South Carolina People Search

South Carolina has 46 counties and strong statewide systems, so a search can start with these six offices before going to the county register of deeds, auditor and assessor.

• SC Secretary of State business entity searchCorporations, LLCs and their registered agents and officers
• SCDC inmate searchPeople now held in South Carolina state prisons
• South Carolina Judicial BranchPublic Index case search of trial courts in all 46 counties
• SLED Sex Offender RegistrySearch by name or map, kept by the State Law Enforcement Division
• SLED CATCH criminal history checkOfficial state criminal record search, for a fee
• SC Department of Public Health, Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce records for eligible requesters

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, codified at S.C. Code Title 30, Chapter 4, creates a strong presumption that public records are open to inspection. SC FOIA requires agencies to respond to records requests within 10 business days for records not readily available and immediately for records that are. In a noteworthy 2017 amendment, the statute added enforcement teeth, allowing requesters to seek attorney's fees when they prevail in FOIA litigation.

Exemptions cover open criminal investigations, juvenile records, sealed and expunged cases, some personnel records, medical information and records whose release would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy. Since 2025 the Attorney General runs an Address Confidentiality Program for victims of domestic violence, stalking and other crimes.

SLED handles law enforcement records and background checks, LLR handles professional licenses, the Secretary of State handles corporations and charities, and the Judicial Branch keeps the Public Index of court cases.

• SC.govDirectory of state agencies and services
• SC Secretary of StateCorporations, charities, notaries and trademarks
• SC LLR license verificationMost state licensed professions, with status and discipline

The Circuit Court has two divisions: General Sessions (criminal) and Common Pleas (civil). Family Court handles divorce, custody and juvenile matters, Magistrate Courts handle minor criminal cases and small claims, and Municipal Courts handle city ordinance violations.

Above them are the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. The Public Index of the Judicial Branch, linked in Where to Look, covers the trial courts of all 46 counties.

Researcher Tip

Magistrate Court searches in the Public Index are made one county at a time. Many minor offenses (traffic, simple possession, bad checks) are heard there, so check every county the person is known to have lived in, not only General Sessions.

South Carolina splits property records among three county offices: the auditor sets assessed values and prepares tax bills, the assessor sets fair market value and the treasurer collects the tax. Deeds and mortgages are recorded by the register of deeds or, in some counties, the clerk of court. Most counties put these records online, often on separate sites for each office.

Common Mistake

Confusing the Auditor and Assessor. In SC, the Assessor determines market value; the Auditor applies the assessment ratio and calculates taxes. Searching only one portal misses half the data, always check both for the complete picture of a subject's real property.

The Secretary of State business search, linked in Where to Look, covers registered entities, and the LLR license verification, listed under Official State Government Sources, covers most licensed professions.

SCDC runs the state prisons; its inmate search is linked in Where to Look. County jails are run by the sheriffs, and most publish rosters online. Federal prisoners are in the Bureau of Prisons locator. SLED keeps the sex offender registry and provides official state criminal record checks.

The Vital Records office, part of the SC Department of Public Health since DHEC was split in 2024, keeps state birth and death records from 1915 on; earlier records are at the county level. Marriage licenses are issued and recorded by the county Probate Court, and divorces are Family Court cases in the Public Index.

• MySCVotes, State Election CommissionYour registration status, precinct and polling place

• SC Department of Archives and HistoryColonial records, land grants, military and state records

Digitized South Carolina newspapers are also in Chronicling America at the Library of Congress.

The most populous counties:

• Greenville CountyGreenville and the Upstate, the most populous county
• Richland CountyColumbia, the state capital
• Charleston CountyCharleston and the Lowcountry, with old property records
• Horry CountyMyrtle Beach and the Grand Strand

Other large counties are Spartanburg, Lexington, York (Rock Hill), Berkeley, Anderson and Beaufort (Hilton Head).

Always start with the Public Index: it covers the trial courts of all 46 counties.

Check General Sessions AND Magistrate: Minor criminal history hides in Magistrate Court; don't stop at Circuit Court.

Use LLR for employment checks: most licensed professions are in the LLR license verification, listed under Official State Government Sources.

Divorce is in Public Index: Family Court cases are searchable in the same Public Index as General Sessions and Common Pleas.

Watch for sealed cases: SC's expungement statutes under S.C. Code 17-1-40 remove eligible cases from public view.

SLED is the official criminal history: For certified records, order from SLED directly; Public Index is an index, not a certified record.

SC FOIA (Title 30, Chapter 4) opens most government records. South Carolina has no general consumer privacy law like the CCPA, but it protects specific records: those of crime, domestic violence and stalking victims, juvenile records, sealed and expunged records and law enforcement home addresses. Motor vehicle records are restricted under the federal DPPA.

Privacy Note

The Address Confidentiality Program of the Attorney General lets eligible victims use a substitute address on public records, so a missing address may have that reason.

• Address Confidentiality Program, SC Attorney GeneralWho can apply and how it works