Greenville County Public Index Search
The main online channel for Greenville County court records is the Greenville County Public Index. The statewide South Carolina Judicial Branch case-records search also routes users to Greenville County, listed as Circuit 13 and County 23. These tools cover Circuit Court and Magistrate Court public case information, with browser requirements for cookies, JavaScript, and sometimes pop-up access to case detail.
The Public Index is not a complete online file room. The Clerk states that images of most Court of Common Pleas civil cases may be accessed and printed online, while Court of General Sessions criminal records display file information only. For criminal document copies, requesters must contact the Clerk's Criminal Records Department with the arrest warrant number and/or indictment number.
- Open the SC Judicial Branch case-records page or go straight to the Greenville County Public Index.
- Confirm Greenville County, Circuit 13, County 23, then choose the court channel that matches the record.
- Search by party name when the case number is unknown, or use the case number, arrest warrant number, or indictment number when available.
- Open the case detail and read the court agency, case type, filed date, status, parties, caption, and docket activity.
- Use the Clerk, Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or Municipal Court channel when the online result does not include the needed record.
The SC Judicial Branch Greenville County court directory is useful when a search result points to a specific courthouse or office. It lists Circuit, Family, Probate, Magistrate, and Municipal contacts rather than treating all court records as one file.
The Judicial Branch Greenville directory identifies the court offices tied to local record access.
That directory helps separate Circuit Court records from Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, and city court records before a copy request is sent.
Greenville County Court Records Fields
The research capture found a partial Greenville County Public Index field inventory because the portal blocks noninteractive extraction. The official snippets and Clerk guidance still show the core fields a searcher should expect. The key local detail is that the Clerk calls the General Sessions arrest warrant number the case number on the Public Index.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Agency | Dropdown or result field | Unspecified | Identifies the Circuit, Magistrate, or other court agency tied to the case. |
| Case # | Text | Unspecified | For General Sessions, the arrest warrant number may appear as the case number. |
| Case Type | Dropdown or result field | Unspecified | Separates civil, criminal, traffic, or other case categories. |
| Case SubType | Dropdown or result field | Unspecified | Adds a more specific classification within the main case type. |
| Last Name / Business | Text | Unspecified | Use a party surname or business name when no case number is known. |
| First | Text | Unspecified | Party first name. |
| Middle | Text | Unspecified | Party middle name or initial. |
| Suffix | Text | Unspecified | Name suffix when needed to distinguish similar names. |
South Carolina Rule 41.1 explains the open-courts starting point and the showing required to seal a case.
That sealing rule matters when an otherwise expected Greenville County court record is absent from a public result.
Types of Greenville County Court Records
Greenville County court records follow South Carolina's court structure. Circuit Court is the primary trial court for major civil and criminal matters. Its civil side is the Court of Common Pleas, and its criminal side is the Court of General Sessions. Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, and Municipal Court each keep separate record sets with different access rules.
Common Pleas civil records may include lawsuits, judgments, foreclosure or lis pendens matters, subpoenas, motions, orders, and appeals from lower courts or agencies. General Sessions criminal court records may include charges, pleas, motions, disposition, sentence, warrant number, and indictment number. Broader criminal case detail is handled in Greenville County criminal court records, while this page focuses on the all-court access map.
- Common Pleas civil records: civil lawsuits, judgments, property cases, and most online civil document images.
- General Sessions criminal records: felony and serious misdemeanor case information, with document copies requested from Criminal Records.
- Family Court records: divorce, custody, support, adoption, juvenile, and domestic matters, with several confidentiality limits.
- Probate records: estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, and some restricted mental-health matters.
- Magistrate and Municipal records: traffic, lower-level criminal, warrants, bond, small claims, evictions, and city ordinance cases.
For redaction rules, South Carolina Rule 41.2 explains how personal identifying information is kept out of public filings.
That rule is one reason public Greenville County case records may show the case event but omit sensitive identifiers.
