Search Georgetown County Court Records
The main public case channel is the Georgetown County Public Index, which is linked from the South Carolina Judicial Branch case records search and from the county online services page. It is the starting point for many Circuit Court, Summary Court, and roster searches. The Judicial Branch notes that browser cookies, JavaScript, and pop-up exceptions may be needed because case details can open in a separate window.
Use the public index first when the Georgetown County court record is tied to Common Pleas, General Sessions, Magistrate Court, or another public trial-court case. Use the Georgetown docket search when the goal is a court roster or hearing list rather than a full case file. Family Court public matters may also be searched through the FCCMS public portal, while confidential family, juvenile, adoption, abuse-neglect, and sealed matters are not available through open public access.
- Open the Georgetown County Public Index from the Judicial Branch or county online services page.
- Choose the search path that fits the record, such as case number, party name, or court roster.
- Enter the exact case number when known, or search by a party name and narrow by court type or date.
- Review the case summary, docket entries, parties, charges, disposition, judgment, or roster information shown.
- Contact the Clerk of Court for certified copies because online entries are not the same as certified court documents.
The Georgetown County online services page also points users to court case search, docket search, traffic ticket payment, property records, taxes, and FOIA. That page is useful when a record sits in a county department rather than the court file itself.
The county online services page is shown in the manifest image from Georgetown County Online Services.
That county services hub helps separate court case lookup from taxes, land records, and FOIA requests.
Georgetown County Court System
South Carolina uses the Circuit Court as the primary trial court for general civil and criminal matters. Georgetown County is part of Judicial Circuit 15. Circuit Court has two main divisions: Court of Common Pleas for civil cases and Court of General Sessions for criminal cases. Family Court is statewide and handles domestic, custody, support, juvenile, and divorce matters. Probate Court handles estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships, commitments, and related probate matters.
Lower courts matter in Georgetown County court records because many traffic, warrant, bond, preliminary hearing, eviction, small civil, and summary criminal matters begin in Magistrate Court or Municipal Court. Municipal Courts in places such as Georgetown, Andrews, and Pawleys Island handle city or town matters tied to their local police departments. Appeals can move to the South Carolina Court of Appeals and, in selected cases, to the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Case flow: Magistrate Court or Municipal Court › Circuit Court › South Carolina Court of Appeals › South Carolina Supreme Court
| Court | Role | Common Georgetown County records |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | General trial court in Judicial Circuit 15 | Common Pleas civil cases, General Sessions criminal cases, appeals from lower courts |
| Family Court | Statewide family and domestic court | Divorce, custody, support, domestic matters, juvenile matters with public limits |
| Probate Court | County probate and marriage office | Estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships, commitments |
| Magistrate Court | Summary and lower civil court | Traffic, warrants, bond, preliminary hearings, evictions, small civil claims |
| Municipal Court | City and town court | Municipal ordinance, city-police traffic, and local criminal matters |
The official court map for the county appears on the South Carolina Judicial Branch Georgetown County page.
That state court page confirms the county's circuit, courthouse contacts, judges, magistrates, municipal courts, and related court links.
Georgetown County Court Offices
Current Georgetown County court operations are centered at the Georgetown County Courthouse and Judicial Center at 401 Cleland Street, Georgetown, South Carolina 29440. Court users going to Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, the Clerk of Court, the Solicitor, or jury service should verify the department and room before arrival because several offices share the Cleland Street complex. Magistrates and Traffic Court operate from 333 Cleland Street, and Bond Court is tied to the Detention Center on Browns Ferry Road.
Clerk of Court
401 Cleland Street, 1st Floor, Room 115
Georgetown, SC 29440
843-545-3215
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Probate Court
401 Cleland Street, Room 140
Georgetown, SC 29440
843-545-3274
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Magistrates and Traffic Court
333 Cleland Street
Georgetown, SC 29440
843-545-3381
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.
The county court staff directory image comes from Georgetown County Courts.
The directory is a useful cross-check when a court record request depends on the specific department, fax line, or public counter.
Georgetown County Court Record Types
Georgetown County court records include civil filings, criminal case records, family matters, traffic cases, probate filings, lower-court dockets, and court rosters. The Clerk of Court maintains Common Pleas, General Sessions, and Family Court information. Probate Court maintains probate and marriage-license matters. Magistrate and Municipal Courts handle many traffic, bond, warrant, and summary matters before a case reaches Circuit Court or ends in the lower court.
