An arrest record in South Carolina begins inside a county detention center, not at a state office. The officer who makes the arrest hands the paperwork to a jail, and an intake clerk types a name, a charge and a booking time into that county’s system. The typed line becomes the entry most people find when they search, and it stays with the county from that moment on.
A second record grows from fingerprints. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division builds a state history from print cards that agencies submit after booking, so the state file and the jail file rarely agree line for line. This page sets out what each record holds, how to search the 46 county rosters by name, and how to order the paper behind the screen.
How to Search South Carolina Arrests
The button below opens sccourts.org, the home page of the South Carolina Judicial Department. Case Records Search sits in the menu and on the page itself, and either route leads to the free public index at publicindex.sccourts.org. That index lists court cases rather than jail bookings, so pair it with a county roster when the question is custody, since sc arrest records split between those two systems.
The steps below cover the public index and a county jail roster, and the same order works for any of the 46 counties.
Open the SC Judicial Branch site
- Open sccourts.org in a new tab: The branch home page, not a single county case index.
- Reach the Public Index: Choose Case Records Search; the county field loads empty.
- Set the county and the court type: Pick the arrest county, then General Sessions or Magistrate for the charge.
- Search the surname: Type the surname alone; a statewide index returns long lists.
- Try the spelling variants: Test a middle initial, a maiden name and a suffix both ways.
- Read the row and compare the booking date: Match the filing date, case number and charge against that county roster.
- Ask the clerk and the jail desk: Call the county clerk for disposition, then the jail desk for custody.
Keep in mind: The index stores a filing date, not an arrest date, and a booking line can clear within days of release. A blank result means the case is missing from that county index, not that no arrest happened.
What an Arrest Record Actually Contains
Four documents travel under the phrase criminal records, and each one sits with a different office. A booking line comes from the jail, an incident report from the arresting agency, a case file from the clerk and a criminal history from SLED. Knowing which paper you need turns a week of phone calls into one written request.
The Booking Line
The booking line is the facility’s record of custody. It carries the name as typed at intake, the date and time of booking, the arresting agency, the charge as received and often a photograph. It proves that a person stood inside the building at a stated moment, and it proves nothing beyond that.
Retention runs short. Most counties drop the public entry days or weeks after release, but the facility keeps its own copy far longer. That split explains a roster that returns nothing a month after a minor arrest, yet the clerk still holds an open file.
The Charge at Intake
The charge on a booking line is the officer’s classification at the moment of arrest. It may cite a state statute, a county ordinance or a city code, and clerks shorten the wording to fit a field. A solicitor reviews the same facts later and can refile under another section or decline the charge.
As a result, a roster charge and a court charge can differ without either being wrong. Quote the statute number when you write to the clerk, since abbreviations such as DUS or CDV carry different meanings from one county to the next.
The Disposition
Only the court file records how a charge ended. A dismissal, a plea, a trial verdict, a conditional discharge and a nolle prosequi each leave a different document, and the certified disposition states the result on one sealed page. That page is what an employer, a landlord or a licensing board will accept.
A criminal history repeats the disposition as a short entry without the paperwork behind it. Where the summary and the court file disagree, the file governs, and a certified copy from the clerk is the fix. Ask the clerk to send the correction to SLED rather than mailing a copy yourself.
| Document | Created by | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Booking line | County detention center at intake | Custody, date, agency and charge at intake |
| Incident report | Arresting police or sheriff | The allegation and the officer’s account |
| Court case file | Clerk of court | Charges filed, hearings, plea and sentence |
| Criminal history | SLED, from fingerprint cards | Arrests and dispositions on one name |
The County Roster System Across 46 Counties
South Carolina has no central arrest repository. Each sheriff decides what to publish, how often to refresh it and how long an entry stays visible, and the result is a patchwork. Four large counties run searchable rosters that update through the day, and several rural counties post a document once a week or answer only by phone.
How a Roster Is Built
A roster is a filtered view of the jail management system, prepared for public release. Staff choose which fields to show, which explains why one county lists bond and another omits it. The line is created at intake, changed when bond is set and cleared when custody ends.
Facilities with heavy volume tend to automate the feed. Smaller ones post a file that a clerk exports each morning, so a Friday arrest may not appear until Monday. Neither method is an archive, and neither replaces the booking record inside the building.
Counties That Answer by Phone
Where no roster exists, the records desk confirms custody from a full name and a date of birth. Staff will not discuss charges, bond or court dates by phone, so keep the question narrow. Ask for the records division rather than the front desk, and call during business hours.
A spoken confirmation is not a document. If you need proof for a court, an insurer or an employer, ask for a custody letter on facility letterhead. That letter states the intake date, the booking number and any release date.
The Facilities That Publish the Largest Lists
Volume follows population, and the biggest rosters belong to the counties that book the most people each night. Six facilities account for a large share of the entries a statewide search turns up, and each one publishes under its own sheriff rather than through a state feed.
Upstate and Midlands
Richland County books into Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia, the county seat, run by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. Greenville County runs its own detention center on the same pattern, and Spartanburg County holds arrests at the Spartanburg County Detention Facility.
