Search Beaufort County Court Records Online
The main online path for Beaufort County court records runs through the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search and the Beaufort County Public Index. The state court search page lists Beaufort County in Judicial Circuit 14, County Number 07. The Public Index is the official public case-search system linked by both the state court site and the Beaufort County Clerk of Court.
The Public Index works best when the case number, party name, or court division is known. Use the separate Court Rosters link for calendars and scheduled appearances. Online entries are not the same as certified copies. A certified or exemplified copy must come from the Clerk of Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or another office that keeps the original file.
The official Public Index screenshot was captured from the Beaufort County Public Index case search.
The case-search portal is the first stop for most Beaufort County court records, but copy requests still route to the clerk or court office.
- Open the state case-records search page and select Beaufort County.
- Use the Public Index case-search link for case summaries, parties, events, and status details.
- Search by case number first when available, then try party names and date ranges to narrow common names.
- Use the Court Rosters link when the goal is to confirm a hearing date or docket setting.
- Contact the record-holding office for certified copies, sealed-status questions, older files, or documents not shown online.
Beaufort County Court Records Search Fields
The research capture could not fully fetch every Public Index screen, but the official state and county links confirm the Beaufort County Public Index as the search path. The fields below reflect the captured and expected public-index search controls. Address matching should be handled with care because the Judicial Branch states that home address information is no longer displayed on the Public Index as of January 1, 2026.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Agency / County | Dropdown or county link | Yes | Select Beaufort County, Judicial Circuit 14, County 07. |
| Case Number | Text | No | Use the official case number if known. |
| Party Name / Last Name | Text | No | Search by person or business party name where supported. |
| First Name | Text | No | Use with last name to narrow results. |
| Case Type | Dropdown | Unspecified | May separate Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, Magistrate, and other trial-court records. |
| Date Range | Date or text | No | Useful for common names and broad searches. |
| Action Type / Event Type | Dropdown | No | Useful for docket-event searches where available. |
Beaufort County Court Record Types
Beaufort County court records come from several courts, so the correct access channel depends on the case type. Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction trial court. Its civil side is the Court of Common Pleas, and its criminal side is the Court of General Sessions. Family Court handles divorce, child support, alimony, custody, adoption, termination, and juvenile matters. Probate Court handles estates, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, and related probate filings.
Magistrate Court and Municipal Court create many lower-level traffic, criminal, bond, preliminary-hearing, and small civil records. Master-in-Equity handles foreclosure and referred equity matters. For Beaufort County court records tied to payment, tickets, or case numbers, the Beaufort online payments portal requires a ticket or case number and last name.
The payment screenshot came from the Beaufort online case and ticket payment portal.
Payment access can help confirm a case or ticket, but payment portals do not replace a full court record request.
- Civil and judgment records include complaints, summonses, answers, motions, orders, judgments, lis pendens, appeals, and transcripts.
- Criminal records include indictments, charges, warrants after service, bonds, pleas, hearings, dispositions, sentencing, and docket events.
- Family Court records include divorce, support, custody, abuse, adoption, and juvenile matters, with many access limits.
- Magistrate and Municipal Court records include tickets, summonses, pleas, bench or jury trial requests, fines, and bond records.
- Probate records include estates, wills, creditor notices, conservatorship accountings, guardianship petitions, and certified probate copies.
What Beaufort County Court Records Show
A Beaufort County court record usually identifies the court, case number, parties, filing or event date, hearing or roster date, case type, and current status. Criminal and traffic records may show a charge, statute, warrant number, plea, bond, sentence, fine, or disposition. Civil and family records may show pleadings, motions, orders, judgments, and attorney information. Some details are visible online only as a summary, while the full court file may require a clerk copy request.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court's unique case identifier used for lookup, payment, copies, and roster questions. |
| Court Agency | The division or court handling the matter, such as Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, Magistrate, Probate, or Municipal Court. |
| Parties | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, applicant, or other named parties, subject to redaction rules. |
| Events | Docket actions such as filings, hearings, motions, orders, notices, continuances, or judgments. |
| Disposition | The outcome or current status, such as pending, dismissed, guilty, paid, disposed, appealed, sealed, or expunged. |
| Financials | Fines, costs, bond, copy fees, certification fees, judgment amounts, or payment status when shown. |
Beaufort County Records Request Channels
Not every Beaufort County court record is best handled through one portal. Circuit and Family Court copy questions route through the Clerk of Court. Probate and marriage records route through Probate Court. Magistrate traffic or criminal questions can require the Beaufort or Bluffton Magistrate office. Municipal cases stay with the city or town court that issued the ticket, summons, or warrant.
Family Court has a separate role because divorce, child support, alimony, separation and maintenance, domestic abuse, custody, adoption, termination, and juvenile matters are not all open in the same way as ordinary civil filings. The Beaufort County Family Court page identifies Family Court case types and local contact details.
The image below was sourced from the Beaufort County Family Court page.
Family Court records are important for court record searches, but many minor, adoption, and abuse-related details have restricted access.
For county department records that are not court case files, Beaufort County publishes a JustFOIA public portal. That public-records route can help with county agency records, but it is not a substitute for court-record rules, sealed files, or certified court copies.
The county public-records portal screenshot came from Beaufort County JustFOIA.
Use JustFOIA for county public records when the requested material is not held as a court case file by a clerk.
Beaufort County Court Records Access Rules
South Carolina's general public-records framework is the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. Section 30-4-30 gives public access to inspect or copy public records unless an exemption applies, and Section 30-4-40 lists exemptions that can limit release. Court records also depend on court rules, sealing orders, redaction rules, and the type of case.
The South Carolina FOIA statute screenshot was captured from Title 30, Chapter 4 of the South Carolina Code.
FOIA is part of the public access framework, but Beaufort County court records also follow court-specific access and redaction rules.
Practical access starts with the online public index and roster tools. For certified copies, full documents, or older records, use the originating office. The Clerk of Court handles Circuit and Family Court records. Probate Court handles probate and marriage records. Magistrate and Municipal Courts handle their own lower-court matters. Sheriff incident reports and body-camera issues follow separate law enforcement access rules.
Note: Online summaries are useful for lookup, but certified copies must come from the record-holding court office.
Restricted Beaufort County Court Records
Some Beaufort County court records are public only in part, or not public at all. Juvenile records, adoption and termination records, sealed cases, expunged cases, mental-health commitment details, Social Security numbers, alien identification numbers, financial account numbers, minor names, and victim-sensitive details may be withheld or redacted. The Public Index no longer displays home address information for new or existing cases as of January 1, 2026.
South Carolina Rule of Civil Procedure 41.2 requires protection of certain personal and confidential information in public filings. A person may also request removal or redaction of personal identifying information from publicly available online official-record images under S.C. Code Section 30-2-330.
The redaction-rule image came from South Carolina Rule 41.2.
Redaction rules explain why a Beaufort County court record may show a case event while withholding an address, minor name, or confidential reference list.
Beaufort County Court Records In Person
In-person requests should go to the court or clerk that keeps the file. Bring the case number if known, full party names, court division, document name, copy type, contact details, payment, and a self-addressed stamped envelope if mailing is involved. The Clerk fee schedule lists a $25 records search fee for civil, judgment, and General Sessions records, $3 certification, $4 exemplified copy, $0.50 per page for copies, and $0.55 per page when processed by Clerk staff.
Beaufort County Clerk of Court
102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208
Beaufort, SC 29902
843-255-5050
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Beaufort Magistrate Court
104 Ribaut Road
Beaufort, SC 29902
843-255-5700
Traffic and criminal email: beaufortmagistratecriminal@bcgov.net