What Greenville County Court Records Show
A Greenville County court record usually identifies the court, parties, case type, filing date, status, and activity in the file. The level of detail depends on the court and access channel. Public Index snippets may show enough to verify a case, but the Clerk's office remains the source for certified copies and General Sessions documents.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The local case identifier; in General Sessions this may be the arrest warrant number. |
| Indictment Number | A criminal prosecution identifier that helps the Clerk locate General Sessions documents. |
| Court Agency | The court or office holding the record, such as Circuit, Magistrate, Municipal, Family, or Probate. |
| Filed Date | The date the case or filing entered the court system. |
| Status | Whether the case is active, disposed, pending, or otherwise classified in the system. |
| Caption and Parties | The parties, such as State of South Carolina versus a defendant or a civil plaintiff and defendant. |
| Docket Activity | Hearings, motions, orders, continuances, judgments, dispositions, sentences, and other case events. |
| Documents | Common Pleas images may be online; General Sessions document images usually require a Clerk request. |
South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 610 covers compiled judicial information and bulk data limits.
The rule supports the practical warning that public case portals are for ordinary searches, not bulk extraction or automated scraping.
Greenville County Court Records Channels
No single Greenville County court records channel covers every court. The most efficient search starts by matching the record to the correct court level and then using that court's online, counter, or request process. City court records are especially separate because municipal matters may be held by the city that issued the ticket or charge.
| Channel | Best For | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Greenville County Public Index | Circuit and Magistrate public case lookup | General Sessions document images are not online. |
| Clerk of Court | Certified copies, Common Pleas files, General Sessions copies, older records | Some restricted files are unavailable without court authority. |
| Family Court | Divorce, custody, support, adoption, juvenile, and domestic records | Juvenile and adoption files are confidential. |
| Probate Court | Estates, wills, guardianships, marriage licenses, and probate copies | Mental-health and protective records may be restricted. |
| City of Greenville Municipal Court | City tickets, ordinance cases, and officer event searches | The portal says official records are held in city offices. |
| FOIA or Public Records | County public records and law-enforcement records outside court files | Fees, response time, and exemptions may apply. |
The Greenville County Public Records office is a separate county channel for law-enforcement records, not a substitute for Clerk-held court files.
That distinction keeps a request for court pleadings from being sent to the office that handles incident, booking, and related law-enforcement records.
Greenville County Court Records Copies
The Greenville County Clerk copy page gives the fee rules for ordinary record copies, certified copies, and General Sessions documents. General copies may be paid by cash, money order, business check, or credit/debit card with a processing fee. The General Sessions copy page lists cash, money order, and cashier's check.
| Copy 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 research or redaction over 15 minutes | $18 per hour, prorated in 15-minute increments |
For General Sessions copies, requesters may go in person to Criminal Records, Suite 228, at the Greenville County Courthouse, or email coccriminalrecords@greenvillecounty.org. The request should identify the arrest warrant number and/or indictment number and the specific documents sought. Recently adjudicated case documents may need 2 to 3 business days before copies are available.
Restricted Greenville County Court Records
Greenville County court records are not all public. The Clerk specifically names dismissed warrants, sealed judicial-order cases, juvenile cases, adoption filings, and records barred by law as exceptions to ordinary public viewing and copying. South Carolina also restricts juvenile court records, adoption records, and expunged criminal records.
Greenville County Historical Records Search gives a separate channel for older records collections, including Common Pleas, General Sessions, Probate, Register of Deeds, and Sheriff's Office collections.
Historical access is helpful for older Greenville County records, but it does not override modern restrictions on sealed, juvenile, adoption, or expunged files.
Note: As of January 1, 2026, home addresses no longer display on the Public Index for new or existing cases.
Greenville County FOIA Fallback
When the needed record is not available through the Public Index or the proper court office, Greenville County's FOIA process may be the fallback. The county FOIA page and County Attorney information-request channel require a request that reasonably describes the records. Requests can be sent to the involved department or to the County Attorney's Office by fax, mail, or hand delivery at County Square.
FOIA is not a shortcut around court restrictions. It can help with county public records, but sealed court files, juvenile records, adoption files, expunged matters, and records exempted by law remain limited. For ordinary court copies, the Clerk, Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or Municipal Court is usually the better first contact.