South Carolina Court Records Search by Name: Public Index, Family Court, Appellate & PACER Guide
South Carolina court records are searchable through several official routes, but the correct path depends on the court. This guide explains when to use the Trial Court Case Records Search, the Family Court Public Portal, C-Track appellate search, local clerks, Probate Court, Municipal Court and PACER.
Public-Court-Records.us is independent. This website is not the South Carolina Judicial Branch, a South Carolina clerk of court, a Probate Court, a Municipal Court, a sheriff, a law firm, PACER, a federal court, a government agency or a Consumer Reporting Agency. This guide is general educational information only.
Responsible-use warning: a court filing, complaint, charge, indictment, citation or lawsuit is not proof of guilt or liability. A matching name does not prove identity. Do not use this article as an FCRA-regulated employment, tenant, credit, insurance or background-screening product.
South Carolina court records are searched by court, county and case type
South Carolina uses a unified judicial system, but public record access is still routed by court type. The South Carolina Judicial Branch provides a trial court records search for all counties, a separate Family Court public portal, C-Track for appellate records, courthouse search pages for local court contacts, and links to rosters, forms and court information.
Choose the county before searching trial court records.
Circuit and Family Court records are organized through circuit and county routes.
General Sessions handles criminal matters; Common Pleas handles civil matters.
South Carolina case numbers use county codes with leading zeroes for 01–09.
South Carolina court-record route finder
Select the record type you are trying to find. This tool runs in your browser only and does not ask for a name, date of birth, address, case number or any private information.
Use the South Carolina Trial Court Case Records Search for available General Sessions records. If the matter began as an arrest, bond hearing, municipal ticket or magistrate case, also check the proper Summary Court route. A charge is not a conviction.
Which South Carolina court handled the record?
Use this table before searching by name. South Carolina records can move between lower courts, Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, appellate courts and federal courts.
| Need | Likely court or custodian | Best official starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Felony or higher-level criminal case | Circuit Court, Court of General Sessions; county Clerk of Court | Use the Trial Court Case Records Search, choose the county and search the General Sessions case type when available. |
| Civil lawsuit, judgment, contract, tort or foreclosure-related court file | Circuit Court, Court of Common Pleas; county Clerk of Court | Use the Trial Court Case Records Search for Common Pleas records, then contact the county Clerk of Court for certified copies. |
| Master-in-Equity case | Master-in-Equity / Court of Common Pleas route | Search by county in the trial records search and pay attention to CP or Master-in-Equity case-type references. |
| Divorce, custody, support, adoption or domestic relations | Family Court and Family Court Clerk route | Use the Family Court Public Portal for available public records and contact the county Family Court clerk for official copies or restricted files. |
| Estate, will, guardianship, conservatorship, trust or marriage-license-related probate record | County Probate Court | Use the South Carolina Courthouse Search to identify the county Probate Court, then contact that office for search and certified-copy rules. |
| Small claim, eviction, landlord-tenant or county-level summary matter | Magistrate Court | Check available Summary Court records in the Public Index and contact the correct county Magistrate Court if the case is not online. |
| City ordinance, city misdemeanor or municipal traffic ticket | Municipal Court | Check whether that Municipal Court appears in the Public Index help list. If not, contact the city Municipal Court directly. |
| Upcoming hearing date or court roster | Court roster system or responsible clerk | Use the official Court Roster Search and confirm with the clerk because calendars can change. |
| South Carolina Supreme Court or Court of Appeals record | Appellate C-Track system and appellate clerk offices | Use C-Track Public Access, Case Search or Participant Search, then contact the appropriate appellate clerk for official records. |
| Federal district, federal appellate or bankruptcy record | U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court or U.S. Court of Appeals | Use PACER, the District of South Carolina, the District of South Carolina Bankruptcy Court or the Fourth Circuit route. |
How to use the South Carolina Trial Court Case Records Search
The official trial court records route is county-based. The Judicial Branch homepage describes the trial court records search as a way to search case records for all counties in South Carolina. The Public Index display and available case categories can still vary by county and court.
Start from the South Carolina Judicial Branch page, not a commercial people-search result. Confirm the domain before entering information.
The old Public Index walkthrough and current court-routing structure both require county selection. Do not search Charleston when the case was filed in Greenville, Horry, Richland, York, Spartanburg or another county.
County public index disclaimers can explain limits, privacy notices, accuracy warnings, prohibited scraping and how to request correction or redaction of personal identifiers.
