How to Search Greenville County Court Records
Court records in Greenville County begin with the Greenville County Public Index. This free portal lets anyone look up Circuit Court cases by name or case number. The South Carolina Judicial Branch also links the county from its statewide Case Records Search page. The county portal covers Common Pleas civil cases and General Sessions criminal cases. It is a search tool, not the official file. For certified proof, you still ask the right court office for a copy.
Get a few things ready before you start. The state guide says you need a browser that allows cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers need a pop-up exception to open a case detail. A full name or a case number gives the best result.
- Open the statewide Case Records Search page and pick Greenville County from the map or the county list.
- Read the county disclaimer, then click Accept to agree to the terms.
- Enter the code in the Security Check window and click Validate. Pressing Enter does not work.
- Type a party name or a case number. In a criminal matter, the arrest warrant number is shown as the case number.
- Narrow the grid by court type, case type, party type, or a date range, then click Search.
- Click a case number link to open the docket actions, the financial tabs, and any document images.
If too many people come back, add a court type or a date range. If nothing comes back, drop the extra filters and try a partial name with the Contains option. The official guide tells you to start simple and add filters only after you see broad results.
Greenville County Court Records Search Fields
The Public Index gives you many ways to search, and you do not need to fill in every box. Most fields are optional. You can run a search with just a name or just a case number. The other fields are filters that trim a long result list down to the case you want. The table below lists the fields the state guide describes, what each one takes, and a few notes on how to use them.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case # | Text | No | Exact case number. In criminal matters the arrest warrant number is used as the case number. |
| Name | Text | No | Search a party by beginning letters or partial words. |
| Last Name / Business | Text | No | The Contains option can find a partial business or name fragment. |
| Action Type | Text / Dropdown | No | Examples include ADRs, foreclosures, and motions. |
| Date Type | Dropdown | No | Filed, disposed, judgment, or arrest date context. |
| Date Range | Date fields | No | Narrows results by the chosen Date Type. |
| Tax Map # | Text | No | Used for real-estate cases. |
| Court Type | Dropdown / Filter | No | Circuit, family, or municipal where available. |
| Case Type / SubType | Dropdown / Filter | No | Civil, criminal, or appeal, then a subtype. |
| Party Type | Dropdown / Filter | No | Defendant, plaintiff, and other roles. |
| Lis Pendens / Judgments | Checkbox / Filter | No | Filter real-estate filings or judgments for and against. |
| Accept / Validate | Buttons | Yes | Accept the disclaimer and validate the security code before any search. |
Note: Some Greenville County municipal courts appear in the statewide Public Index, so check the municipal directory if a city case does not show up under the county.
Types of Greenville County Court Records
Greenville County court records fall into a few main groups, and each one comes from a different court. Civil and criminal files come out of Circuit Court. Domestic files come out of Family Court. Wills, estates, and marriage licenses come out of Probate Court. Traffic and small claims sit in the summary courts. The access rules change from group to group, so it helps to know which court holds your case before you search.
Most of these records are open to the public unless a statute or a judge's order closes them. Here is a quick map of what each group covers.
- Civil records - Common Pleas lawsuits, foreclosures, liens, and judgments. Images of most civil cases can be printed from the Public Index.
- Criminal records - General Sessions charges, indictments, bond orders, and dispositions. File details show online; copies go through the Clerk of Court.
- Family records - divorce, custody, support, and adoption through the Family Court. See marriage and divorce records for more.
- Probate records - wills, estates, guardianships, and marriage licenses through Probate Court.
- Summary court records - small claims, evictions, and minor crimes through the Magistrate Courts and city municipal courts.
What Greenville County Court Records Show
A court file is built from many entries, added over the life of the case. The Public Index pulls the key fields into one view. When you open a case number, you can read the parties, the filing date, the case type, and the docket actions. Many cases also show financial entries such as fines, court costs, and bond amounts. Civil cases in Common Pleas may include printable document images. As of January 1, 2026, home addresses no longer appear on the public index for new or existing cases.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The clickable case link. In criminal cases, the arrest warrant number serves as the case number. |
| Court | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, Probate, Magistrate, or Municipal. |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant, or petitioner and respondent. A double-arrow icon toggles all parties. |
| Filing Date | The date the first pleading or charge was entered. |
| Docket Actions | Filings, motions, orders, hearings, and other events in date order. |
| Disposition | The final result, such as a plea, a judgment, a dismissal, or a sentence. |
| Financials | Filing fees, fines, court costs, bond, restitution, and payments. |
The glossary terms below come up often when you read a Greenville County court file.
- Docket
- The chronological list of filings and events in a case.
