South Carolina keeps 46 county jails and publishes no statewide mugshot file. A booking made in Columbia sits on a Richland County page and a booking made in Conway sits on a Horry County page, with nothing joining the two. This directory covers 24 of those counties, names the seat, jail and judicial circuit behind each one, and sets out the route from a statewide question to the county roster that holds the answer.
Read four details before you search: the detention centre that holds the record, the sheriff’s office that runs it, the towns whose police departments book into it, and the circuit that hears the case. Those four decide which list to open and which clerk to call when a surname returns nothing. A reader who skips them usually ends up searching the county where the person lives. The sections below follow that order.
How to Search South Carolina Arrests
The search button below opens sccourts.org, the Judicial Branch home page, rather than the index itself. Choose Case Records Search from the menu or the home page link, and the Public Index loads with case entries for participating counties. That index records prosecutions rather than bookings, so pair it with a county roster for a fresh arrest. Neither system covers the whole state in one pass, so sc arrest records stay split between the two systems.
The short list below sets out a name lookup and a county lookup on the state index, plus a note on court types.
Open the SC Judicial Branch site
- Open sccourts.org in a new tab: Load the Judicial Branch home page, not the case index for this directory
- Reach the Public Index: Choose Case Records Search and let the empty county field load, since this directory spans the state
- Set the county and the court type: Pick the county named on the booking, then General Sessions or Magistrate court
- Search the surname: Type the family name alone first, then add the first name and check the county
- Try the spelling variants: Retry the surname with a hyphen, an apostrophe, a middle initial or a suffix
- Read the row and compare the booking date: Copy the case number, charge and filing date, then check the county roster
- Ask the clerk and the jail desk: Call the clerk for the disposition and the jail desk for custody and release dates
Keep in mind: The index lists cases, not custody. A person held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway may have no case entry yet, and an entry dated this morning may describe a charge a solicitor drops next week. Confirm custody with the facility and the outcome with the clerk.
The 24 Counties This Directory Covers
Coverage follows booking volume, interstate traffic and jail size. The 24 counties below carry most of the state’s arrests, and each one has a page here naming its facility, its towns and its circuit. The five tables run from the Upstate through the Midlands to the coast.
The Upstate Along Interstate 85
Five Upstate counties sit on or near Interstate 85, and their rosters carry the heaviest volume outside the coast. Greenville and Spartanburg run searchable pages, and the smaller counties often post a daily export instead of a live database. One drive from the Georgia line to Spartanburg crosses four of them.
| County | County seat | Circuit | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson | Anderson | Tenth | Upstate |
| Greenville | Greenville | Thirteenth | Upstate |
| Oconee | Walhalla | Tenth | Upstate |
| Pickens | Pickens | Thirteenth | Upstate |
| Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Seventh | Upstate |
The Greenville County Detention Center and the Spartanburg County Detention Facility each take prisoners from several city departments. A Greer arrest can land in either facility, since the city sits on the county line. Read the agency line before you choose a roster.
The Charlotte Line and the Lakelands
Five more Upstate counties sit off that corridor, along the North Carolina line and the Lakelands. York and Lancaster feed the Charlotte commuter belt, and Chester sits between Columbia and Charlotte on Interstate 77. Greenwood and Laurens draw traffic from US-25 and Interstate 26.
| County | County seat | Circuit | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | Chester | Sixth | Upstate |
| Greenwood | Greenwood | Eighth | Upstate |
| Lancaster | Lancaster | Sixth | Upstate |
| Laurens | Laurens | Eighth | Upstate |
| York | York | Sixteenth | Upstate |
The York County Detention Center in York holds the Rock Hill and Fort Mill arrests, and its list grows on weekday evenings. Chester and Lancaster post a shorter list, often on the next working day after a weekend. A Friday arrest in either county can wait until Monday for a public entry.
The Midlands From Columbia to the Savannah River
Six Midlands counties cover the centre of the state, from the Savannah River to the Wateree. Richland and Lexington share the Columbia metro, and their two rosters see the busiest nights in the region. Aiken, Kershaw, Orangeburg and Sumter each anchor a smaller circuit.
| County | County seat | Circuit | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aiken | Aiken | Second | Midlands |
| Kershaw | Camden | Fifth | Midlands |
| Lexington | Lexington | Eleventh | Midlands |
| Orangeburg | Orangeburg | First | Midlands |
| Richland | Columbia | Fifth | Midlands |
| Sumter | Sumter | Third | Midlands |
The Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia takes city and county arrests alike, and the Richland roster clears entries quickly after a bond release. Kershaw books into the Kershaw County Detention Center in Camden, about thirty miles east on Interstate 20.