Use case number when available. For name searching, try legal last name, business name, spelling variants and a narrower filing-year range.
Check county, case type, case number, party role, filing date, court agency and docket entries before assuming a match belongs to a person or business.
If you need a certified copy, corrected record, sealed-record question, expungement information or proof for an agency, contact the official clerk or court that keeps the file.
South Carolina case number format: what GS, CP and A numbers mean
South Carolina case numbers can tell you the filing year, court type, county code and sequence. Use the exact case number when possible because it reduces wrong-name matches.
| Case number pattern | Common meaning | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| YYYYGSCCXXXXX | General Sessions criminal case. YYYY is filing year, GS is court type, CC is county code and the final digits are the case ID. | Enter the number exactly, including leading zeroes. Confirm the county code before assuming the county. |
| YYYYCPCCXXXXX | Common Pleas civil or related trial court matter. CP appears in civil records and Master-in-Equity routing may connect to CP records. | Use the full number for civil lawsuits, judgments and related Common Pleas docket searches. |
| YYYYACCXXXXXXXX | Summary Court case format for Magistrate and Municipal Court records where available. | Use the county code and eight-digit case ID. If the municipal court is not on the Public Index, contact the city court. |
| County code 01–46 | South Carolina county number. Leading zeroes are used for county codes 01 through 09. | Use the Courthouse Search for county number confirmation. Examples include Charleston 10, Greenville 23, Horry 26, Richland 40, Spartanburg 42 and York 46. |
Case number quick reader
Enter a public South Carolina case-number pattern only. Do not enter private information. This tool only explains the visible pattern; it does not search any database.
Official South Carolina court-record links and what to do after opening each one
Each official link below includes the practical next step. Avoid third-party people-search pages when the goal is an official court record.
Use this for available public index records in South Carolina counties.
- Confirm you are on sccourts.org.
- Select the county where the case was filed.
- Read the county disclaimer before continuing.
- Search by case number first when available.
- Contact the county clerk for certified copies or corrections.
Use this route for available South Carolina Family Court public records.
- Review the portal disclaimer.
- Search only through the official portal.
- Do not republish sensitive family or child information.
- Contact the county Family Court clerk for restricted or certified records.
Use this for South Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals public access.
- Read the C-Track access terms.
- Use Case Search or Participant Search.
- Check the appellate case number and lower-court origin.
- Contact the appellate clerk for official record questions.
Use this when you know the appellate case number, court, case title, type or filing date.
- Select Supreme Court or Court of Appeals if prompted.
- Use appellate case number when known.
- Check filings, orders and available documents.
- Do not assume lower-court appendices are fully viewable online.
Use this to find county courthouse, circuit number, county number and court contact information.
- Search by county, city or ZIP code.
- Open the county page.
- Confirm clerk, court and address details.
- Call before visiting because local hours and procedures can change.
Use this for court rosters and scheduled court appearances, not certified dispositions.
- Choose the court and county.
- Review the roster date carefully.
- Confirm with the clerk before traveling.
- Do not treat a roster listing as the final case outcome.
Use this PDF to identify municipal courts listed as available on the Public Index.
- Check the “as of” date on the PDF.
- Look for the city Municipal Court name.
- If the city is absent, contact that Municipal Court directly.
- Recheck before publishing because the list can change.
Use this to understand South Carolina county codes and case-number formats.
- Compare GS, CP and summary court patterns.
- Preserve leading zeroes in county codes and case IDs.
- Use the full case number whenever possible.
- Contact the clerk if the format does not match.
South Carolina court types that affect record searches
The Circuit Court is South Carolina’s court of general jurisdiction. It includes the Court of Common Pleas for civil cases and the Court of General Sessions for criminal cases.
Family Court handles divorce, custody, support, adoption, termination of parental rights, domestic relationships and many juvenile matters. Some records are restricted or sensitive.
Each county has a Probate Court. Probate jurisdiction includes estates, wills, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses and certain involuntary commitment matters.
Magistrates handle summary criminal matters, bail, preliminary hearings, warrants and civil claims within the monetary limit published by the Judicial Branch.
Municipal Courts handle city ordinance and city-level criminal matters. Municipal courts do not have civil jurisdiction, and not every city court record appears in the Public Index.
The Court of Appeals and Supreme Court use C-Track public access for appellate dockets and filed documents, subject to limitations and official-record disclaimers.
