A South Carolina criminal record is not one document. It is a stack of records held by different offices, and which one you can obtain depends on who you are and why you want it. That split carries legal weight, since using the wrong paper for a hiring decision can breach federal and state law.
Three systems cover most requests: the county court file kept by the clerk, the state history run by SLED and the federal record held by the FBI. Each answers a different question, and each has its own release rule. This page sets out what separates an arrest record from a criminal record, how the state check is built, and how a removal order reaches each copy.
How to Search South Carolina Arrests
The button below opens the South Carolina Judicial Department at sccourts.org, not the search page. Choose Case Records Search from the menu or the home page link, and the Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org loads with a county list. That index is a court docket, not a criminal history, so each hit is only a starting point. A charge, a plea or a dismissal in sc arrest records needs the underlying document before anyone relies on it.
The steps below cover a name lookup and a county lookup on the court index, and each hit is a starting point rather than a full history.
Open the SC Judicial Branch site
- Open sccourts.org in a new tab: The branch home page, not a county case index.
- Reach the Public Index: Choose Case Records Search; the county field starts empty.
- Set the county and the court type: Pick the filing county, then General Sessions or Magistrate for the charge.
- Search the surname: Type the surname alone; frequent names return long lists.
- Try the spelling variants: Test a middle initial, a maiden name and a roster birth date.
- Read the row and compare the booking date: Match the filing date and charge against an old roster line.
- Ask the clerk and the jail desk: Ask the clerk for a certified disposition, then the jail desk for custody.
Keep in mind: The index records filings rather than outcomes, and a dismissal shows up as an entry instead of a blank. Read the docket lines in order before you decide that a charge is still open, since the last entry usually carries the result.
Arrest Record and Criminal Record Are Not the Same
The two phrases get used as if they described one file, and arrest records are the narrower of the two documents. They describe different products, created at different moments by different offices, and a check that returns one may never show the other. The difference decides which office you write to and which document answers the question. A court file is a public record, and a state history is released only for a purpose set by statute.
What an Arrest Record Holds
An arrest record documents one custody event. It carries the name as typed at booking, the date, the arresting agency, the charge at intake and often a photograph. A bond amount and a release date may appear beside it, yet neither one states the outcome. It exists from the hour of intake, and it exists whether or not a prosecutor ever files a charge against the person named.
The record belongs to the arresting agency and the county detention center, and each keeps its own copy under its own retention schedule. A public roster line usually clears soon after release, and the internal booking record stays far longer. Neither copy states how a case ended, and a court date on the roster marks a hearing rather than a result.
What a Criminal Record Adds
A criminal record tracks a prosecution. It carries the warrant, the charge as filed, the court, the case number, every hearing and the disposition, and it lives with the clerk of court for the county where the case ran. That file is the only place where an outcome appears as a document rather than a summary.
A state criminal history sits above both. It lists arrests and dispositions on one name, drawn from fingerprints, and it is the version an employer or a licensing board usually asks to see. It summarizes a case without holding the pages behind the summary.
| Feature | Arrest record | Criminal record |
|---|---|---|
| Created at | Booking, on the day of custody | Filing of the charge in court |
| Held by | Jail and arresting agency | Clerk of court, plus SLED for the state summary |
| Shows an outcome | No | Yes, as a plea, verdict or dismissal |
| Public view | Roster line during custody, then cleared | Case index, then the file itself |
How SLED Builds the State Check
SLED maintains the state repository from fingerprint submissions that agencies send after an arrest, and from dispositions that courts forward afterwards. The entry is only as complete as the two submissions behind it, which is why the state check and the county file so often disagree about the same person.
Fingerprints and Dispositions
An arrest that produced a print card generates a repository entry. A citation, a summons or an old paper arrest may never have produced one, and a charge with no card cannot be matched by any state search. That gap appears most often with traffic matters and with arrests handled before electronic submission.
A disposition that never reached SLED leaves the entry marked pending, sometimes for years. The charge then looks open in the state history long after a court closed it. Only the clerk can produce the certified disposition that repairs the entry, and only SLED can apply it.
What the Reply Lists
A state reply lists each arrest with the charge, the county, the court, the case number and the disposition. It arrives as a dated document rather than a live screen, and it carries the identifiers used in the search. A prison inmate number does not appear, since that belongs to the Department of Corrections. It does not carry photographs, incident reports or the evidence behind a charge.
A reply that says no record found means no entry matched the identifiers supplied. It does not prove that no arrest ever happened, since a missing print card or a misspelled surname produces the same answer. Ask which identifiers were used before you accept the result.
Where the State Check Falls Short
The repository covers South Carolina arrests and nothing else. A charge from Georgia, North Carolina or Florida stays in that state’s system, and a federal case stays with the federal courts. Anyone who has lived elsewhere needs a second check rather than a wider one.
Name spelling creates the other gap. Intake clerks type quickly, and surnames with double letters or an apostrophe get mangled at the keyboard. A search that returns nothing on one spelling can return a full history on another, so try variants before you trust an empty result.
