How Do I Look Up Warrants in South Carolina?

You can use SouthCarolinaCourts.us to locate a warrant in South Carolina, as it compiles publicly available information reported by South Carolina's courts and law enforcement agencies into a single search. A search may reveal the warrant type, issuing court, case number, alleged offense, and bail or bond amount, among other details, when available.

South Carolina has 46 counties, each with its own sheriff's office, clerk of court, and magistrate courts — and no centralized statewide warrant lookup. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) maintains a criminal history database through its CATCH system, but SLED explicitly excludes wanted-person information from those reports. The Judicial Branch's Public Index covers case records across all 46 counties, yet it is a case-management tool, not a warrant-specific search. That leaves anyone trying to confirm an outstanding warrant with a patchwork of county-by-county inquiries — calling individual sheriff's offices, checking local court dockets, or filing formal records requests.

For a state where both the statewide criminal history check and the statewide court portal omit active warrant data, a consolidated resource that aggregates available warrant records across jurisdictions fills a gap that South Carolina's own infrastructure does not address.

Are Warrants Public Information in South Carolina?

South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act, codified at S.C. Code § 30-4-10 et seq., establishes a broad presumption that records held by public bodies are open to inspection and copying. Section 30-4-50(A)(8) specifically designates as public information any reports disclosing "the nature, substance, and location of any crime or alleged crime reported as having been committed." Under that framework, arrest warrants and bench warrants — once issued and entered into a court or law enforcement record — are generally accessible to the public.

The exceptions are significant. Section 30-4-40(a)(3) permits law enforcement agencies to withhold records compiled for law enforcement purposes when disclosure would interfere with a prospective proceeding, compromise a fair trial, reveal a confidential source, or endanger someone's safety. Search warrants and their supporting affidavits fall squarely into this category while an investigation is active, and warrants connected to sealed cases or grand jury proceedings remain entirely off-limits. Under S.C. Code § 17-13-141, judicial officials who issue search warrants must retain the warrant, supporting affidavit, and related records for three years — but that retention obligation does not translate into public access during an open investigation.

When a public body receives a written FOIA request, Section 30-4-30(C) requires a response within ten business days — or twenty business days if the record is more than twenty-four months old. The record itself must then be produced within thirty calendar days of that determination. But an agency's legal obligation to disclose a warrant record does not mean the record appears on any website. Many South Carolina sheriff's offices do not publish active warrants online, and even those that do may list only a fraction of their outstanding warrants at any given time.

How to Search for a Warrant in South Carolina

1. Use SouthCarolinaCourts.us. Our Instant Warrant Lookup presents you with warrant record data compiled from available public resources in one convenient search. When available, you can find warrant type, issuing court, case number, alleged offense, and bail/bond amount, among other details, depending on the record type and issuing county.
2. Search the South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Index. The Case Records Search hosted by the South Carolina Judicial Branch covers trial court records across all 46 counties. It is a case-lookup tool, not a dedicated warrant search, so you will need a name or case number to find relevant filings. The system does not charge a fee, but it may not display all pending warrant information — particularly for magistrate and municipal court matters, which have limited coverage. Some individual county sheriff's offices maintain their own online warrant lists, though availability and currency vary widely.
3. Call the county sheriff's office or clerk of court. Have the subject's full legal name, date of birth, and the county where the case may have originated. The South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory provides contact information for all 46 offices. Some counties will confirm or deny the existence of an active warrant over the phone; others require a written request or an in-person visit.
4. Visit in person. The clerk of court or the sheriff's office in the relevant county can provide direct access to warrant records. Be aware that if you are inquiring about a warrant issued for yourself, presenting yourself at a law enforcement facility may result in your arrest on that warrant.
5. Retain an attorney. A licensed South Carolina attorney can make a discreet inquiry on your behalf through the clerk's office, the solicitor's office, or law enforcement without triggering an immediate arrest.

How Long Is a Warrant Active in South Carolina?

Arrest warrants and bench warrants in South Carolina do not expire. They remain enforceable until the subject is taken into custody, the warrant is recalled by the issuing court, or the underlying charge is otherwise resolved. Search warrants operate under a distinct statutory deadline: S.C. Code § 17-13-140 requires that any search warrant be executed and returned within ten days after it is dated. If the warrant is not served within that window, it becomes void and a new warrant must be obtained. A defendant or defense attorney may petition the court to quash or recall an outstanding arrest or bench warrant, though the court is not obligated to grant such a motion.

South Carolina Warrant Records by County

Warrants in South Carolina are issued and maintained at the county level — by magistrates, municipal judges, circuit court judges, and the 46 county sheriff's offices that serve as the primary law enforcement authority in each jurisdiction. South Carolina does not operate a centralized, publicly accessible statewide warrant database. SLED's CATCH system provides criminal history reports but explicitly excludes wanted-person data. The Judicial Branch's Public Index covers court case records statewide but is not designed as a warrant search. As a result, confirming an active warrant requires contacting the specific county where the warrant may have been issued.

The table below lists every county sheriff's office in South Carolina, sourced from the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association directory.