the Probate Court where a direct appeal is authorized, and domestic relations actions in Family Court.¹

Criminal Cases

Criminal defendants get 10 days. After a guilty plea, a trial conviction, or a probation revocation in the Court of General Sessions, the notice of appeal must be served within 10 days after the sentence is imposed. Juvenile actions in Family Court run on the same 10-day schedule. When the State appeals a pretrial ruling, it must serve notice within 10 days of receiving actual notice of the ruling, and before the jury is sworn or the State begins presenting its case.¹

Cross-Appeals

If you’re the respondent and want to challenge a different part of the same ruling, the cross-appeal deadline is five days after you receive the appellant’s notice of appeal, or the end of the original appeal period under Rule 203(b), whichever comes later. The safety net matters when the appellant files early: you keep the full original window rather than being squeezed into five days.¹

How Post-Trial Motions Pause the Clock

A timely post-trial motion stops the appeal clock. If a party files a motion for a new trial or a motion to alter or amend the judgment under Rule 59 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the time to appeal is stayed and starts fresh from the date the party receives written notice that the trial court ruled on the motion.² Without that pause, your appeal window could expire while the trial judge is still deciding whether to change the outcome.

What the Notice of Appeal Must Contain

Rule 203(e) of the SCACR sets the required content. Leaving anything out invites rejection or delay. For appeals from Circuit Court, Family Court, or Probate Court, the notice must include:

The name of the court, judge, and county the appeal is taken from.
The docket number in the lower court, plus the docket or appellate case number of any related pending appeals you know about.
The date of the order, judgment, or sentence being appealed, and where relevant, a statement of when the appealing party received notice of it.
The name of the party taking the appeal.
The names, mailing addresses, and phone numbers of all attorneys of record and the parties each represents.

Appeals from administrative tribunals follow the same format, with the agency and administrative law judge named in place of the county court.¹ For criminal appeals from a guilty plea, an Alford plea, or a no-contest plea, the notice must also include a written explanation of the issue that can be reviewed on appeal, including how it was raised at trial and how the lower court ruled.

Captions, docket numbers, and party names should match the trial court record exactly. The South Carolina Judicial Branch publishes standardized forms that reduce technical errors at docketing.³

Where to File, How to Serve, and What It Costs

The notice must be served on every respondent within the applicable deadline and filed with the clerk of the lower court and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals. Dual filing puts both courts on notice that the case is moving up.¹

Rule 262 of the SCACR permits filing and service by mail, personal delivery, or electronic means in a manner established by Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court issued an amended order in April 2024 establishing methods for electronic filing and service under Rule 262. Two exceptions exist: petitions for rehearing and motions for reinstatement cannot be filed electronically under this rule.⁴

A $100 filing fee accompanies the notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals.⁵ Motions and petitions filed during the appeal carry a separate $50 fee, though no motion fee is charged in criminal appeals, certiorari petitions, certified questions, or filings by the State or its agencies.⁶ If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply to proceed in forma pauperis using the Judicial Branch’s standard motion and affidavit form, and in extraordinary cases the appellate court can relieve a party of the fee requirement.³

The Deadlines That Follow the Notice

Getting the notice in on time is only the first step. A chain of shorter deadlines runs from there.

Ordering the Transcript

The appellant orders the necessary transcripts from the court reporter. Any party seeking a transcript from a Circuit or Family Court proceeding must complete the official Transcript Request Form (SCCA 800).⁷ The SCACR sets specific deadlines that vary by case type, and transcript costs depend on the length of the proceedings.

Initial Briefs

The appellant’s initial brief must be served within 30 days after receiving the transcript. If no transcript is ordered, the 30 days run from the date the notice of appeal was served. The respondent then has 30 days after receiving the appellant’s brief to serve a response. After the respondent files, the appellant may file a reply brief.⁸

Rule 208 caps principal briefs at 50 pages and reply briefs at 25. The brief must include a statement of the issues, a statement of the case, the applicable standard of review, and legal arguments supported by citations to South Carolina statutes and case law. Each argument has to tie a specific trial court error to the facts in the record.

Designating the Record

When you serve the initial brief, you also serve a Designation of Matter to be Included in the Record on Appeal on all other parties. The designation identifies with specificity which portions of the transcript, pleadings, orders, and exhibits should be included. It must be signed, and the signature certifies that nothing irrelevant was added.⁹

Final Briefs

After the Record on Appeal is served, each party has 20 days to serve and file final briefs with the Clerk of the appellate court. One copy filed with the court must be unbound. The final brief must be signed, and the signature certifies compliance with Rule 211.¹⁰ Nothing that was not presented to the lower court may be included in the record.¹¹

Stopping Enforcement While You Appeal

Filing a notice of appeal does not automatically stop a trial court’s judgment from being enforced. If you lost a money judgment and want to block collection during the appeal, you need a stay.

Under Rule 62(d) of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, a party can obtain a stay by posting a supersedeas bond at or after filing the notice of appeal. The stay takes effect only once the trial court approves the bond. The bond guarantees that the judgment will be paid if the appeal fails.¹²

The State and its agencies do not have to post a bond or other security when the government appeals. If the trial court denies a stay, or if posting a bond with the trial court first is not practical, the appellate court can step in to stay proceedings or issue orders to preserve the status quo.¹²

Deadlines After the Court of Appeals Decides

A Court of Appeals decision is not always the final word. A party dissatisfied with the outcome can file a petition for rehearing with the Court of Appeals. If that petition is denied, the party may then seek review from the South Carolina Supreme Court by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari.¹³

The certiorari petition must be filed within 30 days after the Court of Appeals denies the petition for rehearing. Supreme Court review is discretionary, and skipping the rehearing petition to go directly to the Supreme Court is not permitted.

Cases That Skip the Court of Appeals

Some appeals go straight to the South Carolina Supreme Court and bypass the Court of Appeals. Those include cases involving the death penalty, public utility rates, significant constitutional challenges to state or local laws, public bond issues, election law disputes, orders limiting state grand jury investigations, and family court orders related to a minor’s abortion.¹ Filing in the wrong court burns days off a deadline you may not be able to get back, so confirm the destination before you send anything.

1
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 203 – Notice of Appeal
2
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 59 – New Trials; Amendment of Judgments
3
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Court Forms
4
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 262
5
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Circuit Court Fees
6
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 240
7
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Obtain a Transcript
8
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 208
9
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 209
10
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 211 – Final Briefs
11
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 210 – Record on Appeal
12
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 62 – Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
13
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Supreme Court