- Disposition
- The final outcome of a charge or case.
- Lis pendens
- A notice that a lawsuit affects a piece of real property.
- Exemplified copy
- A higher certification under seal, often used outside the state.
Federal Court Records for Greenville
State court is not the only place a case can land. Greenville sits in the federal court system too. Federal lawsuits and federal crimes are heard in the U.S. District Court, not in the county courthouse. The Greenville federal courthouse is a division of the District of South Carolina. Federal court records are a separate system with their own portal and their own rules, so a county Public Index search will not reach them.
You can read about the Greenville federal courthouse on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina site.
That federal court site explains the Greenville division and points to the federal docket system for case lookups. Federal dockets are searched through a paid federal system, which is run apart from the county Greenville County court records portal.
One free, nonofficial source for federal opinions and dockets is worth a mention. The image below shows CourtListener, a free legal research site.
CourtListener is a nonofficial source. It posts federal opinions and dockets for free, but it is not a government site and is not an index of South Carolina state court records. For a state case, always go back to the county Public Index.
Public Access Laws for Greenville County Court Records
South Carolina starts from a position of open records. The state Freedom of Information Act, in Title 30, Chapter 4, says public business should be done openly and that people should be able to learn about it with little cost or delay. County government and many public safety records fall under that law. Court records are also shaped by court rules, privacy statutes, and judge's orders, so a few categories stay closed even when the general rule is open. Bulk or compiled judicial data follows a separate rule and goes through the Office of Court Administration, not a normal records request.
Key Statutes:
S.C. Code § 30-4-30 - Gives the public the right to inspect or copy nonexempt records and sets fee and time limits.
S.C. Code § 30-4-40 - Lists exemptions, such as law-enforcement investigation files, medical data, and certain privacy matters.
S.C. Code § 30-2-10 - The Family Privacy Protection Act, which limits use of personal data pulled from public records.
Bulk and compiled judicial data is handled under Rule 610. That route is for someone who wants a large compiled data set, not a single case. For one case, the practical path is the Public Index and then a copy request to the right office. For more on filing a request and the fees that apply, see the Greenville County public records page.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Greenville County
Not every court file is open. The Greenville County Clerk lists clear exceptions to public viewing and copying. These include dismissed warrants, sealed cases, juvenile cases, and adoption filings. Expunged records are removed from public access under state law. Medical and mental-health records held by the jail are protected by HIPAA, and involuntary commitment files in Probate Court are highly restricted. Personal data such as Social Security numbers and financial account numbers is redacted. Home addresses no longer display on the Public Index as of January 1, 2026.
If a record is sealed, you cannot simply ask the clerk to print it. You identify the exact court and case number, then ask the clerk whether the file is sealed, confidential by statute, or just off-site. If it is sealed, you file a motion or petition in the court that holds the case, and a judge decides whether any part can be released. An attorney can help when the matter is sealed, juvenile, or closed by statute. Expungement is its own process and is handled through the solicitor and the courts, not a simple copy request.
Greenville County Court Records Copy Fees
The Public Index is free to search. Copies are not. The Clerk of Court copies of records page lists the charges. Plain copies run a quarter a page. Certified and exemplified copies cost more because they carry the court seal. These are copy fees, not filing fees. A new Common Pleas lawsuit has its own filing fee of $150, which opens a civil case and is separate from buying a copy of a record.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy per page | $0.25 |
| Certified or sealed copy | $10.00 per document |
| Exemplified copy or notary under seal | $10.00 per document |
| Common Pleas civil filing fee | $150.00 |
The Clerk takes cash, money order, business check, or a credit or debit card with a processing fee. Civil document images can often be printed straight from the Public Index. General Sessions criminal copies work differently. The Clerk shows file information online, but you request the documents in person at the Criminal Records Department in Suite 228, or by email, using the arrest warrant or indictment number. Note: A screenshot of an online record is not certified proof, so order a certified copy when you need an official document for court or an agency.
Older and Off-Site Greenville County Files
Not every file sits in a desk drawer at the courthouse. Older records may be stored off-site. The Clerk says those files generally become available at the office within a couple of business days after you ask. Family Court records also split by date. Files from 1925 through April 1996 are kept at the Clerk's Circuit Court office on East North Street. Later Family Court records are held at the Family Court office on Halton Road. Knowing the date of your case tells you which office to call first.
Jail and inmate context can tie into a criminal case. The image below shows the Detention Center phone page, which covers inmate calls run through the jail's provider.
That jail page is useful when a court record traces back to someone in custody. For the booking side of a charge, the warrant number, and release timing, see the Greenville County inmate records page.