Access Greenville County Clerk of Court Records

About the Greenville County Clerk of Court

The Clerk of Court is an elected county official. Jay Gresham holds the post now. The South Carolina Judicial Branch says he was elected on November 5, 2024, and sworn in on January 2, 2025, by Chief Justice John W. Kittredge. The state notes he is the youngest person in county history to serve as Clerk, and only the second attorney to hold the job. The office sits inside the Greenville County Courthouse in downtown Greenville, a three-story red brick building that fills a block at Church Street and East North Street.

The Clerk runs the records and support side of two courts. One is the Circuit Court, the county's general trial court. The other is Family Court, which hears divorce, custody, and support. The Clerk does not judge cases. The office files papers, keeps the record, manages juries, and hands out certified copies. Court staff cannot give legal advice. People without a lawyer are pointed to the statutes, the court rules, law libraries, and attorney referral help instead.

What the Greenville County Clerk of Court Does

The Clerk handles the paperwork behind every Circuit Court and Family Court case in the county. Staff accept new filings, stamp them in, and build the official case record. They also support the courtrooms and the judges who hear the cases. Jury duty is run out of this office too. When a case is appealed, the Clerk prepares the record that goes up to the higher court. The work is mostly administrative, but it is the backbone of how a case is tracked from the first filing to the final order.

The duties cover both sides of the trial court. Here is a short list of the main ones.

• Take in and process civil and criminal filings for Circuit Court.
• Keep filings and records for Family Court, such as divorce, custody, support, and adoption.
• Manage case records and support court dockets and courtrooms.
• Run jury management for the county trial courts.
• Prepare records for cases that are appealed.
• Give certified copies and help the public find court files.

Image access starts on the county website. The screenshot below shows the Clerk of Court homepage.

That Clerk of Court page links to filing rules, copy rules, and the public search portal in one spot.

Common Pleas and General Sessions Records

Circuit Court splits into two divisions, and the Clerk keeps the records for both. The Court of Common Pleas is the civil side. It hears lawsuits, foreclosures, money judgments, and liens. The Court of General Sessions is the criminal side. It hears felonies and the more serious misdemeanors. A case number ties each file together. On the public index, a criminal case may show the arrest warrant number as its case number, which trips up first-time searchers.

The way you get a record depends on which division holds it. Civil and criminal files are not treated the same. The split below matters when you decide whether to print online or send a request.

• Common Pleas (civil) - lawsuits, foreclosures, judgments, and liens. Images of most civil cases can be viewed and printed from the public index.
• General Sessions (criminal) - charges, indictments, and dispositions. File details show online, but document copies go through the Clerk's criminal records desk.

Note: Court staff hold General Sessions records only; they do not keep Magistrate, Municipal, or State Grand Jury files, so ask those courts for their own copies.

Civil Image Access vs Criminal Copy Requests

Civil and criminal records leave the office by different doors. For most Common Pleas civil cases, you can pull and print document images straight from the Greenville County Public Index. That is the fast route, and it is free to view. Criminal cases work the other way. General Sessions searches show the file information online, but the actual document copies must be requested from the Clerk. The image below shows the county's rules and fees for copying court records.

The copies of records page spells out what is open and what is not. To get a General Sessions copy, you go in person to the Criminal Records Department, Circuit Court Division, Suite 228, at 305 East North Street. You can also email coccriminalrecords@greenvillecounty.org. Either way, give the arrest warrant number and the indictment number if you have it, plus a clear list of the documents you want.

Most files in the office are open to view, copy, and print. Some are closed. Dismissed warrants, judicially sealed cases, juvenile cases, adoption filings, and anything barred by law are off limits. Non-electronic records are inspected on the second floor. Older files that sit off-site usually arrive at the office within a couple of business days after you ask for them.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the court seal and the Clerk's stamp. Courts, banks, and agencies want a certified copy, not a printout, when proof is needed. A screenshot from the public index is not certified and will not stand in for the real thing. The steps below cover the usual path for a Greenville County court record.

1. Find the case number first. For a criminal case, the arrest warrant number is shown as the case number on the public index.
2. Decide which division holds the file. Civil sits in Common Pleas; criminal sits in General Sessions, Suite 228.
3. List the exact documents you want. Give party names and the document type so staff can pull the right file.
4. Submit the request. Go in person to the courthouse, or email the criminal records desk for General Sessions files.
5. Pay the fee. A certified copy is $10.00 per document.
6. Pick up the copy, or wait for mail. Off-site files may take a couple of business days to arrive.

The office takes cash, money order, business check, or a credit or debit card with a processing fee.

Greenville County Records Request Fields

The public index search and the copy request use the same kind of details. The more you can give, the faster staff find the file. A case number is the cleanest way to point to one record. A name search works too, but common Greenville County surnames return long lists. The table below lists the fields the county search and request process use.

Note: For a criminal copy request, the warrant number plus a clear document list is the key; without it, staff cannot pull the right General Sessions file.

Greenville County Clerk of Court Fees

The Clerk charges set fees for copies and certifications. These are copy fees, not filing fees. A plain copy runs a quarter a page. A certified or sealed copy costs more because of the seal. There is also a separate fee to open a new civil case. A new Common Pleas lawsuit has a $150 filing fee that starts the case and assigns a case number. That filing fee is not the same as buying a copy of a record. The screenshot below shows the county's filing rules.

The filings and fees page explains that an initial summons and complaint opens a Common Pleas case, and that the civil coversheet SCCA/234 is required for the first pleading. Filings must follow the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.

Family Court Records Held by the Clerk

The Clerk keeps Family Court records as well as Circuit Court records. Divorce, custody, support, juvenile, and adoption files all flow through this office. Where a file sits depends on its age. Family Court records from 1925 to April 1996 are at the Clerk's Circuit Court Office at 305 E. North Street. Records after April 1996 are at the Family Court Office. Adoption and juvenile files are closed to the public by law, so those are not open like a normal case. The image below shows the county's Family Court FAQ page.

The Family Court FAQ answers common questions about filings and records. For divorce searches and the marriage license process, see marriage and divorce records. For full case history across the trial courts, the court records page covers the public index in more depth.

The Register of Deeds Split

Not every record people expect at the Clerk's office is actually there. Land records and certain tax liens sit with a separate office, the Register of Deeds. The split is easy to miss because both touch property and money. State tax liens up to 1999 are at the Clerk of Court. State tax liens after that, and federal tax liens, moved to the Register of Deeds. That office also keeps deeds, mortgages, and other land records.

So if you are after a deed, a mortgage, or a recent tax lien, the Clerk is not the right stop. The Greenville County Register of Deeds page explains what that office holds and how its records differ from court case files. For estate and probate matters, see probate records, which is its own county court.

Visiting the Greenville County Courthouse

The Clerk's office is in the downtown courthouse at 305 East North Street. Many records are inspected in person, on the second floor for non-electronic files and in Suite 228 for criminal copy requests. Plan for security screening at the door and for parking, which can be tight downtown. Public garages serve the courthouse area. The image below shows the city's garage and lot page.

The City of Greenville garages and lots page lists downtown options and current rates. Confirm garage hours before your visit, since some close in the evening and the Clerk's office is open weekdays only.

Related Greenville County Court Offices

The Clerk of Court is one piece of the county court system. Trial work runs through the Circuit Court and its Common Pleas and General Sessions divisions. For full case lookups, the court records page covers the public index. Family matters route to Family Court, and estates go to Probate Court. Land and lien records, as noted above, sit with the Register of Deeds.