How to request certified South Carolina court records
An online index result, docket entry, roster listing or screenshot is not the same as a certified court record. Certified copies come from the official custodian, usually the county Clerk of Court, Family Court clerk route, Probate Court, Municipal Court or appellate clerk.
| Record needed | Likely custodian | What to provide |
|---|---|---|
| General Sessions disposition, sentencing order or criminal docket copy | County Clerk of Court | County, GS case number, defendant name, filing year, document title and whether certification is required. |
| Common Pleas judgment, civil order, complaint or dismissal | County Clerk of Court | County, CP case number, party names, document name, filing year and copy/certification request. |
| Divorce decree, custody order, child support order or domestic case record | Family Court clerk route in the county | County, case number, party names, order date, proof of authorization when required and exact document requested. |
| Estate, will, guardianship, conservatorship or trust record | County Probate Court | County, decedent or ward name, estate number if known, approximate year and exact certified document needed. |
| Municipal ticket, ordinance case or city misdemeanor | City Municipal Court | City, citation number, case number, defendant name, date and requested disposition or certified copy. |
| South Carolina appellate filing, order, opinion or mandate | Supreme Court Clerk or Court of Appeals Clerk | Appellate case number, party names, court, filing year and requested document. |
Save the case number, county, court type, filing year, party names and docket entry you need.
Use the Courthouse Search or county site to verify the clerk, office address, copy rules, current fees and payment methods.
Plain copies, certified copies, exemplified copies and appellate records may have different procedures.
Family, juvenile, sealed, expunged, adoption, mental-health and certain probate-related records may require party status, authorization or a court order.
South Carolina appellate records: C-Track, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
South Carolina appellate records are not searched the same way as county trial court records. Use C-Track Public Access for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals case searches, participant searches and filed documents that are available online.
- Appellate court and appellate case number.
- Lower court and original county.
- Party names and appellate party roles.
- Filed documents, orders, opinions and mandate status.
- Whether a lower-court record or appendix is unavailable online.
Supreme Court Clerk:
1231 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-734-1080
Email: supctfilings@sccourts.org
Court of Appeals Clerk:
1220 Senate Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-734-1890
Email: ctappfilings@sccourts.org
Sealed, restricted, redacted and sensitive South Carolina court records
South Carolina public access is not unlimited. The Judicial Branch warns that online public index data may be inaccurate, delayed or incomplete and should not be treated as the official record of action. It also provides notices about personal identifiers that should not appear in public filings and how redaction may be requested when improper identifiers appear online.
- Family Court cases involving children.
- Adoption and termination of parental rights records.
- Juvenile matters.
- Sealed or expunged criminal records.
- Mental-health or involuntary commitment matters.
- Guardianship and conservatorship records.
- Do not republish Social Security numbers or financial account numbers.
- Do not expose minor children’s names, addresses or school information.
- Do not use automated scraping to collect court data.
- Contact the clerk if you see personal identifiers that should be redacted.
South Carolina federal and bankruptcy records use PACER, not the Public Index
The South Carolina Public Index is for state trial court records. Federal district, federal appellate and bankruptcy records are searched through PACER or the specific federal court. South Carolina has one U.S. District Court district, and the District of South Carolina federal court explains that older record locations depend on the filing period.
| Federal need | Correct route | Important note |
|---|---|---|
| Federal civil or criminal district case | U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina / PACER | District Court records are filed and retrieved by case number. The federal court says party-index research is available at staffed offices, and clerk-performed name searches require a written request and fee. |
| Older District of South Carolina case | District Court records guidelines / Federal Records Center / microfiche / PACER | The District Court describes different locations for pre-1981 files, 1981–1990 civil files, 1981–1992 criminal files and later PACER records. |
| Bankruptcy case | U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina / PACER / VCIS | The bankruptcy court describes CM/ECF, VCIS, WebPacer, the national party/case index and archive routes. |
| Federal appeal from South Carolina federal court | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit / PACER | Use Fourth Circuit PACER resources or PACER Case Locator when you do not know the federal appellate case number. |
- Confirm the case is federal, not state.
- Use case number when available.
- Use the party index or PACER Case Locator when the number is unknown.
- Contact the federal clerk for older files or official copies.
- Use PACER for online docket and document access.
- Use VCIS only for limited bankruptcy case information by phone.
- Check archive instructions for older cases.
- Contact the bankruptcy clerk for certified records.
- Use Case Locator if you do not know the federal court.
