Greenville County Clerk Office
Greenville County uses a unified Clerk of Court structure rather than separate district and county clerks. Jay Gresham is the Greenville County Clerk of Court. The Clerk's Office is at the Greenville County Courthouse, 305 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601. The main office number is 864.467.8551, and the South Carolina Judicial Branch lists the Clerk fax as 864.467.8540.
The Clerk supports the Circuit Court and Family Court record systems. Circuit Court includes the Court of Common Pleas for civil matters and the Court of General Sessions for criminal cases. Family Court records include divorce, child custody, child support, juvenile delinquency, adoption, and related domestic files. Some Family Court records are public in part, while juvenile and adoption files have strong confidentiality rules.
Greenville County Clerk of Court
Clerk: Jay Gresham
305 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29601
864.467.8551
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Greenville Clerk Court Duties
The Clerk accepts and processes filings, maintains pleadings, judgments, and orders, supports civil docket management, manages jury functions, maintains appeals records, and helps with courtroom logistics. These duties make the Clerk the practical access point for many Greenville County court record copies, even when a case can first be found through an online portal.
- Common Pleas civil records, including pleadings, judgments, and orders.
- General Sessions criminal records, including warrants, indictments, and case documents held by the Clerk.
- Family Court filing and record duties for divorce, custody, support, juvenile, and adoption matters.
- Appeals, jury, and courtroom support records tied to Circuit Court operations.
- Certified, sealed, exemplified, and notary-under-seal copy processing.
The Clerk copy and public-record page explains Greenville County copy access and fees.
That copy page is central for Greenville County Clerk of Court records because it separates online viewing, public-access exceptions, and certified-copy costs.
Greenville Clerk Record Search
The main online court-record channel is the Greenville County Public Index, with statewide routing through the South Carolina Judicial Branch case-records search page. Greenville County is listed as Circuit Number 13 and County Number 23. The Public Index supports Circuit and Magistrate record searches, but it does not make every document image available.
Common Pleas civil images can usually be accessed and printed from the Greenville County Public Index. General Sessions criminal searches show file information online, but the Clerk states that criminal document copies require a request. The South Carolina Judicial Branch also warns that public case search requires cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers may need a pop-up exception to view case detail. As of January 1, 2026, home address information no longer displays on the Public Index for new or existing cases.
| Access Point | Best Use | Greenville County Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Public Index | Search Circuit and Magistrate case information. | General Sessions document images are not the full copy channel. |
| Clerk civil records | Common Pleas pleadings, judgments, orders, and civil images. | Sealed or restricted files still require screening. |
| Criminal Records Department | General Sessions warrant, indictment, and document copy requests. | Needs arrest warrant number or indictment number when available. |
| Family Court | Divorce and other family files after the county date split. | Juvenile and adoption access may be restricted. |
The court support contact page lists Clerk-related contact lines for Greenville County records questions.
Those contact lines help route a Greenville County Clerk records request to civil records, criminal records, accounting, or ADR instead of a general county mailbox.
Certified Greenville Clerk Copies
A certified copy is a court copy with the Clerk's certification. Agencies may ask for one when a judgment, divorce decree, order, or criminal disposition must be proven. Greenville County also lists sealed copies, exemplified copies, and notary certificates under seal as separate copy services with their own fees.
- Identify the court division first: Common Pleas civil, General Sessions criminal, or Family Court.
- Find the case number if possible. For General Sessions, use the arrest warrant number or indictment number.
- Identify the exact document, such as decree, order, indictment, judgment, warrant, or disposition.
- Submit the request to the proper Clerk records counter, Family Court, or Criminal Records Department.
- Pay the per-page copy cost plus the certification, exemplification, or seal fee when that service is needed.
- Allow extra time for older files, recently adjudicated criminal documents, redaction review, or off-site retrieval.
Note: Online case information may not be accepted when an agency asks for a certified Greenville County court document.
Greenville Records Request Fields
Greenville County's research materials did not expose one universal Clerk request form for every division. The information below reflects the fields and details the Clerk specifically requires or implies for copy requests, especially General Sessions requests. A complete request reduces delay when the office has to identify a file, pull a document, calculate fees, or redact restricted information.