All three sit inside busy circuits: the Fifth for Richland, the Thirteenth for Greenville and the Seventh for Spartanburg. A roster search in any of them returns a long list, so bring a date range and a middle initial. Each desk answers a written request when the online list is thin.
Lowcountry and the Coast
Charleston County books into Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston under the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. Horry County holds arrests at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, and York County uses the York County Detention Center in York.
Beaufort County keeps its own facility in Beaufort, and the county sits in the Fourteenth Circuit with Allendale, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper. Each of these offices publishes under local rules, and each sets its own refresh time. A county that posts twice a week still answers the phone every working day.
| Facility | County | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center | Richland | Richland County Sheriff’s Office |
| Al Cannon Detention Center | Charleston | Charleston County Sheriff’s Office |
| Greenville County Detention Center | Greenville | Greenville County Sheriff’s Office |
| J. Reuben Long Detention Center | Horry | Horry County Sheriff’s Office |
| York County Detention Center | York | York County Sheriff’s Office |
| Beaufort County Detention Center | Beaufort | Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office |
The State Repository at SLED
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division keeps the state criminal history, and it assembles that history from fingerprint submissions rather than from jail feeds. An arrest reaches SLED when the arresting agency sends a print card, and the entry changes when a court forwards the disposition. A missing card or a missing disposition leaves a gap that only the county can close.
Fingerprint Submissions
A custodial arrest normally produces a set of prints, captured electronically at the jail and routed to SLED. A citation that releases a person at the scene usually produces none, which is why a traffic charge can sit in the court index and never surface in the state history.
Older arrests processed on paper cards can be absent too, since a card that never reached the repository cannot be searched. When a state check returns nothing but a county file exists, the print submission is the first thing to question.
The CATCH Self-Check
SLED runs a self-check service called CATCH, which lets a person request their own South Carolina record. The reply lists each arrest with the charge, the county, the case number and the disposition, and it arrives as a dated document rather than a screen.
Employers and licensing bodies can request a check for a purpose set by statute, and some roles need a fingerprint-based check rather than a name-based one. A name check matches on name and date of birth, so it can miss a differently spelled entry or return a stranger with the same name.
Where the Two Records Diverge
A jail clears its public line on a local schedule, and SLED keeps its entry until an order removes it. So a roster can be empty for an arrest that still sits in the state history, and a state history can show a charge as pending long after a dismissal.
Neither office can correct the other. The clerk fixes the case record, the arresting agency fixes the print submission and SLED updates what it receives. Send each correction to the office that created the entry, and keep the reply with the case papers. A correction filed in the right place usually shows up in the next reply.
How to Request a Copy of an Arrest Record
The state Freedom of Information Act, at SC Code 30-4-10 and the sections that follow, gives any person the right to inspect public records. That right runs through a written request to the records custodian at the agency holding the document, and the request must describe the record well enough for staff to find it.
What the Request Must Say
Name the exact document, such as the incident report for a stated case number or the booking record for a stated booking number. Add the name as recorded, any alternative spelling used at intake, and a date range even when it is approximate. Close with contact details and a line agreeing to pay copying costs.
Send one request per office, and send it to the right one. A city police department holds the incident report for an arrest inside city limits, and the county jail holds the custody record for that same arrest. A request sent to the wrong office returns a denial that is accurate and useless.
Fees and the Reply Clock
Agencies must answer within ten business days and may extend once with written notice. The clock covers the reply rather than the delivery, so a response quoting a fee starts a second wait. Pay the deposit and the record follows.
Reading a published roster costs nothing. Copies carry a per-page rate set by the agency, and a certified copy costs more, since it carries a signature and a seal. Body camera footage follows a separate schedule and usually needs a specific incident and time window.
Certified Copies Versus Plain Copies
A plain copy serves a personal file. A certified copy serves a bank, a licensing board or an immigration lawyer, since the seal and signature let the recipient verify the page without contacting the clerk. The certification adds a fee and a day or two to the turnaround.
Order the certified version when the document leaves your hands. Order a plain copy when you only need to read the pages, and save the fee for the copy that a third party will inspect. Two certified copies cover a lawyer and an employer without a second trip.
Booking Number, Case Number and Inmate Number
Three numbers describe one arrest, and each belongs to a different office. A booking number comes from the jail and marks one custody event. A case number comes from the court and marks one prosecution. An inmate number comes from the state prison system and marks one sentenced term.
Where Each Number Starts
The booking number is assigned at intake, and its format varies by county. Formats differ from county to county: one office issues a year and a sequence, another adds a facility prefix, and a third recycles the arrest report number. Copy the whole string including letters, since a partial number often returns nothing.
The case number is assigned when the charge is filed, and it usually carries a year, a court code and a sequence. A felony that moves from magistrate to General Sessions can acquire a second number, so ask the clerk which one now controls the file.
Matching a Name to One Person
A date of birth separates people better than anything else, and most booking rosters publish one even where the court index leaves it out. A middle name or a suffix helps, and a booking window of a few weeks removes most of what remains. An address is the weakest test, since renters move and relatives share a surname and a street.
