SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC RECORDS SEARCH



 

South Carolina Public Records

Exceptions listed in the Act include income tax returns, medical records, hospital medical staff reports, scholastic records, adoption records, records of library users, and data relating to public security plans & devices.

Organized below are the most useful of the South Carolina statewide public record resources.  You can also find county and city level records by clicking on the menu tools at left, along with professional and business licenses.

  • Court System - The South Carolina court system has four levels. First are Magistrate and Summary Courts (civil to $7,500, misdemeanors); Municipal Courts (misdemeanors, ordinance & traffic violations); and Probate Court (estates, guardianships, mental & substance abuse commitments). Second are the Family Courts (domestic & juvenile cases), Circuit Courts (common pleas civil, general sessions criminal felony & misdemeanor); and Master-in-Equity Courts (equity matters referred by Circuit Court). Third is the Court of Appeals, which handles appeals from the lower courts. At the top level is the Supreme Court, which reviews decisions from the Court of Appeals by choice, and direct appeals from lower courts by law (death penalty, public utility rates, challenges to statutes & ordinances, elections).  South Carolina Court Records
  • Criminal Records - Ordinance & traffic violations are the responsibility of Municipal Courts. Magistrate/Summary Courts, Municipal Courts, or Circuit Courts may handle misdemeanors. Felony cases are heard in the Circuit Courts only.  For information about how to order official background checks and to access online databases, go to our South Carolina Criminal Records page.
  • Vital Records - Birth, death, marriage & divorce certificates are provided by: South Carolina Office of Vital Records, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 898-3630, Fax: (803) 898-3761.  Visit our Vital Records page for easy access to the Social Security Death Index for South Carolina, historical statewide death indexes, death records, cemetery indexes & obituaries from available counties; marriages from available counties; and divorce court record databases from available counties. Unfortunately, we have not discovered any online databases providing birth records in the state.

Categories

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Most Popular

Public Records

Bankruptcies, Judgments & Tax Liens  Pay Site

Search Systems Premium database of judgments, bankruptcies, and tax liens in South Carolina statewide.

Company Search | Charities

Search South Carolina Secretary of State records for registered South Carolina charities.

Confederate Pension Applications

Search this South Carolina Department of Archives & History database for images of Confederate Pension Applications for the period 1919-1926.

Court Opinions | Supreme Court and Court of Appeals

Use this service to search South Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Judicial Opinions by keyword, text, case number, court type, date range, author, or trial judge.

Court Opinions | U.S. 4th Circuit

U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals opinions for South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Court Orders | All Courts

Search Court Orders in South Carolina from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts, Family Courts, Master-in Equity Courts, Probate Courts, Magistrate Courts, and Municipal Courts.

Court Records | U.S. Fourth Circuit Appeals  Pay Site

Search the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) database for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by case number or keyword to view the courts online case and docket information.

Court Rosters | Circuit Courts

Select a county to search county court rosters (dockets) in South Carolina Circuit Courts.

Criminal Court Journal 1769-1776

Search this South Carolina Department of Archives & History database for Criminal Court Journal records for the period 1769-1776.

Death Records | 1915-1961

South Carolina deaths recorded between 1915 and 1961.

Deaths 1915-1965

Images of South Carolina death records filed between 1915 and 1965.

Hospitalization Statistics

Find out the answers to your questions about hospitalizations in South Carolina by performing simple queries.

Jobs

Job opportunities with the state of South Carolina.

Legislation

Search the South Carolina Legislature for Bills and Acts, and Ratifications by number, sponsor, committee, action, index, subject, status, introduction, Bill summary, or full text.

Legislative Papers 1782-1866

Search this South Carolina Department of Archives & History database for Legislative Papers for the period 1782-1866.

Licenses | Professional, Medical & Business

Search for and verify the status of professional, business, and medical licenses in South Carolina using these free databases. Includes attorneys, CPAs, dentists, physicians, realtors, contractors, banks, credit unions, and more.

Lobbyists

South Carolina Ethics Commission lists of registered lobbyists, principals, and principal contacts, or search by last name.

Maximum Interest Rates

Here's an eye opener for you. This is the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs list by company of maximum interest rates and motor vehicle closing fees.

Missing Children

South Carolina missing children search.

Offenders | Probation & Parole Hearings

Parole and Pardon Hearings index, calendar, and pardon results from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Offenders | Probation & Parole Search

South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services offender search.

Plats for State Land Grants 1784-1868

Search this South Carolina Department of Archives & History database for Plats for State Land Grants for the period 1784-1868.

Restaurant Inspections

Search this South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Food Protections service for food safety inspection results by facility name, street, and city.

State Phone Directory - Agency

Look up a SC state employee phone number by the agency. The lists gives you phone numbers for employees in that agency.

Will Transcripts 1782-1855

Search this South Carolina Department of Archives & History database for Will Transcripts from the period 1782-1855.


South Carolina is located in the southeast United States. The Capital is Columbia and the largest city is Columbia.  The Official Web Site is located at http://sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.  South Carolina is the 24th most populous state in the United States.  The 2014 population estimate is 4,832,482 and the 2010 census population was 4,625,401.  The land area is 30,060.70 square miles and there are 153.9 persons per square mile.

68.3% of the population is White, 27.9% is Black or African American, 5.3% is Hispanic or Latino, 1.5% is Asian, 0.5% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% is Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 1.7% are two or more races. 84.5% are a high school graduate or higher, and 25.1% have a Bachelor degree or higher.

The median home value is $137,400. There are on average 2.55 persons per household, the per capita income is $23,943, the median household income is $44,779, and 18.1% of the persons in South Carolina are considered below poverty level.


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