The Lowcountry and Pee Dee Counties
Nine counties close the list, along the coast and the Pee Dee river basin. Their rosters move with the tourist season and with interstate traffic, and two of them sit on the Georgia line. The same four-part page order applies to each one.
Lowcountry Rosters From Charleston to the Georgia Line
Charleston and Berkeley share the Ninth Circuit and the port traffic. Beaufort and Jasper sit on the Savannah River, and Dorchester carries the Summerville growth along Interstate 26. A single city name can point to three of these counties, so the agency line decides.
| County | County seat | Circuit | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort | Beaufort | Fourteenth | Lowcountry |
| Berkeley | Moncks Corner | Ninth | Lowcountry |
| Charleston | Charleston | Ninth | Lowcountry |
| Dorchester | St. George | First | Lowcountry |
| Jasper | Ridgeland | Fourteenth | Lowcountry |
The Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston holds Charleston County prisoners, and the Beaufort County Detention Center in Beaufort covers the Hilton Head traffic on US-278. Jasper books into the Jasper County Detention Center in Ridgeland, a short drive from the Interstate 95 corridor.
Pee Dee and Grand Strand Rosters
Three counties sit along the Pee Dee river basin and the beach strand. Florence and Darlington meet at the junction of Interstate 95 and Interstate 20. Horry carries Myrtle Beach and the summer population spike, and its roster is the longest on the coast in July.
| County | County seat | Circuit | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington | Darlington | Fourth | Pee Dee |
| Florence | Florence | Twelfth | Pee Dee |
| Horry | Conway | Fifteenth | Grand Strand |
Two Pee Dee jails anchor this end of the map. Horry County’s J. Reuben Long Detention Center sits outside Conway, and the May and September motorcycle rallies swell its population for two weeks at a stretch. Florence County keeps its own facility a few streets from the Twelfth Circuit courtroom. A Myrtle Beach arrest and a Florence arrest land in separate buildings, each with its own records desk and posting schedule.
How the County Pages Are Organised
Every county page follows the same four-part order, so a reader who has used one page can move through another without starting over. The order runs from the physical facility to the case file. Each block answers one question and names the office that holds the answer.
The Facility Block
The first block names the jail that holds pretrial detainees, the agency that runs it and the towns whose police departments deliver prisoners there. Richland County names the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia. Charleston County names the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston.
That block matters since a city arrest lands in a county facility. A Columbia police arrest books into Alvin S. Glenn, and the county page carries the entry though a city officer made the arrest. The same pattern holds in Greenville, Spartanburg and York.
The Local Detail Block
The second block lists the towns, the unincorporated communities and the highway corridors inside the county line. Roads show volume: a county on Interstate 95 sees more out-of-state drivers than a county on a two-lane route. The detail settles a split city too, such as Summerville across Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston.
Clemson straddles Pickens and Anderson, and Greer sits on the Greenville and Spartanburg line. A reader who knows only the city name needs that split detail before opening a roster. The county page names both sides and the agency that books each one.
The Search and Case Blocks
The third block covers the roster itself: the fields it accepts, the format it uses and the hour it usually refreshes. A vendor portal accepts a partial surname and returns suggestions. A daily export needs an exact spelling, and a scanned list needs a reader’s eye and a date.
The fourth block moves to the clerk of court for the outcome. A booking record stays with the jail and carries a release date once custody ends, and the case file continues for months. The county page names the courthouse, the circuit and the index that holds the docket.
Moving From the Statewide List to a County Roster
A statewide list is a starting point rather than an answer. Three moves take a reader from a name on a general page to the county file that holds the record, and each move narrows the field. Work them in order when you search arrest records, since each one depends on the one before.
Fix the County First
Start with the arrest location, since the arresting agency follows geography. A stop on US-501 near Conway belongs to Horry County, and a stop on US-278 near Bluffton belongs to Beaufort County. The county where the person lives is a guess, and the county where the arrest happened is a fact.
Paperwork settles it faster than memory. A citation, a bond receipt or a property slip carries a department name, and a department name maps to one county. Where no paper exists, work backward from the last known address and check the neighbouring counties too.
Match the Roster Format
County rosters come in three formats, and the format decides how a search behaves. A vendor portal queries a live database and clears an entry within minutes of a release. A daily export is accurate as of the export time printed at the top of the page.
A scanned list is an image of a page, so no search box works and every name must be read by eye. Download the file and use the browser find function on the surname. Where the scan carries no text layer, read the entries in date order and stop at the target day.
