South Carolina's court, criminal, vital, property, voter, and licensing records are maintained across state agencies and the 46 counties listed below. Use the tabs to filter by record type, or jump directly to any source.
- Courts: The Supreme Court of South Carolina sits at the top of the system; trial-court business is handled by the Circuit Court (16 circuits), Family Court, Magistrate, Municipal. Most courts publish dockets and case lookups online.
- Criminal history: Official background checks run through the SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED); the South Carolina criminal records page covers the current fee and request process.
- Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the South Carolina Office of Vital Records and may also be available locally.
- Property & recorded documents: Maintained at the county level by the Assessor, Recorder, or Clerk's office.
- Business filings: the South Carolina Secretary of State operates the official business-entity search.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
South Carolina Public Records at a Glance
South Carolina leaves the front door open at the county courthouse: most of the 46 clerks of court publish free case indexes through a shared statewide platform, mapped on our South Carolina court records page. SLED runs CATCH, a public name-based criminal history check that anyone can use online for a fee. Birth and death certificates come from the Office of Vital Records; South Carolina restricts them to close family for the first 100 years. Registers of deeds hold land records county by county, with free search in the populous coastal and upstate counties. A note on names: South Carolina files many court records under the county's judicial circuit, so neighboring counties can share a solicitor and cross-reference cases. 256 official sources below.
Figures reflect sources indexed in this directory and the latest official reports. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
South Carolina Guides
Step-by-step pages for the searches people actually run:
Statewide Databases
256 official South Carolina government databases. Click a tab to filter by record type.