Georgetown County Clerk of Court Office
The primary trial-court records office in Georgetown County is the Georgetown County Clerk of Court. South Carolina does not use a Texas-style district clerk and county clerk split for trial-court files. The South Carolina Judicial Branch and the county both identify Alma Y. White as Clerk of Court. The office is elected countywide for a four-year term and provides administrative support for Common Pleas, Family Court, and General Sessions.
The Clerk maintains records for new civil cases, judgments, Lis Pendens, arbitration actions, attachments, motion hearings, jury and non-jury proceedings, criminal felony and misdemeanor cases, family cases, juvenile cases, and rosters for attorneys. Probate Court remains separate for estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships, and commitments. The Register of Deeds is also separate and should not be confused with the Clerk of Court when a user needs a court case file.
Georgetown County Clerk of Court
Clerk: Alma Y. White
401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor, Room 115
Georgetown, SC 29440
Mail: P.O. Box 479, Georgetown, SC 29442
843-545-3215
Fax: 843-545-3281
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., closed legal holidays
Georgetown County Clerk Record Duties
The Clerk of Court sits at the center of Georgetown County trial-court records because three major divisions route through the office. Common Pleas is the civil side of Circuit Court. General Sessions is the criminal side of Circuit Court. Family Court handles domestic and juvenile matters, with important public-access limits. A user searching for a civil judgment, felony prosecution, divorce file, hearing roster, or certified court copy may need the Clerk even when an online portal shows a case summary.
- Maintains Common Pleas records for civil disputes, judgments, Lis Pendens, arbitration actions, attachments, motions, and lower-court appeals.
- Maintains General Sessions records for felony and serious misdemeanor prosecutions.
- Maintains Family Court records for divorce, custody, support, paternity, annulment, name changes, and related domestic cases.
- Prepares and posts rosters for terms of court and hearing schedules where the county provides them.
- Handles jury and non-jury proceeding records tied to the county trial courts.
Georgetown County's FOIA page is a county administrative records fallback, not a replacement for the Clerk's court-copy process.
The FOIA screenshot matters because it shows a fallback route for county records while court records still need the Clerk, public index, or Rule 610 channel.
Request Georgetown Certified Copies
Certified copies prove that a copy matches the court's official file. They may be needed for appeals, benefits, school, immigration, licensing, name changes, financial transactions, or enforcement of a court order. An online case screen is useful for lookup, but it is not the same as a certified copy from the records office.
- Identify the record type first: Common Pleas civil, General Sessions criminal, or Family Court.
- Search the public case portal or court roster for a case number when the record is public.
- Call or visit the Clerk of Court in Room 115 to confirm copy availability, certification cost, and any access limit.
- Provide party names, case number if known, document name, number of copies, and return contact details.
- Pay the required copy and certification fees using the method accepted by the office.
- For confidential or sealed matters, ask what court order or authority is required before a copy can be released.
Georgetown Clerk Request Fields
No separate Georgetown County Clerk of Court records request form was located in the research. The practical request inventory therefore combines the documented access channels with the information the Clerk needs to locate a file. The county FOIA portal has its own request-description and contact workflow for county administrative records, while judicial records use the public case systems, Clerk contact, or Rule 610 where appropriate.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best when known | Use public index or docket search to identify it for public cases. |
| Party names | Yes | Include full names and any known spelling variants. |
| Court division | Yes | Common Pleas, General Sessions, or Family Court. |
| Document type | Yes | Example: judgment, order, divorce decree, sentencing sheet, or docket entry. |
| Number of copies | Yes | State whether certification is needed. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Phone, mailing address, or email for follow-up. |
| Access authority | If restricted | Needed for sealed, juvenile, adoption, abuse-neglect, or TPR matters. |
Georgetown County Clerk Fees
The fee list below combines the researched Clerk, Common Pleas, Family Court, Register of Deeds, and county FOIA amounts that are relevant when a user is trying to distinguish court-copy charges from other county record charges. Probate and marriage fees are handled on the Probate Court side, and driver records are handled by SCDMV rather than the Clerk.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Clerk file copies | $0.25 per page |
| Family Court copies | $0.50 per page |
| Family Court certifications | $1 |
| Common Pleas civil action filing fee | $150 for most civil actions |
| Family Court domestic case filing fee | $150 unless exempt by judge |
| Family Court motions or RTSC | $25, with no fee for RTSC strictly for child or spousal support |
| Lis Pendens without summons or complaint | $10 |
| Cancellation of Lis Pendens | $1 |
| County FOIA copies | $0.20 per page |
Georgetown Court Access Channels
Online lookup starts with the South Carolina Judicial Branch case records path and the Georgetown Public Index for trial-court cases. Court rosters and docket searches are also linked from Georgetown County online services. Family Court public cases and dockets use the FCCMS Public Access Portal, while confidential Family Court categories are excluded from public access. Attorneys must electronically file Common Pleas pleadings and use attorney credentials for the Family Court attorney portal.
| Record need | First channel | Fallback |
|---|---|---|
| Common Pleas civil case | Georgetown Public Index | Clerk of Court or Rule 610 |
| General Sessions criminal case | Georgetown Public Index | Clerk of Court or Solicitor for prosecution questions |
| Family Court public case | FCCMS Public Access Portal | Family Court or Clerk of Court |
| Court date or roster | Georgetown docket search | Call the division named on the case |
| County administrative record | NextRequest | County FOIA office |
The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator appears in the assigned image set, but it is a federal custody tool and not a Georgetown County Clerk of Court record source.
The image helps separate local Clerk records from federal custody data, which is searched through a different agency.
Georgetown Clerk Online and Mail
Mail requests for Clerk records use P.O. Box 479, Georgetown, SC 29442. In-person service is at 401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor, Room 115. The Common Pleas office also lists phone 843-545-3228 and fax 843-545-3003. General Sessions lists phone 843-545-3054 and fax 843-545-3281. Family Court uses the Clerk phone number, with fax 843-545-3294.
Judicial records that are not available from public court websites may require the South Carolina Judicial Branch Rule 610 request path. The county FOIA and NextRequest tools are valuable for county department records, but court files should start with the court office that maintains the file. For federal appeal records, use the federal court system rather than the Georgetown County Clerk.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is included in the assigned image set and shows the federal appellate track outside the county Clerk's office.
The federal source is relevant for route clarity: county trial-court copies come from Georgetown County, while federal appeals use federal court records.