Once a likely case number appears, order the certified disposition. That page carries the name, the charge and the outcome together, and it settles identity better than any list entry. A mugshot shows who stood before a camera, not who was convicted.
What a Roster Line Shows and What It Hides
A published line carries more than a name and a charge, and each field answers a different question. Read the fields in order and the entry tells you which office to call next. A field read out of context produces most of the wrong conclusions people draw from these pages.
Reading the Fields
The name appears as typed at intake, so a middle initial can differ from the warrant, and south carolina mugshots record the spelling used at that desk. The booking date is the date of intake rather than arrest, and an arrest at eleven at night can land under the following day. The agency field decides which records office holds the incident report.
The charge field shows the officer’s classification plus a statute number, and the statute is the reliable part. The bond field shows an amount, a recognizance release or a blank, and a blank usually means no first appearance has happened yet. A status field, where a county publishes one, says whether the person is held, released or transferred.
What Stays Private
The incident narrative stays out, and so does the complainant’s name. A street address is normally withheld, and anything medical stays confidential under facility policy and state statute. A juvenile booking stays off the adult list entirely, and opening that file takes a legal basis most requesters do not have.
What remains is thin by design: a name, a date, a charge and a status. That is enough to confirm custody and to start a records request. It is not enough to judge a case, and it never states an outcome.
Arrests in DUI and Traffic Cases
Driving under the influence is the most requested single charge in the state, and it splits between two systems. The path an officer picks at the roadside decides whether a booking line exists at all, which is why a roster search can come back empty for a charge that is very much alive in court.
Custody Arrests
A DUI arrest that ends in custody produces a booking line at the county jail, a photograph and a bond hearing within a day or two. The entry records the charge at intake, and the statute number is the part to copy.
The criminal case runs in magistrate or municipal court if the charge stays at that level. A separate administrative track runs through the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the deadline to request a licence hearing runs from the arrest rather than from the court date.
Citations and the Licence Track
A DUI charge that begins with a citation produces no booking line, only a ticket with a date in magistrate or municipal court. Traffic matters follow the same split: a speeding ticket stays a court record, and reckless driving or driving under suspension can go either way.
When a roster search returns nothing, check the court index before deciding the record does not exist. Then check the driving record, which carries its own points, suspensions and reinstatement steps. Three systems answer three questions, and a clean result in one says nothing about the others.
Errors, Corrections and Removal
Intake errors are ordinary: a misspelled surname, a transposed birth date, a wrong statute number, a mismatched middle initial. Each one is fixed by the office that created it, and no other office can amend the source. Send a short letter naming the field, the value shown and the value that belongs there.
Fixing an Intake Error
A name spelled wrong at booking is corrected by the jail. A charge recorded under the wrong statute is corrected by the arresting agency. A case number attached to the wrong defendant is corrected by the clerk. Put the correction in writing and keep the reply.
A publisher that copied the entry cannot change the source. It can remove its own page, which is a different remedy with a different standard. Removal from a private page does not touch the court file, and a court order does not bind a publisher.
When an Entry Comes Down
Most public entries clear on their own after release plus a short retention window. Others come down after a court order, a successful correction or a data refresh that drops old rows. None of those events means the case ended, and the clerk’s file outlives every roster.
Where an entry has cleared and the question is historical, the court index is the durable source. Where the question is current custody, a call to the facility settles it in a minute. Do not read a cleared roster as a dismissal.
Three Different States
A cleared roster line, a sealed file and a destroyed file describe three different conditions, and people use the words as if they were one. A cleared line means the facility stopped publishing it. A sealed file survives but is withheld from public view. A destroyed file no longer exists.
Keep in mind: Only an expungement order under SC Code 17-1-40 or 22-5-910 through 22-5-930 reaches an agency record, and the order must name each agency that holds a copy. Removing a page from a private site changes nothing in the court file.
Frequently Asked Questions
The same six questions arrive at every records desk in the state, and most of them come down to which office holds which paper. A short answer here saves a call, and the call saves a wasted written request. The answers below cover search, content and timing in that order.
Is there a statewide arrest search?
No. A state criminal history exists, and it summarizes dispositions rather than listing bookings.
Can I search without visiting the county?
Often yes, since many sheriffs accept written or emailed requests, with identity checks for records that are not fully public.
How long are records kept?
Retention varies by agency. A public booking line can clear within days of release, a case file is kept for years and a felony file far longer.
Can I obtain a record on someone else?
Public records are open to any requester, but juvenile and sealed matters need a legal basis.
Why does the roster charge differ from the court charge?
The roster records the officer’s call at intake, and a solicitor can refile under another section after review.
Timing Questions
A booking line usually appears the same day in a metro county and the next business day elsewhere. First appearance and bond follow within 24 to 48 hours, and a weekend intake can push both to Monday. The incident report is ready within days if the case is no longer under investigation.
The charge is filed or declined weeks later, and a felony can take months to reach indictment. Asking for the disposition during that window returns an open file rather than an outcome. Wait for the plea or the dismissal before ordering a certified copy.
Arrest records are public information and describe an allegation, not a conviction. Every person is presumed innocent until a court finds otherwise. This site is not a consumer reporting agency.