Search Berkeley County Court Records

Search Berkeley County Court Records

The main online route for Berkeley County court records is the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search. Berkeley County appears there as Circuit Number 9 and County Number 08, and the county link opens the Berkeley County Public Index. That index is used for public trial-court case searching, including Circuit Court civil matters in Common Pleas and criminal matters in General Sessions. It is also the place to start when a user needs a case number before asking the Clerk of Court for copies.

Use the search logic published by the Berkeley County Clerk of Court. Civil case files are indexed by plaintiff and defendant, so a civil search may need both party names. Criminal case files are indexed by defendant. The state warns that Public Index searching requires cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers may need a pop-up exception before case detail will open. Online index access is useful, but it is not the same as a certified court copy.

1. Open the state Case Records Search page and locate Berkeley County in the county list.
2. Confirm the Berkeley County listing for Circuit Number 9 and County Number 08.
3. Select the county case-record link to open the Berkeley County Public Index in a browser with cookies and JavaScript enabled.
4. Search by party name or case number, using defendant name for criminal records and plaintiff or defendant name for civil records.
5. Use the case number, court, docket entries, and status to contact the Clerk of Court if an official copy or certified record is needed.

The Berkeley County Public Index portal is the official county-level case index linked by the state courts.

This portal screenshot supports the search workflow because Berkeley County court records begin with the public case index before copy, roster, or court-office follow-up.

Berkeley County Court Records Fields

The Public Index fields are built for case lookup, not broad background research. A case number is the cleanest search key when it is known from a summons, ticket, court notice, or prior copy. Name searches are more common, but spelling matters. A business name may be needed in civil cases, while criminal records should be searched under the defendant. The exact county portal values can change because the form is browser based, so the safest practice is to start with the confirmed state county link and then narrow inside the Berkeley County portal.

Types of Berkeley County Court Records

Berkeley County court records are divided by the court that creates the file. Circuit Court is the main trial court of general jurisdiction. Its civil division, the Court of Common Pleas, handles civil filings such as complaints, answers, motions, judgments, lis pendens, and transcripts of judgment. Its criminal division, the Court of General Sessions, handles higher-level criminal matters after charges are filed and prosecuted by the Ninth Circuit Solicitor.

Lower courts matter because not every case begins at the courthouse counter. Magistrate Court handles county summary criminal and traffic matters, bond court, preliminary hearings, small claims, evictions, and some warrants. Municipal courts handle city traffic tickets, ordinance violations, and city misdemeanor matters in places such as Goose Creek, Hanahan, Jamestown, and Moncks Corner. Probate Court and Family Court have separate access rules, and Family Court records are often confidential or permission-limited.

• Civil records include Common Pleas complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, liens, and dismissal entries.
• Criminal records include General Sessions case entries, charges, pleas, hearings, dispositions, sentences, costs, and probation terms.
• Magistrate records may include traffic, bond, preliminary hearing, small claims, eviction, and county summary criminal matters.
• Municipal records cover city tickets, ordinance cases, and misdemeanor matters within the city court's jurisdiction.
• Family and probate records use separate access paths because divorce, custody, estates, guardianship, marriage, and confidential matters are not all public through the same index.

What Berkeley County Court Records Show

A Berkeley County case result may provide enough detail to identify the court, parties, filing history, hearing activity, and outcome. The research file did not capture a live sample case from the Public Index because the portal requires browser access, cookies, and JavaScript. For that reason, record fields should be read as common court-record fields supported by the official research, not as a promise that every field appears in every online result.

Note: Home address information no longer displays on the Public Index for new or existing cases as of January 1, 2026.

Berkeley County Court Records Access

South Carolina public access starts with the state's open-records framework, but court records also follow court-specific rules. S.C. Code Title 30, Chapter 4 provides the general Freedom of Information Act rule for public bodies, including the right to inspect or copy public records unless an exemption applies. S.C. Code Title 30, Chapter 2 protects personal identifying information and restricts some reuse of public data. Court users should treat Public Index, Clerk copy requests, Family Court permission rules, Probate Court portals, and county FOIA as different channels.

For court case files, the practical first step is usually Public Index or the correct court office, not a broad FOIA request. The Berkeley County Clerk of Court is at 300-B California Avenue, Moncks Corner, SC 29461, with Moncks Corner phone access at (843) 719-4400. Family Court can be reached at (843) 719-4500. The Clerk mailing address is PO Box 219, Moncks Corner, SC 29461, and office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Berkeley County FOIA Fallback

Administrative county records use a separate route from court case files. Berkeley County requires FOIA requests through the Berkeley County MyCustHelp FOIA portal. The county stopped accepting FOIA requests by email or fax effective August 1, 2020, and the county Legal FAQ says first-time portal users need to create an account. That rule is important when a record is not a court case file, such as some county administrative records or law-enforcement records handled outside the Clerk's court-copy process.

The county FOIA page also gives limits that should not be missed. Body-camera footage is exempt from FOIA under the county-cited law, including S.C. Code Section 30-4-40(a)(4) and Section 23-1-240(G)(1). Public records may not be obtained or used for commercial solicitation directed to a person in South Carolina under Section 30-2-50. Those limits do not replace court access rules, but they explain why some county-held material is withheld or redacted.

The Berkeley County FOIA portal is the county's required online channel for administrative public-record requests.

This image belongs with the fallback channel because court users may need the FOIA portal for county records that are not available through Public Index or a court clerk copy request.

Restricted Berkeley County Court Records

Several Berkeley County court records are not open through ordinary public search. The Clerk FAQ says Family Court records are confidential and may be inspected only with special permission. The same local material identifies juvenile delinquency, adoptions, terminated parental rights, abuse and neglect, sealed records, and similar matters as confidential. South Carolina's Juvenile Justice Code also limits inspection of juvenile court records.

Sealed or expunged records require the proper court or Solicitor route. South Carolina expungement applications for many criminal records are administered by the Solicitor's Office in the circuit where the law allows expungement. For Berkeley County, that is the Ninth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. A person seeking access to a sealed file generally needs a court order or specific legal permission, not just a public-records request. For a deeper criminal-case path, the Berkeley County criminal court records page separates case files, dispositions, and sentencing from general court access.

Berkeley County Court Records Requests

When the portal is unavailable, incomplete, or not enough for legal use, contact the office that keeps the record. The Clerk of Court is the correct local office for Circuit Court civil and criminal indices and for many court-copy questions. Family Court matters should be routed through the Family Court access process because confidentiality limits apply. Probate matters use Probate Court and the PAWS or Estates Lookup route. Magistrate and Municipal cases may require the specific lower court that heard the case.

Bring or provide the case number when possible. If a case number is not known, use party names, filing date range, court type, and the kind of copy needed. Certified copies, sealed-file access, and older files may require extra review by the court office.