Berkeley County

Address Information Department

Contact Information

 

Office Hours:

8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday

Phone Numbers:

(843) 719-4113 for Moncks Corner
(843) 723-3800 ext. 4113 for Charleston
(843) 567-3136 ext. 4113 for St. Stephen
(843) 719-4190 FAX

Mailing Address:

Berkeley County GIS
P.O. Box 6122
Moncks Corner, SC 29461

Physical Address:

Berkeley County Administration Building
1003 Highway 52
Moncks Corner, SC 29461

Email:

EMAIL Address Information

What This Office Does:

The Address Information Department provides a means for assigning new addresses and resolving address conflicts for the E911 service in Berkeley County. The department also assists with address and road location inquiries from County departments and other agencies, as well as naming conventions for new roads and other conditions outlined in Berkeley County Ordinance 08-03-10. Coordination with other cities' E911 personnel eliminates confusion as municipal boundaries change. The department also works with various telephone companies to maintain current and accurate addresses and Emergency Service Numbers (ESN). A county-wide site address location database was developed and maintained to standardize addresses

Goals and Objectives:

• To provide County officials, departments, other agencies, and the public responsive with accurate addresses in a timely manner.
• To continue the development of a new accurate County wide site address database.
• To maintain the GIS street layer by continually adding newly developed roads for use in the street atlas.
• To continue to add to the newly created County site address database.

ADDRESS INFORMATION FAQ's:

How do I get a new physical address (Items Required)? We will need the following items to assign a new site address:

• Zoning Use Approval Form from Berkeley County Planning Department.
• Septic Tank Approval Letter from DHEC or a Sewer Availability Letter from service provider. Depending on the size of lot and/or type of building(s), a layout of the property may also be needed.
• If a new road name is needed, a deed or plat showing or referring to a recorded easement is required. Please note road placement depends upon location description of easement.

General Information on Addresses and Address Numbers:

• Addresses are determined by which way the front door faces the road.
• Addresses for buildings with individual units are to be addressed from left to right.
• Address numbers must be posted on each building or residence before final inspection. Residential buildings shall use numbers at least four (4) inches in height. Businesses shall use numbers at least eight (8) inches in height. The numbers should be of a contrasting color from the actual building.

General Information on Road Names:

• All road names must be approved through our office.
• Duplicate road names will not be allowed in Berkeley County.
• First and last names together cannot be used.
• Road names should be 14 letters or less, including spaces but excluding suffixes (for example Road, Avenue, Lane, etc.).
• Road names may be changed with 75% of landowners' approval through petition requesting agreement with new road name and approval from Berkeley County Planning Commission. The Berkeley County Planning Commission requires a $250.00 fee to have the petition submitted for approval. If the change is approved, there will be a $35.00 change per street sign to be changed and replaced.
• Suffixes to be used on "dead end" streets or cul-de-sacs are "Lane", "Court", "Way", "Place" or "Trail".
• "Parkway" or "Boulevard" can only be used on a road that has a divided median.
• Streets located within a subdivision will have street signs installed by the developer.

Do I have to display the assigned E-911 number on my house? If so, what size numbers should be used? Once a dwelling or building has been assigned an address, the address must be displayed in a conspicuous place immediately above, on or at the side of the main entrance of the building so that the number can easily be seen and read from the street. Residential numbers shall not be less than four (4) inches in height. Business numbers shall not be less than eight (8) inches in height. All numbers shall be made of durable and clearly visible material which is in a contrasting color to the building. Whenever the building is more than fifty (50) feet from the street, the owner shall also display the number near the driveway, on mailbox or common entrance to the building so as to be easily discernable from the street.

Who is responsible for the cost of the address numbers? The property owner or occupant shall be responsible for the cost of the number(s).

How can I reserve a street name? Road names must be approved through our office. Our office will check any suggested road names to make sure it can be used and meets our criteria. You may call our office at 843/719-4113 or EMAIL for approval. Road names may remain on reserve for a 3 year time period once submitted and approved.

How do I name a new street? Once a road has been created, our office staff will go out in the field and ride the road with our GPS unit. We will then return to our office and upload the information into our computers. At that time, we will determine whether additional landowners whose property might border this road need to be contacted concerning the suggested road name. If additional landowners must be contacted, a petition requesting a proposed road name will be prepared by office. The applicant will be responsible to provide additional landowners the option to sign petition in favor of suggested road. We must have 75% of the landowners agree. If the suggested road name is accepted, our office will then complete the process of naming the street. If the road name is not accepted, the process for naming the road will have to begin with another suggested road name.

How do I change an existing road name? To change an existing road name, an approved substitution must be submitted to our office. Our staff will prepare a petition with the suggested road name to be circulated to all landowners whose property fronts this road for their agreement. Berkeley County ordinance states that we must have 75% of the landowners agree with the change before it can be submitted to Berkeley County Planning Commission for approval. Berkeley County Planning Commission requires a $250.00 fee before petition can be submitted for approval. If the change is approved, there will be a $35.00 (per street sign) fee that must be collected and forwarded to Berkeley County Roads & Bridges Department. At that time, our office will complete the process of changing the road name.

Can I reserve a subdivision name? Our office does not regulate the naming of subdivisions. You may want to check with Berkeley County Planning & Zoning Office to verify if they have any regulations concerning subdivision names.

What is the process followed for a new subdivision to have a new TMS numbers and addresses assigned? New subdivisions have to be approved through the Planning & Zoning Office. Once final approval has been issued, the plats can then be recorded in the Register of Deeds Office. Real Property Services department receives the recorded plats form Register of Deeds and begin assigning new TMS numbers. Once the new TMS numbers are assigned, the plats are forwarded to our office to be input into the GIS system. Our staff will begin the task of assigning new addresses and compiling a spreadsheet of the information. This whole process takes approximately 4-6 weeks.

Who furnishes the street signs? The street signs that are located in a subdivision are to be installed by the developer. Any street named and not located in a subdivision, Berkeley County would install the street sign. If an existing road name is changed, the person submitted the change will pay a $35.00 (per sign) fee for sign replacement.

Can you verify if an address is in Berkeley County? Our office will be glad to assist you with address verification for Berkeley County. Information may be limited inside the municipalities because they handle their own addressing and our data will only be as good as the information we are provided.

Do you have another website? Berkeley County GIS has a website that has most of the same information we can provide you that we usually update weekly. The Berkeley County Address Information department can be accessed through the GIS website.

Can you give me driving directions? We will try our best to provide you with directions for places within Berkeley County.

** The Berkeley County E-911 Addressing Office shall have the authority to deviate from these standards as necessary to ensure the safety of the general public.