Georgetown County Circuit Court Overview
South Carolina's Circuit Court is the state's general jurisdiction trial court. It has a civil side called the Court of Common Pleas and a criminal side called the Court of General Sessions. Georgetown County is in Judicial Circuit 15. The main court-record destination is the Georgetown County Courthouse and Judicial Center at 401 Cleland Street, where the Clerk of Court, Common Pleas, Family Court, General Sessions, Probate Court, Solicitor, and jury service contacts are tied to the court complex.
The county's court map includes more than one court level. Family Court is a statewide trial court for divorce, custody, support, juvenile, adoption, domestic abuse-related matters, and other family jurisdiction. Probate Court handles estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships, commitments, and minor or wrongful-death settlements. Magistrate Court and Municipal Court handle summary criminal and traffic matters, warrants, preliminary hearings, bond, evictions, small civil claims, and city or town cases.
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina appears in the assigned image set, but federal district court is separate from Georgetown County Circuit Court.
The screenshot helps separate state Circuit Court access from federal litigation, which uses a different courthouse system and record platform.
Georgetown County Circuit Court Offices
Georgetown County does not have a list of numbered district courts like some states. For PHASE-B's required court table, the local equivalent is a full table of the Circuit Court divisions and related trial-court offices that route Georgetown County court users to the right counter. The Clerk of Court is the records point for Common Pleas, General Sessions, and Family Court, while Probate and Magistrate offices have separate contacts.
| Court or office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown County Courthouse / Judicial Center | Main court site, Judicial Circuit 15 | 401 Cleland Street, Georgetown, SC 29440 | Various offices |
| Clerk of Court | Common Pleas, Family Court, General Sessions records | 401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor Room 115; mail P.O. Box 479 | 843-545-3215 |
| Court of Common Pleas | Civil Circuit Court | 401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor Room 115; mail P.O. Box 479 | 843-545-3228 |
| General Sessions | Criminal Circuit Court | 401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor Room 115; mail P.O. Box 479 | 843-545-3054 |
| Family Court | Domestic and juvenile court | 401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor Room 115; mail P.O. Box 479 | 843-545-3215 |
| Probate Court | Estate, marriage, guardianship, conservatorship, commitment | 401 Cleland Street, Room 140; mail P.O. Box 421270 | 843-545-3274 |
| Magistrates / Central Traffic Court | Summary criminal, traffic, small claims, warrants, bond | 333 Cleland Street; mail P.O. Box 807 | 843-545-3381 |
| Solicitor | 15th Circuit prosecution office | 401 Cleland Street; mail P.O. Box 1688 | 843-545-3169 |
Circuit Court vs Lower Courts
Georgetown County Circuit Court records should not be mixed with Magistrate Court or Municipal Court records. The case may start in a summary court for bond, warrant, preliminary hearing, small civil claim, eviction, ordinance, or traffic purposes, then move to another court if the charge or claim belongs there. Appeals from lower courts can also reach Common Pleas.
| Point | Circuit Court | Magistrate Court | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General civil and criminal trial court through Common Pleas and General Sessions | County summary court for lower-level criminal, traffic, warrants, bond, preliminary hearings, evictions, and small claims | City or town court for municipal and city-police matters |
| Civil limit | General civil jurisdiction and lower-court appeals | Claims of $7,500 or less | Municipal scope, not the main civil trial court |
| Criminal jurisdiction | Felony and serious misdemeanor prosecutions in General Sessions | Offenses punishable by up to a $500 fine plus assessments/costs or 30 days imprisonment, or both | Municipal ordinance and city-police traffic or criminal matters |
| Family cases | Family Court is separate but uses the Clerk's records counter | No general divorce or custody jurisdiction | No general divorce or custody jurisdiction |
| Record access | Georgetown Public Index, rosters, Clerk of Court, Rule 610 as needed | Public Index or Magistrates / Traffic Court contact | Municipal court contact, with some municipal records in Public Index |
Georgetown County Case Flow
A case can move through the Georgetown County court system in different ways depending on case type. A civil case may begin in Common Pleas, or it may arrive as an appeal from a lower court. A criminal matter may begin with arrest, bond, and warrants in Magistrate or Municipal Court, then proceed in General Sessions if it is a Circuit Court prosecution. Family Court and Probate Court use separate tracks for domestic and probate matters.