Take the Name to the Clerk
The roster answers who was booked and on what charge. The clerk answers what happened next, and that file starts with a case number rather than a booking number. Ask the clerk’s office for the index entry by name, county and approximate filing date.
A disposition can take months, and a first appearance is not a disposition. The clerk’s file shows the plea, the sentence, a dismissal or a nolle prosequi entry. A solicitor may decline the charge before any hearing, which closes the file with a notation.
The Circuits Behind the Busiest Counties
South Carolina groups its 46 counties into 16 judicial circuits. The three below carry the counties with the largest booking counts, and the circuit decides which solicitor reviews a case and which courthouse hears a felony. Knowing the circuit saves a call to the wrong clerk.
Richland and Kershaw in the Fifth
The Fifth Circuit pairs Richland County with Kershaw County. Felony files from Columbia and Camden reach the same solicitor’s office, and General Sessions hears them in the circuit’s courthouses. A charge filed in Columbia stays inside that circuit through appeal.
Richland books into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, and Kershaw books into the Kershaw County Detention Center in Camden. A reader who confuses the two towns loses a day, since the facilities sit about thirty miles apart on Interstate 20 and US-1.
Charleston and Berkeley in the Ninth
The Ninth Circuit covers Charleston and Berkeley, the two busiest coastal counties. The Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston holds Charleston County prisoners, and the Berkeley County Detention Center in Moncks Corner holds Berkeley County prisoners. Both feed the same circuit court calendar.
North Charleston spreads across three counties, so a single city address can produce a booking in Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester. The agency named on the paperwork decides which roster to open, and the circuit decides which courthouse hears the case.
Greenville, Spartanburg and York
Three circuits cover the Upstate’s largest counties. The Thirteenth pairs Greenville with Pickens, the Seventh pairs Spartanburg with Cherokee, and the Sixteenth covers York with Union. Each runs its own solicitor’s office and its own General Sessions calendar, so a phone call lands in a different building depending on the county.
The jails follow the same lines. The Greenville County Detention Center, the Spartanburg County Detention Facility and the York County Detention Center each publish a roster, and each takes prisoners from several city departments. A Greer arrest can land in Greenville or Spartanburg.
Why 22 Counties Have No Page Here
The other 22 counties publish through their own sheriff and clerk offices, and their booking counts are small enough that a single page would repeat the same sentences with a new name. A thin page helps nobody and makes the useful pages harder to find. The gap is a coverage choice, not a claim that nothing happens there.
The Coverage Choice
Population, interstate mileage and jail size decide the list. A county with one detention centre and a few dozen intakes a month produces less search demand than a county that books hundreds each week. The 24 pages here answer the queries that arrive most often.
A page for every county would blur the detail that makes these pages useful. Each page names a facility, a circuit and a set of towns, and that local material is the reason to open one. Spreading the same words over 46 pages would thin all of them.
How to Search an Uncovered County
A reader with an arrest in Allendale, McCormick or Lee County still has a route. Call the county sheriff, ask for the detention centre records desk, and request the booking by name and date. The booking line is a public record in most counties during custody, and the state records law gives the office ten business days to reply. Most offices answer far sooner.
The Public Index covers case entries for those counties where the clerk participates, so a prosecution can be found even when no roster page exists here. Start with the index, then call the jail for custody. Two calls settle most questions about a county outside this list.
What Each Region’s Roster Looks Like
Publication speed follows staffing rather than population alone. A county with a records clerk on every shift posts within hours, and a county with one clerk posts on business days. The pattern below holds for most weeks of the year.
Upstate and Midlands Rosters
Greenville and Spartanburg run the fastest Upstate pages, and both refresh through the working day. Anderson and York follow on a daily schedule, and their lists usually carry a custody status field. Oconee, Pickens, Laurens and Greenwood post a shorter list and update it less often.
Richland and Lexington carry the Midlands volume, and both pages update often enough that a morning check and an evening check return different counts. Kershaw and Sumter post on business days, and their lists stay short enough to read in full.
Coastal Rosters
Charleston and Horry run the longest coastal lists, and the Horry count climbs between May and September. Berkeley and Dorchester post daily, and Beaufort posts a list that grows with the Hilton Head season. Jasper runs the smallest roster on the coast.
Storm weeks distort the pattern. An evacuation order empties the barrier islands and fills the roads, and a coastal roster can grow for two days and then go quiet. Check the facility directly during a named storm, since the public page may lag the internal system by a day.
Keep in mind: A roster that looks thin on a Monday morning often reflects a quiet weekend rather than an empty jail. Compare two checks a day apart before you read anything into the number, and call the records desk when the question is custody rather than history.
