Search Beaufort County Court Records
The main online route for Beaufort County court records is the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search, which sends users to the Beaufort County Public Index. The state lists Beaufort County as Judicial Circuit 14 and County Number 07. The Public Index is linked by both the Judicial Branch and the Beaufort County Clerk of Court, so it is the official starting point for many public Circuit, Family, Magistrate, and related case summaries.
The online record is a search record, not a certified copy. Use it to identify the court, case number, parties, filing date, events, charges, disposition, or roster date. For sealed-status questions, older documents, certified copies, exemplified copies, or file details that do not appear online, contact the Beaufort County Clerk of Court at 102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208, Beaufort, SC 29902, or the office that handled the case.
- Open the Judicial Branch case-records page and choose Beaufort County from the county list.
- Use the Beaufort County Public Index search screen for a case number, party name, case type, or date range when those fields are available.
- Check the court agency before relying on a result, since Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, Magistrate, and Municipal matters do not all mean the same thing.
- Open the docket or event history to read hearing dates, filings, judgments, pleas, dispositions, or financial entries.
- Request copies from the Clerk of Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or Municipal Court if an official document is needed.
The South Carolina Judicial Branch homepage links the statewide court tools used for Beaufort County court records research.
The state site matters because Beaufort County court records use statewide case-search and roster systems rather than a stand-alone county-only court database.
Inside Beaufort County Courts
Beaufort County is in South Carolina Judicial Circuit 14 with Allendale, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties. The primary trial court is Circuit Court. Its civil side is the Court of Common Pleas, and its criminal side is the Court of General Sessions. Circuit Court also has limited appellate jurisdiction over certain Probate, Magistrate, and Municipal Court appeals.
Other Beaufort County court records come from separate trial-level forums. Family Court handles divorce, custody, support, adoption, abuse, and juvenile matters. Probate Court handles estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, and commitments. Magistrate Court handles many traffic, criminal, bond, preliminary-hearing, and small civil matters. City and town Municipal Courts handle local ordinance, traffic, and lower-level criminal cases inside their limits.
Case flow: Magistrate or Municipal Court › Circuit Court › South Carolina Court of Appeals › Supreme Court of South Carolina.
| Court | Main Role | Common Beaufort County Records |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | General civil and criminal trial court | Common Pleas lawsuits, General Sessions felony cases, appeals from lower courts |
| Family Court | Domestic and juvenile court | Divorce, child support, custody, alimony, adoption, juvenile cases |
| Probate Court | County probate forum | Estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses |
| Magistrate Court | Lower county court | Traffic, criminal, civil, bond, preliminary hearings, summonses |
| Municipal Court | City and town court | Municipal traffic, ordinance, and lower-level criminal cases |
The state court-roster search page is a separate route from case search.
Use rosters for court dates and calendars, then use case records or the originating clerk when the full file or certified copy is needed.
Beaufort County Court Offices
The main court and county-government corridor is on Ribaut Road in Beaufort. The Clerk of Court, Probate Court main office, Family Court, Magistrate and Bond Court, Detention Center, and county offices are near the 100 to 106 Ribaut Road addresses. South-county residents also use Bluffton and Hilton Head service points for Probate and Magistrate business.
Clerk of Court
102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208
Beaufort, SC 29902
843-255-5050
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Probate Court
102 Ribaut Road
Beaufort, SC 29902
843-255-5850
Marriage licenses by appointment
Beaufort Magistrate Court
104 Ribaut Road
Beaufort, SC 29902
843-255-5700
Traffic, criminal, civil, and bond matters
The Judicial Branch Beaufort County courthouse page is a directory for court, clerk, judge, magistrate, solicitor, public defender, and register contacts.
The directory helps confirm which Beaufort County court office owns a record before a user sends a copy request or appears for a hearing.
Beaufort County Clerk Records
The Clerk of Court is The Hon. Jerri Ann Roseneau. The office is the primary record clerk for Circuit and Family Court records in Beaufort County. Civil Matters and Common Pleas use 843-255-5050 and coccp@bcgov.net. Criminal Matters and General Sessions use 843-255-5057. Family Court records route through the Family Court and Clerk structure at the Ribaut Road courthouse area.
Clerk records include civil filings, judgments, General Sessions criminal case records, Family Court records where public, roster information, copies, certifications, exemplifications, and records searches. The Clerk fee schedule lists a $25 records search for civil, judgment, and General Sessions matters, $3 certification, $4 exemplified copy, $0.50 copies per page, and $0.55 copies per page processed by Clerk staff.
| Clerk Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Records search for civil, judgment, and General Sessions | $25.00 |
| Certification | $3.00 |
| Exemplified copy | $4.00 |
| Copies per page | $0.50 |
| Copies per page processed by staff | $0.55 |
| Judgment transcript | $35.00 |
The Beaufort County Clerk of Court page links the Public Index, Court Rosters, online payments, judgment records, and department contacts.
The Clerk page is the local anchor when a search result must be turned into a certified Beaufort County court record.
Beaufort County Record Types
Beaufort County court records are not one file type. Civil Common Pleas records can include complaints, summonses, answers, motions, orders, judgments, lis pendens, appeals, and transcripts. General Sessions criminal records can include charges, indictments, bonds, pleas, hearings, dispositions, sentencing, probation terms, and docket events.