Criminal flow: Arrest or warrant › Bond Court or Magistrate step › Solicitor review › General Sessions filing › arraignment or plea stage › hearings or trial › disposition and sentencing › appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition › answer › motions › discovery › mediation where required › hearing or trial › judgment › post-judgment action or appeal.
Probate flow: Estate or protective filing › informal processing when uncontested or formal summons and petition when disputed › fiduciary appointment › administration › closing or further court orders.
Georgetown Circuit Court Divisions
Common Pleas handles civil disputes such as automobile accident cases, medical malpractice, personal injury, civil claims between parties, judgments, Lis Pendens, arbitration actions, attachments, motions, orders, and lower-court appeals. Attorneys must file Common Pleas pleadings electronically. The county Common Pleas page also notes that cellular telephones, beepers, pagers, and similar items are not allowed in the courtroom.
General Sessions is the criminal Circuit Court division for felony and serious misdemeanor prosecutions. The Georgetown County Solicitor is Jimmy A. Richardson II, whose office is at 401 Cleland Street with phone 843-545-3169. Family Court is not a Circuit Court division, but it is a major trial-court record source at the same Clerk counter for divorce, custody, support, paternity, name change, and related domestic matters. Confidential Family Court categories are not public.
The federal District of South Carolina divisions page is another assigned image source and should be read as federal context, not county Circuit Court venue.
The federal division image reinforces the need to keep county Circuit Court records separate from federal district records.
Judicial Circuit 15 Records
Georgetown County is part of Judicial Circuit 15. The South Carolina Judicial Branch county page lists Circuit Court resident judges including Benjamin H. Culbertson at the Georgetown address, with other 15th Circuit judges tied to Horry and Conway addresses. It also lists Family Court resident judge Jan B. Bromell Holmes at 401 Cleland Street, Suite 238. The county court directory and Judicial Branch page should be checked before travel because judges, rosters, and courtroom assignments can change.
For online Circuit Court case access, use the Georgetown Public Index and docket or roster search. For court dates, rosters are safer than relying only on a case-history screen. For certified copies, use the Clerk of Court. For a judicial record that is not available from a public court website, the South Carolina Judicial Branch Rule 610 request path may apply.
Georgetown County Lower Courts
Magistrate structure in Georgetown County includes six magistrate courts and Central Traffic Court. The main Magistrates / Traffic Court contact is 333 Cleland Street, Georgetown, SC 29440, with mailing address P.O. Box 807, Georgetown, SC 29442, phone 843-545-3381, fax 843-545-3394, and hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bond Court is at the Detention Center on Browns Ferry Road and is held twice daily.
Municipal Court records may involve Andrews Municipal Court, Georgetown Municipal Court, and Pawleys Island Municipal Court. Georgetown Municipal Court is at 2222-B Highmarket Street, Georgetown, SC 29440, phone 843-545-4020. Andrews Municipal Court is at 101 North Morgan Avenue, Andrews, SC 29510, phone 843-264-8666. Pawleys Island Municipal Court is at 14363 Ocean Highway, Pawleys Island, SC 29585, phone 843-237-1698.
Note: Some municipal records are available through the state Public Index, but not every municipal court record will appear there.
Federal Court Record Routes
Federal records are outside Georgetown County Circuit Court. The Florence federal courthouse page identifies the McMillan Federal Building as a federal courthouse location for the District of South Carolina, and PACER is the federal system for online case access. Bankruptcy cases use the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. Appeals from federal district court route to the Fourth Circuit, not to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
The Florence federal courthouse page is included in the assigned Circuit Court image set.
The courthouse image is useful for users who have a federal case rather than a Georgetown County state-court case.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for South Carolina handles bankruptcy records, not county Circuit Court case files.
Bankruptcy records follow the federal bankruptcy court path and should not be requested from the Georgetown County Clerk as a Circuit Court file.
PACER is the assigned federal case-access image for online federal records.
PACER is relevant only after the record is identified as federal, so it should not replace the Georgetown Public Index for local Circuit Court files.
The PACER Case Locator is the assigned federal locator source for finding federal cases across court districts.
The Case Locator image completes the federal fallback chain for records that do not belong in South Carolina state trial court.