Where the Statewide Systems Stop
Four state systems cover part of the ground, and none of them replaces a county roster for a fresh arrest. Each one answers a narrower question, and a reader who expects more wastes a search. The limits below apply to every county in the state.
The Public Index Covers Cases
The Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org holds case entries for participating counties, organised by county and court type. It shows filings, hearing dates and dispositions for cases that have reached a court. Coverage varies by county, and a few still require a counter visit.
The index does not show a booking photograph, a housing unit or a bond amount set at a first appearance. It does not show a charge that a solicitor declined before filing either, and an expunged charge leaves no trace at all. Use it for the outcome, and use the roster for the intake.
The Prison Locator and VINELink
The Department of Corrections at doc.sc.gov runs the state inmate locator, and it holds people serving a sentence in a state prison. It does not hold a person awaiting trial in a county jail, which is where most fresh bookings sit. A search there returns nothing for a pretrial detainee.
A free VINELink account at vinelink.com sends a message when a jail or prison changes someone’s custody status. Many county facilities take part, and the alert arrives after the change rather than at booking. Register only once the person is confirmed held, and treat the message as a prompt to call the facility.
Mistakes That Send a Search to the Wrong County
Most empty results come from a wrong assumption rather than a missing record. Three mistakes account for the largest share, and each one has a simple fix. Check the three below before you decide that a recently booked entry is missing from the page.
City Limits and County Lines
A city police department books into the county jail, so the county roster carries the entry with the city agency named. Summerville spreads across Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston, and Clemson sits on the Pickens and Anderson line. Check each county the city touches.
The arrest location decides the agency, and the agency decides the county. A stop inside a city limit belongs to the city department, and a stop on the county road just outside belongs to the sheriff. The two can deliver to different facilities on the same night.
How Long a Statewide Entry Stays
A bond release clears a small county’s roster within days, and a metro county clears it within hours. A Friday arrest and a Saturday release can leave nothing visible by Monday, yet the case file stays open for months. A background check months later finds the court file and not the roster line. An empty roster is not an empty courthouse.
Each sheriff sets how long a booking stays posted, and no state statute sets the clock. Few counties spell the policy out on their site. When a page shows nothing, call the records desk and ask whether the entry was cleared and on what date. A clerk can still confirm that a booking happened.
Citations and Federal Custody
A traffic citation issued at the roadside creates a court record with a scheduled date and no arrest record, and the driver goes home. No photograph is taken, no intake happens and no roster entry appears. A criminal summons served in person follows the same path, though a warrant usually ends at a county jail with a booking.
A federal arrest sits outside the county system entirely. The person appears in the federal index and on no county roster, even when federal agents made the arrest on a South Carolina street. Check the federal system before you conclude the county lost the entry.
Where to Start on This Site
Three routes cover almost every visit, and each one begins with a different question. Pick the route that matches what you already know, whether that is a county name, a surname or a court date. A wrong start costs one search, and a wrong county costs several.
If You Know the County
Open that county’s page and read the facility block first. It names the jail, the agency that runs it and the towns that book into it. Then search the roster by surname and a three-day range around the arrest date. Copy the booking number before you leave, since a records request moves faster with it.
If You Only Know a Name
Work from the address history, the arrest location or the agency on any paperwork. Check the two or three counties the person moves through, starting with the one where the arrest likely happened. A name search across the whole state does not exist, so the shortlist is the method.
If You Need the Case Outcome
Go to the Public Index with the name, the county and an approximate filing date. Look for a General Sessions file for a felony and a Magistrate file for a misdemeanour. Where the index shows nothing, call the clerk and ask whether the county participates.
Every entry described on this site records an allegation at a moment in time. A charge at intake is not a finding of guilt, and a photograph proves identity rather than conduct. The case file is the only document that settles what happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Four questions cover the shape of the statewide list. The answers show where the photographs sit and how to reach the county that holds one.
Is there one statewide mugshot database?
No state agency publishes booking photographs in one place. Each sheriff or police department releases its own images, and the county roster is where they appear.
Which counties appear in this directory?
Twenty-four counties have a page, covering the Upstate, the Midlands, the Pee Dee and the coast. Each one names its jail, its seat and its judicial circuit.
How do I move from this list to a county?
Open the county page and read the facility block first. It names the jail, the sheriff and the towns that book into it, which tells you where the record sits.
Does a photograph show the current charge?
The image shows the person at intake, and the charge beside it can change after a review by the solicitor. Confirm the current count at the clerk of court.
Where does a Conway arrest appear in this directory?
A Conway arrest appears on the Horry County page. The county roster is the place to look, since Horry holds its prisoners at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center outside Conway. Open that page and read the facility block before you search by name.
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.