Fingerprint Checks and Name Checks
Two kinds of check exist for the same repository, and the difference decides how much weight a result carries. One compares text, the other compares a print, and only one of them settles who a record belongs to. The choice decides how long the reply takes and what it costs.
What a Name Check Matches
A name check compares the name and date of birth against the index and returns whatever matches. It is fast, it usually costs less and it can be run online. It is the version most likely to miss a record or to attach a stranger’s case to an applicant.
Employers use it for roles with a statutory purpose, and a person can request their own through CATCH. The reply states the identifiers used, so a reader can see how narrow the match was. A frequent surname with a frequent birth date returns the widest set of possibilities.
What a Fingerprint Check Adds
A fingerprint check compares the print itself, so spelling and birth dates stop mattering. It confirms identity in a way a name search cannot, and it is required for roles with federal or state oversight such as healthcare, education, childcare and some financial work.
Prints are captured at an approved electronic vendor, usually by appointment, and the result returns to the requesting agency rather than to the applicant. A rejected print means a second appointment and a second wait, and a paper card adds weeks to either.
| Check type | Matches on | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Name and birth date | Text fields in the index | Personal copy, low-risk screening |
| Fingerprint | The print itself | Licensed roles, federal purposes |
| FBI print check | Prints held nationally | Roles with federal oversight, immigration |
Background Check Providers and Federal Rules
Most screening runs through a consumer reporting agency rather than a county website. The rules attach to the provider and to the employer, and they apply whether or not the underlying record is accurate. That is why the smallest error in a report can become the employer’s problem.
What a Provider Must Do
The Fair Credit Reporting Act treats a third-party background report as a consumer report. The employer must obtain written authorization, give the applicant a copy of the report before acting on it and offer a chance to dispute errors. A rejection that skips those steps exposes the employer to a claim.
A provider carries a duty of accuracy in the same way. A report that lists an arrest without its disposition, or that keeps an expunged charge, is inaccurate, and a dispute built on a certified order obliges the agency to reinvestigate and correct the file.
What a County Printout Is Not
A roster line pulled from a sheriff’s page is not a consumer report. It carries no disposition, no verification and no notice to the person named, and using it to reject an applicant skips every protection the federal rules provide. The same limit applies to a mugshot directory.
A photograph and a charge at intake describe an allegation, and an allegation is not a finding. A hiring decision built on one rests on weak evidence, and it hands the applicant a straightforward complaint. Screening belongs on a report, not on a screen capture.
What a Screening Report Should Carry
A usable report reads as a record of outcomes rather than a list of accusations. Four fields per case do most of that work, and a report missing any of them invites a dispute. A provider that omits one field usually omits the disposition first.
The Four Fields
Each case should show the charge as filed, the court that heard it, the filing date and the disposition. A report missing the disposition tells a reader that something was alleged and nothing about how it ended, which is the most frequent defect in cheap screening products.
The report should name the identifiers used in the search, usually name and date of birth. Without them, a frequent surname produces a document that cannot be tied to one person. Where a case was dismissed, the report should say so and give the date of the dismissal.
Expunged, Sealed and Juvenile Entries
An expunged charge should not appear at all. A sealed file survives but stays out of public view, and a provider that reports one without a legal basis is overstepping. A juvenile adjudication is confidential in most circumstances, and a product that lists one is likely breaching state law.
A pending charge can be reported during a prosecution, with the outcome left open. Once the case closes, the report should carry the result rather than the original allegation. A report that never updates turns a dismissal into a permanent accusation.
Removing or Sealing a South Carolina Arrest Record
Removal runs on two tracks that people often confuse. One track clears the court file and the agency copies through a statutory order. The other asks a publisher to take down a page that copied the booking entry. The order comes first, since a publisher handling mugshot removal has nothing to act on without it.
Expungement Under Section 17-1-40
SC Code 17-1-40 covers charges that ended without a conviction, and it carries no waiting period. Once the case closes, the arrest record and the associated court file become eligible for destruction, and the person can apply straight away. A dismissal, an acquittal and a nolle prosequi all fall inside the section.
The application goes to the solicitor who handled the case, in the circuit where it was filed. The solicitor reviews eligibility, forwards the approved file to SLED and files the resulting order with the clerk. SLED charges a $250 fee to process the order, and it checks the repository for other entries on the same name before it acts.
A pending charge or an ineligible conviction elsewhere stops the process at that stage. Once the order is signed, the clerk destroys or seals the court file, the arresting agency clears its copy and SLED removes the repository entry. Each agency named in the order has 30 days to carry it out and report back.
Charges Dismissed or Nolle Prossed
A dismissal and a nolle prosequi reach the same place by different routes. A judge dismisses on a motion or at a hearing. A solicitor enters a nolle prosequi when the office decides not to proceed. Both leave a disposition sheet that states the charge, the result and the date.