Each record type has a different access path. Common Pleas civil records and General Sessions criminal records usually point back to the Clerk of Court and public index. A traffic ticket may be found in the state traffic-ticket search or a Summary Court docket. A divorce record may involve Family Court public access, but confidential domestic, juvenile, and sealed matters have strict limits. Probate filings use the statewide probate search and the local Probate Court office.
- Civil court records: Common Pleas files for personal injury, medical malpractice, auto accidents, appeals, judgments, and Lis Pendens.
- Criminal court records: General Sessions files for felony and serious misdemeanor cases, with Solicitor involvement.
- Family records: divorce, support, custody, and domestic matters, with confidential categories withheld from public systems.
- Probate records: estate, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage, and commitment records handled by Probate Court.
- Traffic records: Summary Court and some Municipal Court tickets searched through court and state traffic systems.
Georgetown County Court Record Details
A Georgetown County court record can show the case number, filing date, parties, attorneys, court division, charge or cause of action, hearings, motions, docket entries, judgment, disposition, and sentence when those fields apply. Not every case type has the same public fields. Family Court and juvenile matters are narrower. Probate records may focus on estate status, party names, and case type. Jail booking entries are separate sheriff records, not the same as a court judgment.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court's unique file number for search, copying, and docket tracking. |
| Parties | Names of litigants, defendants, petitioners, respondents, or estate parties, subject to privacy limits. |
| Division | The court area, such as Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, Probate, Magistrate, or Municipal Court. |
| Docket entry | A dated action in the file, such as a filing, hearing, order, plea, or judgment. |
| Disposition | The result or status of a case, charge, motion, citation, or claim. |
| Sentence or judgment | The court's final order, sentence, civil award, dismissal, or other case outcome when public. |
Georgetown County Public Access Rules
South Carolina court and county records use more than one public access rule. The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act defines many public records and permits reasonable access and fees for county records. Judicial records can also be governed by Rule 610 requests through the South Carolina Judicial Branch. If a court record is already available through a public court website, Rule 610 may point the requester back to that public system.
Privacy law also matters. The Family and Personal Identifying Information Privacy Protection Act restricts certain personal information and commercial solicitation uses. South Carolina expungement laws in Title 17, Chapter 22 can remove eligible criminal records from public view after the proper process. Juvenile confidentiality rules in Title 63, Chapter 19 limit public access to juvenile court records.
Key access point: Public online records are useful for lookup, but certified copies come from the office that maintains the file.
The county FOIA process is shown in the research through Georgetown County's NextRequest portal and local FOIA page. County FOIA is a fallback for county department records, while court case records generally route through the Judicial Branch, the public index, the Clerk of Court, or the specific court office.
Restricted Georgetown County Records
Not every Georgetown County court record is public. Family Court lists adoptions, abuse-neglect cases, termination of parental rights, juvenile matters under age 17, and cases sealed by Family Court order as confidential categories. Those cases are not available through the Clerk of Court's public access system unless a court order permits access. Juvenile records also have statutory confidentiality protections under South Carolina law.
Sealed and expunged criminal records require special care. A dismissed or expunged matter may no longer appear in ordinary court search results, while an open criminal case may show charges that are not convictions. If access to a sealed file is needed, the proper route is a court order or the procedure stated by the court that sealed the record. County staff cannot ignore a seal just because a requester knows a case number.
Georgetown County Sheriff Records
The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Carter Weaver and publishes sheriff and detention information separately from the court case index. The Sheriff's Office lists its main office at 430 North Fraser Street in Georgetown and the Detention Center at 2394 Browns Ferry Road. Booking and release information is searched through the sheriff roster, while sentenced state-prison inmates are searched through SCDC, and custody notices may be tracked through VINELink.
The sheriff research also documents the Georgetown County Sheriff SC mobile app, with Apple App Store and Google Play listings. The app can be useful for public alerts and sheriff information, but it does not replace the court public index or a Clerk of Court certified copy request. Jail roster details belong with Georgetown County inmate records, while warrant and wanted-person channels belong with Georgetown County warrant records.
The sheriff homepage image comes from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff records can explain custody, booking, bond, or incident channels that do not appear in the court case index.