| Field or Detail | Required | Greenville County Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Requester name and contact | Yes | Needed for follow-up, fee notice, and delivery coordination. |
| Court division | Yes | State whether the request is Common Pleas, General Sessions, or Family Court. |
| Case number | If known | The Public Index may use the arrest warrant number as the General Sessions case number. |
| Arrest warrant number | For General Sessions when known | The Clerk asks for the arrest warrant number and/or indictment number. |
| Indictment number | For General Sessions when known | Helps Criminal Records locate the correct case document. |
| Party names | Yes | Use full names and any known caption details. |
| Document requested | Yes | Examples include warrant, indictment, judgment, order, decree, or disposition. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain, certified/sealed, exemplified, or notary certificate under seal. |
| Delivery method | Yes | In-person pickup, email where allowed, mail, or other office-approved method. |
Greenville Clerk Copy Fees
Greenville County Clerk copy charges differ by page count, certification type, and whether staff research or redaction time is needed. General Sessions has its own copy-request page and fee notes, while standard civil and family copies use the Clerk copy rules.
| Item | Fee or Rule |
|---|---|
| Plain copies or printouts | $0.25 per page |
| Certified or sealed copy | $10 per document |
| Exemplified copy | $10 per document |
| Notary Certificate Under Seal | $10 per document |
| General Sessions copies | $0.25 per page |
| General Sessions certification | $10 per certification |
| General Sessions exemplification | $10 |
| FOIA research or redaction over 15 minutes for General Sessions | $18 per hour, prorated in 15-minute increments |
| General copy payment methods | Cash, money order, business check, credit/debit card with processing fee |
| General Sessions payment methods | Cash, money order, cashier's check |
General Sessions Copy Requests
Greenville County General Sessions is the criminal side of Circuit Court. The Clerk maintains General Sessions court documents, but it does not retain Magistrate Court, Municipal Court, or State Grand Jury records. That distinction matters when a criminal matter began in a lower court or when a city court issued the original charge.
General Sessions copy requests may be made in person at the Criminal Records Department, Suite 228, Greenville County Courthouse, or by email at coccriminalrecords@greenvillecounty.org. The requester should provide the arrest warrant number and/or indictment number and identify the specific documents sought. Recently adjudicated case documents may require 2-3 business days before copies are available. Online General Sessions records go back to 1984.
The General Sessions copy request page gives the Greenville County warrant and indictment copy rules.
That page is the best Greenville County source when a criminal case search gives file information but not the document copy a requester needs.
Greenville Court Dates
The Clerk's court-date information points General Sessions scheduling to the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor. This is an important division of labor. The Clerk keeps records and copies, while the Solicitor schedules General Sessions court dates for active criminal matters in Greenville and Pickens counties.
The Greenville County court dates page directs General Sessions date questions to the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor.
For Greenville County Clerk records, that means a case file copy request and a future criminal docket question may go to different offices.
Older Greenville Clerk Records
Family Court records have a specific date and location split in Greenville County. Family Court records, including divorce records, from 1925 through April 1996 are at the Clerk's Circuit Court Office at 305 E. North Street. Later Family Court records are handled through the Family Court office at 350 Halton Road. This split can change where a divorce decree or older domestic file must be requested.
Older off-site files are generally available within a couple business days after request, according to the research summary. A record that is not visible online should not be treated as nonexistent. It may be older, off-site, in the wrong court division, or restricted from public display.
Restricted Clerk Records
Most Clerk files are available for viewing, copying, and printing, but Greenville County identifies clear exceptions. Dismissed warrants, cases sealed by judicial order, juvenile cases, adoption filings, and filings prohibited by law are not ordinary public files. Rule 41.2 also governs personal identifying information in South Carolina court filings, and the Clerk does not police every filing for redaction before it appears.
Access limits often depend on the type of case and the specific document. A public case entry may exist even when one or more documents cannot be copied. Expunged records, sealed settlements, juvenile files, and adoption matters may require a court order or statutory authority before the Clerk can release anything beyond limited public information.
Greenville FOIA Fallback
When a record is not available through the Public Index or the Clerk's direct copy process, Greenville County public records can be requested under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. Requests may be sent directly to departments and agencies or to the County Attorney's Office. The request must reasonably describe the records. Fees may cover searching and copying.
The county FOIA route includes fax to 864.467.5964, mail to Greenville County Attorney's Office, 301 University Ridge, Suite N-4000, Greenville, SC 29601, or hand delivery to Suite N-4000 at County Square. For records less than 24 months old, the availability response is due within 10 business days. Older records can take longer under FOIA.
The Greenville County FOIA page and County Attorney information request page provide the county fallback channel.
FOIA is not a shortcut around court confidentiality, but it can help route non-confidential Greenville County records that are not found in a court search.
The County Attorney request page shows the FOIA submission channel used when a Greenville County department needs a written request.
For Clerk records, that fallback is most useful after the requester has already identified whether the file belongs to civil, criminal, family, or another county office.