- Search a specific federal court if you know the district or circuit.
- Review PACER pricing before opening documents.
- Save the federal case number for future searches.
- Verify the current per-page rate.
- Check the document cap and exceptions.
- Check the quarterly fee-waiver threshold.
- Note the announced temporary fee increase effective January 1, 2027.
What to do if a South Carolina court record does not appear online
- Wrong county selected.
- Wrong court type selected.
- Family Court searched in the trial Public Index route.
- Municipal Court not on the Public Index list.
- Missing leading zero in a county code or case ID.
- Name entered with a different spelling, suffix, maiden name or business abbreviation.
- Record is too new to be indexed.
- File is sealed, expunged or confidential.
- Document image is not available remotely.
- Older file is on microfiche, at the Federal Records Center or held by a local office.
- Record belongs to federal court, not South Carolina state court.
- Certified copy requires a clerk request.
How to read South Carolina docket results without over-interpreting them
A docket is a timeline of court activity, not a background report. South Carolina dockets may show parties, filings, hearings, dispositions, judgments, warrants, orders or transfer information, but one entry rarely tells the whole story.
Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, appellant, appellee, debtor, creditor, decedent, guardian and ward mean different things. A person can appear in a case without being accused of wrongdoing.
Open, pending, closed, disposed, dismissed, transferred, appealed or inactive should be read in context. Do not infer a final outcome from one status label.
For criminal cases, distinguish arrest, charge, indictment, plea, conviction, dismissal, acquittal and sentence. Jail records and court records are separate systems.
Frequently asked questions about South Carolina court records
How do I search South Carolina court records by name?
Start with the South Carolina Judicial Branch Trial Court Case Records Search for available trial court records, choose the correct county, accept the county disclaimer and search by party name or case number when supported. Family Court has a separate public portal, appellate cases use C-Track and federal cases use PACER.
Is the South Carolina Public Index official?
Yes, the Public Index route is provided through the South Carolina Judicial Branch for public trial court case information. The official custodian remains the appropriate clerk or court, and the online index should not be treated as a certified record.
Which South Carolina cases are usually searched through the Trial Court Case Records Search?
Use the trial case records search for county-level public index records such as Common Pleas civil cases, General Sessions criminal cases, Master-in-Equity records and available summary court records. Coverage and document availability can vary by court, county and case type.
Are all South Carolina municipal court records available in the Public Index?
No. The Judicial Branch publishes a Public Index Search Help document listing municipal courts that are on the statewide trial court case management system and available on the Public Index. If the city court is not listed, contact that municipal court directly.
How do I search a South Carolina case number?
Use the exact case number format when possible. The Judicial Branch case-record help page describes General Sessions, Common Pleas and Master-in-Equity numbers as year, court type, county code and case ID, while summary court numbers use year, the letter A, county code and an eight-digit case ID.
Can I get a certified South Carolina court record online?
An online docket or image is not the same as a certified copy. Ask the clerk, probate court or municipal court that keeps the original file for current copy, certification, payment, mailing and pickup instructions.
Where do I find South Carolina divorce or custody records?
South Carolina Family Court handles matters involving marriage, divorce, custody, support, adoption, termination of parental rights and other domestic relationships. Use the Family Court public portal for available records, but expect privacy limits for sensitive family and minor-child information.
Where do I search South Carolina probate records?
Probate matters are handled by the Probate Court in each county. South Carolina probate jurisdiction includes estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, marriage licenses and certain involuntary commitment matters, so contact the county Probate Court for official records and certified copies.
Where do I search South Carolina appellate court records?
Use South Carolina C-Track Public Access for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals case searches. The system includes appellate case and participant search options, but the online display should not be relied on as a certified record of court action.
Where do I search South Carolina federal or bankruptcy court records?
Federal district, federal appellate and bankruptcy records are searched through PACER, not the South Carolina Public Index. Use the District of South Carolina, District of South Carolina Bankruptcy Court, Fourth Circuit or PACER Case Locator depending on the record.
Official-source review checklist
Sources reviewed for this South Carolina court-record guide included the South Carolina Judicial Branch, Trial Court Case Records Search, Public Index Search Help, Case Record Search Help, Courthouse Search, Family Court Public Portal, C-Track Public Access, Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, Municipal Court, appellate clerk pages, District of South Carolina federal court records guidance, District of South Carolina Bankruptcy Court case information and PACER pricing/resources. Review date: August 31, 2026.