Beaufort County Criminal History Records

Beaufort County Clerk of Court

Jerri Ann Roseneau is the elected Clerk of Court for Beaufort County. Her office is at 102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208, Beaufort, SC 29902. The mailing address is Post Office Drawer 1128, Beaufort, SC 29901. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The Clerk maintains General Sessions criminal case files, Common Pleas civil records, and Family Court documents for the 14th Judicial Circuit. Beaufort County is one of the circuit's most active counties given its rapid population growth.

The General Sessions division handles criminal records and can be reached at (843) 255-5057. The Common Pleas division is at (843) 255-5050. Both use the fax number (843) 255-9412. Email for Common Pleas inquiries is coccp@bcgov.net. Roster questions and general Clerk inquiries can go to jroseneau@bcgov.net. The Master in Equity is Judge James J. Wegmann, and his assistant Heather McLeod can be reached at (843) 255-5710.

Certified copy fees in Beaufort County are $5.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page. Search and retrieval fees run $20 per hour after the first hour. Contact the appropriate division before visiting to confirm current rates and whether the file you need is on-site or in off-site storage.

The Beaufort County Clerk of Court official website lists department phone numbers, staff contacts, and notices about court services including the jury duty scam warning.

The Clerk's site is useful for verifying division contacts and understanding the scope of records maintained before visiting in person.

Note: The FOIA coordinator for Beaufort County government records is Sarah Brock, at 100 Ribaut Rd., Beaufort, SC 29901, phone (843) 255-2180, email sbrock@bcgov.net.

Criminal History Records in Beaufort County

Beaufort County criminal records cover a wide range of cases. The General Sessions Court handles all felony prosecutions and serious misdemeanors. Cases are prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor, whose territory covers Beaufort, Allendale, Hampton, Colleton, and Jasper counties. Given Beaufort County's status as one of the fastest-growing counties in South Carolina, the volume of criminal cases is substantial.

Each General Sessions case file held at the Clerk's office includes the indictment or arrest warrant, all motions and responses, the plea agreement or trial verdict, and the final sentence sheet. These records are public and can be viewed at the courthouse. Certified copies are available for the fee schedule noted above. The Public Index provides free online access to basic case data.

Beaufort County also has two active municipal courts. The Bluffton Municipal Court is at 4819 Bluffton Parkway, Bluffton, SC 29910. The Hilton Head Island Municipal Court is at 539 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928. Records from municipal courts are held by those municipalities rather than the county Clerk. Under Section 23-3-115, disposition data from Beaufort County courts is reported to SLED on the required schedule. A SLED CATCH search will reflect most Beaufort County cases but may lag behind very recent court actions.

Records expunged under Section 17-1-40 are removed from public access. Juvenile records are confidential. Sealed records do not appear in the Public Index or at the Clerk's office counter.

Beaufort County Public Index

The Beaufort County Public Index is hosted by the SC Judicial Branch and provides free online access to court case information. It is available at all hours without a login. You can search by name, case number, or date range and filter by case type including General Sessions, Common Pleas, and Family Court.

Results for each case show filing date, case number, charges with statute citations, court hearing dates, continuances, case status, and assigned judge and attorneys. This is often sufficient to confirm whether a case was filed and how it resolved. Physical documents such as orders, motions, and exhibits are not posted online. Obtaining copies requires a visit to the Clerk's office at 102 Ribaut Road.

Beaufort County's Public Index is one of the more frequently used in the 14th Circuit given the county's population size. Searches often return multiple results for common names. Refine searches with date ranges or case type filters to narrow results. Court rosters for upcoming Beaufort County hearings are available at publicindex.sccourts.org/beaufort/courtrosters/.

Note: Records from Bluffton and Hilton Head Island municipal courts are not included in the county Public Index. Contact those courts separately for municipal criminal records.

Beaufort County Sheriff's Office Arrest Records

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is at 2006 Hampton Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. The main phone number is (843) 255-5200. The non-emergency line is (843) 255-3200. The Detention Center is at 1001 Boundary Street, Beaufort, SC 29902, holds approximately 300 inmates, and offers online inmate search through the Sheriff's website at bcssc.org.

