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Charleston SC Criminal Records
Locate Charleston criminal case records, request General Sessions copies, and distinguish municipal court files from a statewide background check.
First decide whether “Charleston” means General Sessions or Municipal Court
Charleston County General Sessions
County Clerk of Court maintains General Sessions criminal case records. The county says online General Sessions coverage begins with cases filed in 1992.
City of Charleston Municipal Court
Municipal Court handles alleged violations of criminal laws, traffic laws and city ordinances. A city municipal case should not be searched only in the county General Sessions workflow.
Statewide South Carolina history
SLED CATCH is a separate name-based South Carolina criminal-history product. It is useful for a different question than obtaining a Charleston court judgment or filed document.
Use the Charleston County index to identify the General Sessions case
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01
Search the county index
Use party name and other filters to locate a plausible General Sessions case. Capture the full case number, filed date, status and displayed disposition rather than relying on a name match alone.
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Confirm the case identity
Compare year of birth or other public case-party clues where available and avoid merging same-name defendants.
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Decide whether the index is enough
An index can establish a useful locator, but a recipient that needs official proof should receive the relevant filed court document or certified copy.
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Request the court paper from the clerk
The Clerk FAQ says requests should identify a specific case number and party names, which turns an index hit into a usable copy request.
Charleston County publishes concrete copy and certification terms
| Copy question | Published answer | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| How far back is online General Sessions case information? | Cases filed from 1992 to present. | For an older matter, contact the clerk rather than assuming the online index is complete. |
| How are documents reviewed or ordered? | Generally in person; copies may be requested in person or by mail. | Use the case number and party names to target the request. |
| What do copies cost? | $0.10 per page. | Order the specific documents that answer the question instead of the whole file by default. |
| What does certification add? | $1.00 certification fee. | Choose certification when the receiving party requires an official court copy with the clerk’s seal. |
A city Municipal Court record follows a different route
Charleston Municipal Court states that it hears criminal, traffic and city-ordinance matters. If the citation, warrant, docket or case paper names Municipal Court, contact that court rather than forcing the case into the General Sessions search.
This distinction is especially important for lower-level city matters: a missing General Sessions result does not tell you that no municipal case exists. Use the court named on the originating paperwork whenever possible.
SLED CATCH answers a statewide history question, not the case-document question
Name-based statewide history has different scope and reliability
SLED CATCH provides South Carolina-only criminal-history information through a name-based search. The current base charge is $25, and SLED warns that name/DOB and alias differences can produce false positives or false negatives compared with fingerprint identification. Use a Charleston court file for the exact court disposition; use CATCH when the task actually calls for the statewide history product.
Charleston criminal-record task checklist
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Read the court name
Separate Charleston County General Sessions from City of Charleston Municipal Court before searching.
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Capture the case number
When the Public Index locates a General Sessions case, preserve the full case number and party name spelling.
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Order the decisive paper
Ask for the filed disposition document that resolves the outcome, such as the final order or judgment shown by the docket.
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Choose certification deliberately
Pay for certification only when the receiving party needs an official sealed copy rather than an informational copy.
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Keep statewide history separate
Do not substitute a SLED CATCH name search for the underlying Charleston court document, or vice versa.
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