South Carolina Criminal History South Carolina Criminal History

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About South Carolina Criminal History

South Carolina criminal records are divided among several government systems. SLED Criminal Justice Information Services maintains the central repository, the South Carolina Department of Corrections tracks state prisoners, and SLED operates the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry. Courts, sheriffs, police departments, and detention centers hold other parts of the record across 46 counties. The purpose of South Carolina Criminal History is to help readers identify the statewide system or county office that holds the record they need.

Why We Built This Site

Public access in South Carolina depends on knowing which agency created the information. SLED's CATCH product draws from the fingerprint-supported state repository. The Department of Corrections has a separate inmate system, the Judicial Branch publishes county case indexes, and the sex offender registry stands apart from all three. Local arrests, bookings, jail rosters, and original case files remain with sheriffs, detention centers, police agencies, and courts. South Carolina Criminal History brings those statewide and county pathways into one reference network, with local contact details, portals, fees, and request methods where they are available.

What You Will Find Here

  • Statewide system details: what SLED CATCH, the corrections locator, the registry, and Judicial Branch searches contain
  • Record guides: how criminal court cases are found and read in South Carolina
  • Official check instructions: the difference between public name searches and authorized fingerprint checks through SLED
  • Record cleanup information: where eligible South Carolina expungement proceedings begin and how relief differs from a pardon
  • County-level routes: local agency information for every South Carolina county

What We Cannot Do

South Carolina Criminal History is a privately run reference site with no connection to SLED, a South Carolina court, a sheriff, a police department, or any other government agency. Its role has firm limits:

  • We cannot provide certified court documents, rap sheets, or other official records
  • We cannot submit an expungement application, FOIA request, or court filing for a visitor
  • We cannot retrieve a criminal record or perform an official check
  • We cannot advise anyone about the legal effect of a charge or case
  • We cannot promise that every government fee, address, or telephone number remains unchanged

Only SLED, the court, or the local office that created a South Carolina record can issue or certify the official copy.

Search Partners

Outside providers power search boxes that appear on some pages. Each provider controls its service, prices, results, and terms. South Carolina Criminal History may receive a referral fee when a visitor follows one of those tools and purchases a service. That support helps fund public access to the reference material, but it does not give us control over a partner's data or charges.