South Carolina, court records
Search South Carolina trial court cases county by county in the Judicial Branch Public Index, and appeals in C-Track Public Access. Federal cases are in PACER.
Start here
Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record.
Court records
Federal District of South Carolina guide to searching its records: files go by case number, and the party index finds the number.
Open official site U.S. District Court for South Carolina, records searchCourt records
Bench book for South Carolina magistrate and municipal judges, with sections on civil cases, criminal cases, crimes and offenses.
Open official site Summary Court Judges Bench BookCourt records
Supreme Court of South Carolina: a chief justice and four associate justices, with the clerk of court, roster of cases, opinions and video portal.
Open official site South Carolina Supreme CourtCourt records
South Carolina Court of Appeals, the newest court in the state system, open since September 1, 1983, with a chief judge and eight judges.
Open official site South Carolina Court of AppealsCourt records
South Carolina Family Court, with its judges by circuit and an explanation of how family court judges are screened and elected.
Open official site South Carolina Family CourtCourt records
South Carolina court calendar search by judge or by county, with terms of court and judge assignments.
Open official site South Carolina court calendarCourt records
How to pay a South Carolina traffic ticket online: pick the county or city that issued it from the list of courts that take online payments.
Open official site South Carolina Traffic Tickets and FinesCourt records
Federal district, bankruptcy and appeals court records online. A PACER account is needed; documents cost $0.10 per page, capped at $3 per document.
Open official site PACER, federal court recordsCourt records
Find the federal district, bankruptcy and appeals courts that serve any location, or look up a federal court by name.
Open official site U.S. Courts, Federal Court FinderEverything else, organized
1 more South Carolina source not listed above.
Guide
South Carolina trial court records are searched one county at a time in the Judicial Branch Public Index; some municipal court records are there too.
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases are in the Appellate Court Public Index, C-Track Public Access. Certified copies come from the clerk of court in the county.
Guide
South Carolina divorces are Family Court cases under S.C. Code 63-3-530, kept by the county Clerk of Court. No statute closes the file, and county clerks state that Family Court records are public unless sealed by judicial order or closed by law, as juvenile and adoption matters are. The Financial Declaration each party serves and files under the Rules of Family Court, the final decree with its equitable apportionment under 20-3-620 and alimony under 20-3-130, and any court approved settlement agreement are in the public file.
The Public Index is county by county and varies in whether Family Court cases and images appear; the file is read at the county Family Court records office, with copy fees set by the county, 50 cents per page in Dorchester County and 25 cents in Greenville County. The South Carolina asset search page explains what the declaration and decree show.
Record guide
At a glance
More South Carolina records on this site: South Carolina public records, Free Background Checks.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
State court records are usually free to view at the courthouse and often free online, with per-page fees for certified copies. PACER charges $0.10 per page (capped at $3.00 per document), waived under $30 per quarter.
No. A sealed case is hidden from the public docket index by court order. Its existence may still be confirmable by number, but documents are not accessible.
Civil cases involve disputes between parties (contracts, torts, family). Criminal cases are brought by the government. Both are indexed by the same court clerks but tracked in separate sub-dockets.
Not in one search. PACER covers all federal courts. Most states have a statewide judiciary portal that covers their state courts, but a few require per-county lookups. This page links to South Carolina's official portal.
All states
Every state page lists that state's official court record sources, each opened and verified.