That sheet is the document the solicitor needs. Order a certified copy from the clerk rather than relying on a printout from the index, since the office will not process an application without a sealed disposition. Where the case ended in a diversion program, the completion paperwork stands in for the dismissal order.
Pardons and Conditional Discharge
SC Code 22-5-910 covers a first conviction where the court granted a conditional discharge, with eligibility beginning three years after the plea or the sentence, whichever came later. SC Code 22-5-920 covers a conviction that occurred before the person turned twenty-five, with a five-year wait from the end of the sentence.
A pardon from the governor opens a route for some convictions that the other statutes exclude. The pardon does not erase the record on its own, but it supports an application under SC Code 17-22-910 and the sections that follow. Pardons are rare, and the paperwork carries weight with a solicitor who would otherwise decline the file.
What Removal Does Not Fix
An order reaches the agencies named in it and nothing else. A newspaper archive from the arrest week stays online, since no state order compels its removal. A background company that bought a copy before the order keeps it until a dispute forces a correction, and a federal charge follows federal rules.
Sealing and destruction differ in a way that matters later. A sealed file still exists, and it can surface in a later sentencing or in a proceeding where the court allows disclosure. A destroyed file cannot be produced at all, which is why the distinction decides what happens when an old charge returns to court.
Immigration consequences can outlast the order too. Federal disclosure obligations can reach past a state expungement, and an attorney should review the file before any application is filed. An expungement does not restore firearm rights in every case either, since federal prohibitions follow a conviction independently of the state file.
Keep in mind: One order covers one charge, so a file with three charges needs three entries, three fees and three reviews. The order must name the arresting agency along with the clerk and SLED, or one copy of the record survives the expungement.
Correcting a State History
Errors in a state history are frequent, and the fix depends on which office made the mistake. A missing outcome and a wrong name look alike on a report, but they are repaired by two different desks. One needs a disposition, and the other needs a print.
A Missing Disposition
The court closed a case, yet the history still shows it pending. The fix starts with the clerk, who supplies a certified disposition. SLED updates the entry once the court forwards the record, and the pending flag disappears from later replies.
Ask the clerk to send the disposition to SLED rather than mailing a copy yourself. An agency-to-agency submission carries more weight than a letter from the person named, and it leaves an audit trail on both sides of the exchange.
An Identity Error
A record attached to the wrong person usually comes from a shared name and a close birth date. The challenge goes to SLED with fingerprints, which separate the applicant from the other person. A certified copy of a dismissal or a name-change order supports the same request.
Where the error sits in a county file, the clerk corrects the case record. Where it sits in an arrest report, the arresting agency corrects its own page. Each office fixes only what it created, and a request sent to the wrong one returns a polite refusal.
Records for Licensing, Housing and Immigration
The same records serve different readers, and each reader wants a different document. A board, a landlord and an immigration lawyer all ask for a certified page rather than a screenshot. Each reader has its own rule about how old the copy may be.
Licensing Boards
A board reviewing a nurse, a teacher or a contractor asks for a certified disposition rather than a summary. The document shows the charge, the plea and the sentence in one sealed page, and it lets the board weigh the case without ordering the whole file.
Order every case at once by case number. A board looks at the pattern rather than a single charge, and a missing case looks worse than a disclosed one. A board with statutory authority can request a state history directly once the applicant signs a release.
Housing Providers
A landlord using a third-party report falls under the same federal rules as an employer, with disclosure and a dispute step. A landlord who reads a county roster directly takes on the risk of mistaking an allegation for a conviction.
An arrest with no disposition should carry no weight in a tenancy decision. A conviction for a serious offence can justify a refusal in some programs, and federal housing rules set their own lookback periods. Ask which record the provider used before responding to a denial.
Immigration Filings
Immigration attorneys ask for the charging document, the plea or verdict record and the sentencing order, usually as certified copies. A dismissal order serves the same purpose where the case ended without a conviction, and a nolle prosequi entry works with the disposition sheet attached.
Expunged records create a complication, since federal disclosure duties can reach past a state order. Counsel familiar with both systems should review the file before anything is filed, and the review should happen before an application is drafted rather than after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Three questions about checks and three about removal cover most of what arrives by email. Each answer points to one office and one document, which is usually enough to start. The detail lives in the sections above, and the summary here is meant to settle a first decision.
Can I obtain my own record for free?
A county file is open to inspection with copying fees, and a state check carries a fee set by SLED.
Does an arrest with no conviction appear?
Often yes, until the charge is expunged or destroyed under state law.
How far back does a state check reach?
The repository carries every fingerprintable arrest on file, with no fixed cut-off. A consumer report may apply a shorter window under federal and state rules.
Is a mugshot site a criminal record?
No, it is a booking photograph with no disposition attached.
How much does an expungement cost?
The $250 SLED fee, a certified copy charge for the disposition and postage, plus legal fees where a lawyer is retained.
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.