The Records Division handles incident reports, accident reports, arrest records, and warrant inquiries. To request records, visit in person, present valid ID, complete the request form, and pay the applicable fee. The office processes requests as quickly as staffing allows. Warrant inquiries should go to the Warrants Division at (843) 255-3200. For formal background checks, the Sheriff's office refers people to SLED CATCH.

The Sheriff's Office has a dedicated Criminal Investigations division and a Special Operations unit in addition to the standard Patrol and Detention Center divisions. The Records Division can confirm whether incident reports exist for a specific event, but full case files may require a separate request from the Clerk of Court if the matter went to court.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office website offers online inmate searches and detailed information about Sheriff's divisions and services.

The site includes community resources, warrant division contact information, and the online inmate roster updated throughout the day.

Searching Criminal History in Beaufort County Through SLED

SLED's CATCH portal provides name-based statewide criminal history searches for $25. A search returns all records in the SLED repository tied to the name provided, covering Beaufort County cases alongside records from other South Carolina jurisdictions. For someone who has lived in or been arrested in multiple counties, a single CATCH search provides a more complete picture than checking each county's Public Index separately.

The CATCH system is name-based. Misspellings at booking can cause records to go undetected. Common names may return results for multiple people, requiring manual review. For official purposes requiring higher certainty, the fingerprint-based check through SLED's Public Dissemination Unit at 803.896.1443 is more reliable.

The SLED Sex Offender Registry is freely searchable and covers all registrants in Beaufort County including those in Bluffton and Hilton Head Island. The SC DOC inmate search shows current state prison inmates. For people on probation or parole in Beaufort County, contact the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The SC Judicial Branch case records search at sccourts.org provides an additional statewide lookup option.

Criminal Records Laws in Beaufort County

South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act at Title 30, Chapter 4, Section 30-4-30 governs access to public records in Beaufort County. Court records at the Clerk's office are public, with the standard exceptions for sealed, juvenile, and expunged records. Written FOIA requests for county government records go to Sarah Brock, the FOIA coordinator. Court records requests go directly to the Clerk of Court.

Beaufort County's copy fee schedule for FOIA purposes mirrors the certified copy rates: $5.00 for the first page, $1.00 for each additional page, and $20 per hour for search and retrieval time after the first hour. Electronic records already in electronic format have no reproduction charge. The county must respond to FOIA requests within 10 business days for records under 24 months old and 20 business days for older records.

Under Section 23-3-120, Beaufort County courts are required to report criminal dispositions to SLED within the required timeframe. The SC Attorney General publishes legal opinions on records access questions that can be informative if you encounter a dispute over what is disclosable. Beaufort County residents should also be aware of the jury duty telephone scam, where callers falsely claim to be court officers. The Clerk's office notes clearly that court staff never ask for money over the phone.

Note: Beaufort County has a formal FOIA coordinator for non-court records. Court records requests are handled through the Clerk's office directly and are governed by both FOIA and the South Carolina Court Administration rules.

Expungement in Beaufort County

Expungement in Beaufort County follows South Carolina Code Section 17-1-40. The 14th Circuit Solicitor reviews petitions and confirms eligibility before a case goes to a judge. The 14th Circuit covers five counties, Beaufort, Allendale, Hampton, Colleton, and Jasper, meaning the Solicitor's Office handles petitions from a broad area.

Qualifying cases generally include dismissed charges, acquittals, conditional discharge outcomes for eligible first offenses, and certain diversion program completions. More serious offenses including most violent crimes and drug trafficking charges do not qualify. The timeline from petition to final record destruction typically runs several months to over a year, depending on the Solicitor's caseload and court scheduling.

After a judge grants the order, the Clerk of Court notifies SLED and all relevant agencies to destroy their copies. The record is then removed from the Public Index and all public databases. Private background check companies that copied data before the expungement may still hold the information, but they are generally required to update their records upon notice. Consulting an attorney experienced in Beaufort County's 14th Circuit courts can help you assess eligibility and navigate the process from start to finish.

• Dismissed charges and not-guilty verdicts
• Nolle prosequi dispositions
• Qualifying first-offense conditional discharge outcomes
• Pretrial intervention program completions
• Traffic offense expungements available in limited circumstances

Cities in Beaufort County

Criminal history records for cities within Beaufort County may be found through county court records or through each city's municipal court.

Nearby Counties

Beaufort County is bordered by several South Carolina counties. Find criminal history resources in neighboring jurisdictions using the links below.

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