Family Court records include divorce, child support, alimony, custody, visitation, adoption, termination, and juvenile matters, but many are restricted. Probate records include estates, wills, collections by affidavit, guardianship and conservatorship petitions, accountings, certified copies, and marriage licenses. Magistrate and Municipal Court records include tickets, summonses, warrants after service, pleas, bench or jury trial requests, fines, bonds, and expungement forms.
- Common Pleas
- The civil division of South Carolina Circuit Court.
- General Sessions
- The criminal division of South Carolina Circuit Court.
- Roster
- A court calendar or list of scheduled cases.
- Disposition
- The outcome or current status of a charge or case.
- Certification
- A Clerk attestation that a copy is official.
The Beaufort County Magistrate Court page identifies the Beaufort and Bluffton offices used for many traffic, criminal, civil, and bond matters.
Magistrate Court is important because many Beaufort County traffic and lower-level criminal records start there instead of in Circuit Court.
Beaufort County Public Access
South Carolina public access starts with the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, Title 30, Chapter 4, but court records also depend on court rules, confidentiality statutes, and the office that holds the record. Certified copies and court-file access often go through the court clerk rather than a general county FOIA portal. County JustFOIA is a useful fallback for county department records, not a shortcut around sealed court files.
S.C. Code Ann. Section 30-4-30 gives public-record inspection rights subject to exemptions. Rule 41.1 governs sealing requests. Rule 41.2 requires redaction of protected data.
Restricted Beaufort County court records can include juvenile matters, adoption and termination files, sealed cases, expunged cases, mental-health commitments, confidential reference lists, certain personal identifiers, body-worn camera records, and victim-sensitive law-enforcement material. The Judicial Branch also states that home address information is no longer displayed on the Public Index for new or existing cases as of January 1, 2026.
Beaufort County Record Limits
Online Beaufort County court records should be treated as working search tools. A Public Index entry can help identify the court, case number, parties, event history, roster date, and disposition, but it may not show every filed document. Transcripts, sealed filings, confidential reference lists, juvenile details, adoption records, mental-health commitment details, and protected personal identifiers follow separate access rules.
When an online result looks incomplete, the next step is not a third-party search. Contact the originating office. The Clerk of Court handles Circuit and Family Court copy questions, Probate Court handles estate and marriage records, Magistrate or Municipal Court handles many traffic and lower criminal matters, and the Sheriff's Office handles law-enforcement records through its own report and FOIA channels.
Beaufort County Sheriff Records
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff P.J. Tanner. The office handles law-enforcement records, civil process, criminal warrants, public-safety channels, and Crime Stoppers tip routing. Non-emergency dispatch is 843-524-2777. North-county concerns use 843-255-3200, and south-county concerns for Bluffton, Okatie, and Hilton Head use 843-255-3300.
The Detention Center is at 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902, phone 843-255-5200. Its Inmate Inquiry System links current population, booking-date, 72-hour booking, 15-day release, and 90-day booking views. The jail's 2024 statistics list a 255-person rated capacity, 189 average daily population, 3,467 annual bookings, and an average length of stay of six days. Beaufort County Connect is a county service-request and news app, not a court, jail, or warrant lookup app. P3 Tips is for anonymous crime tips, and Everbridge is for emergency alerts.
The Beaufort County Detention Center page is the county's jail information source.
Jail records change quickly, so recent bookings, releases, bonds, and court names should be confirmed through the current roster or Detention Center.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office homepage provides sheriff contact channels and public-safety links.
Sheriff records and court records overlap after arrest, but the court file, jail roster, and incident report are still separate records.
Beaufort County Probate Records
Beaufort County Probate Court handles estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, involuntary commitments, and related filings. Probate Judge Heather R. Galvin serves with associate judges Lindsay A. Sutcliffe and Haley G. Finneran. The main office is on Ribaut Road in Beaufort, with satellite service in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.
Marriage license applications require both applicants to appear physically by appointment. The 24-hour waiting period runs from application to license issuance, and no blood test is required. Divorce is different. Divorce records are Family Court records through the Clerk and Family Court, while South Carolina DPH divorce reports are vital-record products and do not replace the court file.
The Beaufort County Probate Court page lists Probate Court offices, phones, judges, hours, and appointment rules.
Probate office choice matters because some satellite offices may not be equipped to open new estates or process every filing.
Beaufort County Court FAQs
Where do Beaufort County court records start?
Most public court-record searches start with the South Carolina Judicial Branch case search and the Beaufort County Public Index. Certified copies come from the clerk or court that holds the file.
Who keeps criminal case records?
General Sessions criminal case records are Circuit Court records handled through the Clerk of Court. Magistrate and Municipal Courts keep lower-level criminal and traffic records for their own cases.
Is there a public warrant search?
No official public active-warrant lookup was found. The Sheriff's FAQ gives the Warrants Clerk number, 843-255-3266, during business hours and non-emergency dispatch after hours.
Can online records be used as certified copies?
No. Public Index results help identify a case, but certified and exemplified copies must come from the Clerk of Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or the court that issued the document.