Georgetown County Marriage and Probate
Marriage licenses in Georgetown County are handled by Probate Court, not the Clerk of Court. The Probate Court page lists estate, commitment, marriage, guardianship, conservatorship, and minor or wrongful-death settlement functions. Marriage license applicants use the county marriage-license process, provide identification, follow the statutory waiting period, and submit the application package as directed by Probate Court.
Divorce records are Family Court records. Public divorce case information may be available through the public family court channel when the matter is not confidential, but certified copies and detailed file access should be handled through the court office. Probate case searching can also use the South Carolina Probate Search, which allows party-name and case-number searches.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out a will and manage estate steps.
- Intestate
- A death without a valid will, which sends the estate through statutory rules.
- Conservatorship
- A probate matter involving management of another person's property or finances.
Georgetown County Court Fees
Fee amounts depend on the office and record type. The research file documents several local fees from county court and FOIA materials. Family Court lists domestic filing, Lis Pendens, motion, copy, and certification fees. Common Pleas lists a civil action filing fee and Lis Pendens amounts. FOIA fees apply to county public-records requests, not necessarily certified court copies. Always match the fee to the office holding the record.
| Item | Amount | Office or source |
|---|---|---|
| Common Pleas civil action filing | $150 | County Common Pleas FAQ |
| Family Court domestic case filing | $150 | County Family Court fee schedule |
| Family Court copies | $0.50 per page | County Family Court fee schedule |
| Family Court certification | $1 | County Family Court fee schedule |
| Clerk file copies | $0.25 per page | County FAQ excerpt |
| County FOIA copies | $0.20 per page | County FOIA fee schedule |
Georgetown County Court History
The county's official history page says the historic courthouse at 129 Screven Street is Georgetown County's second courthouse. It was completed in 1824 after the original courthouse was damaged by two hurricanes. The building was designed by Robert Mills, who is associated with the Washington Monument and other South Carolina buildings. County history notes that Mills designed record storage with thick, vault-like first-floor walls because he believed records storerooms should be fireproof.
The old courthouse was expanded in 1963 and renovated around 2010, when judicial operations moved to the newer Cleland Street Judicial Center. That history matters for record users because older courthouse references may point to Screven Street, while current court operations and most court-record contacts point to Cleland Street. County Council Chambers now use the former grand courtroom in the historic building.
The historic courthouse context is shown in the image from Georgetown County History.
The history page helps explain why older courthouse names and current court-record offices may point to different Georgetown addresses.
Georgetown County Local Context
Georgetown County is a coastal South Carolina county with court users coming from Georgetown, Andrews, Pawleys Island, the Waccamaw Neck, and rural inland areas. The research notes that the courthouse district sits near county offices on Screven Street and the Magistrates and Traffic Court building on Cleland Street. Court visitors should confirm parking, entry, and hearing location before travel because the research did not locate official court-specific parking rates or transit route details.
County population and geography data can also help explain why statewide portals matter. Users may live far from the courthouse or need to check a record before making the drive. The image from Census QuickFacts for Georgetown County is included in the manifest for this page.
Local geography supports the practical value of online court, sheriff, probate, and DMV searches before an in-person request.
Georgetown County Court FAQs
Where are Georgetown County court records searched? Start with the Georgetown County Public Index for public trial-court case searches. Use docket search for rosters, Probate Search for probate matters, FCCMS for public Family Court access, and the sheriff roster for jail booking records.
Who keeps certified court copies? Certified copies come from the office that maintains the file. Common Pleas, General Sessions, and Family Court records route through the Clerk of Court, while probate and marriage records route through Probate Court.
Are Georgetown County Family Court records public? Some public Family Court information can be searched, but adoptions, abuse-neglect, termination of parental rights, juvenile matters, sealed cases, and other confidential files are not open through the public system.
Are arrest records the same as criminal court records? No. Sheriff booking records show custody and charges at booking. Criminal court records show the court case, filings, pleas, motions, disposition, and sentence when the case reaches court.
Where are traffic tickets searched? Many traffic matters use the South Carolina traffic-ticket search and payment portal or Summary Court dockets. Some municipal tickets may remain with the city or town court tied to the issuing agency.
What if the online portal does not show the record? Check the court type, spelling, and date range. Then contact the Clerk of Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, Municipal Court, Sheriff's Office, or Rule 610 channel based on the record type.