How to Search Horry County Court Records
The main tool for Horry County court records is the South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Index. It is free. You reach it through the statewide Case Records Search page or go straight to the Horry County Public Index. The index covers Circuit Court, Family Court, magistrate courts, and several municipal courts. Before you start, have a name or a case number on hand. Your browser must allow cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers need a pop-up exception to open case detail.
The search follows a set order. Skipping a step, like the security code, will stop the search cold. The walkthrough below condenses the state's full process into the steps that matter most.
- Open the Case Records Search page, or go straight to the Horry Public Index URL.
- Select Horry County from the map or list if you start on the statewide page.
- Read the disclaimer and click to accept it. The wording can vary by county.
- Type the security code and click Validate. The state guide warns that pressing Enter does not work.
- Search by case number, name, court type, case type, or date range. Start with one or two fields if you do not know the case number.
- Click a case number in the results grid to open the docket, parties, financial tab, and any document icons.
- Close the results to return to the search, then click Reset Search Fields to run a fresh search.
One warning helps a lot. The system matches every box you fill, so too many filters can bury the case you want. The county's online services page also gathers court rosters, dockets, and ticket payment links in one spot, which saves a hunt through department menus.
Note: the Public Index is the search tool, but certified copies still come from the clerk or court office that holds the file.
Horry County Public Index Search Fields
The Public Index gives you many ways to find a case. You do not need to fill every box. A name search can run on the first few letters. A case number search is best when you have the exact number. The fields below appear on the Horry search screen, drawn from the state judiciary's own guide.
| Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case # | Text | No | Best if you know the exact number; formats vary by court. |
| Last Name / Business | Text | No | Beginning letters or a partial word; a Contains option finds an inside word. |
| First Name | Text | No | Use with last name for a party search. |
| Court Type | Dropdown | No | Circuit, Family, Magistrate, or Municipal where available. |
| Court Agency | Dropdown | No | Horry County agencies and included city courts. |
| Case Type / SubType | Dropdown | No | Civil, criminal, traffic, family, or appeal. |
| Date Type / Range | Date | No | Filed, disposed, judgment, or arrest date. |
| Tax Map # | Text | No | For real estate and foreclosure cases. |
The screen also has judgment filters and a Lis Pendens checkbox for cases tied to real property. When you finish, the Reset Search Fields button clears everything for the next look.
Types of Horry County Court Records
Horry County court records span many case types, and each court keeps its own files. Some are fully open. Others are sealed or limited by law. The Circuit Court produces the criminal and large civil files. Its civil side is the Court of Common Pleas. Its criminal side is the Court of General Sessions. Family Court holds divorce and custody. Probate Court keeps estates and marriage records. The summary courts, magistrate and municipal, handle small claims, lower-level crime, and most traffic.
Civil records include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, liens, and foreclosure actions. Criminal records cover indictments, bond actions, pleas, sentencing, and dispositions. Family Court files reach divorce, support, custody, adoption, name change, and juvenile matters, though many of those last groups are restricted.
- Civil / Common Pleas - complaints, judgments, liens, lis pendens, foreclosures, and appeals from lower courts.
- Criminal / General Sessions - indictments, bond actions, pleas, sentencing, and dispositions.
- Family Court - divorce, custody, support, adoption, name change, and juvenile cases.
- Probate - wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses.
- Magistrate and Municipal - small claims to $7,500, ordinance cases, and lower-level crime.
- Traffic - citations and dispositions in summary and municipal courts.
For booking and arrest detail, see the Horry County arrest records page. Hearing schedules and daily calendars live on the court dockets page. Deeds, mortgages, and plats are not court records and run through the Register of Deeds.
What Horry County Court Records Show
A typical Horry County court record holds the basic case facts plus a running list of what happened. The fields below show up in most Public Index case views. Not every field appears on every case. Some data is redacted by law, and document images are not posted for every file.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court-assigned number for the case. |
| Court Agency | The Circuit, Family, magistrate, or city court that holds it. |
| Filed Date | When the case was filed or received. |
| Case Type / SubType | Civil, criminal, traffic, family, appeal, or foreclosure. |
| Status | Pending, disposed, closed, or a code such as NRVC on traffic. |
| Parties | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, or estate roles. |
| Attorneys | Names and roles when entered into the file. |
| Judge | The assigned or disposition judge, where shown. |
| Charges / Cause | Charge, statute, or the civil cause of action. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as guilty, dismissed, or judgment. |
| Actions / Docket | Motions, hearings, orders, continuances, and filings in date order. |
| Financials | Fines, fees, court costs, restitution, and payments. |
| Documents | Icons that open images where they are available. |
Home addresses were removed from the Public Index for all cases as of January 1, 2026, both new and old. That change ties to privacy and identity-theft worries. Names and case numbers did not go away.
How to Read a Horry County Case File
Court files lean on shorthand. A docket lists actions in date order, like a motion filed, a hearing set, or an order entered. A disposition is the outcome of a charge or case. An arrest or a charge is not the same as a conviction. A charge is only an accusation. A conviction is a guilty plea or a finding of guilt. Bond, capias, and bench warrant terms turn up often in criminal files. A bench warrant comes from a judge, often for a missed court date.
A short glossary clears up the words you will see most.
- Plaintiff
- The party who files a civil lawsuit.
- Defendant
- The party sued in civil court or charged with a crime.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge or case.
- Docket
- The dated record of every action in a case.
- Lis pendens
- A notice that a lawsuit affects a piece of real property.
- Continuance
- A postponement of a scheduled hearing.
When a code is unclear, the clerk or the issuing court can explain it. Traffic cases may show a status like NRVC, which the court can spell out.
Public Access Laws for Horry County Court Records
South Carolina opens public records through the Freedom of Information Act, found in Title 30, Chapter 4 of the state code. The law says public business should be done openly and that people can learn about it at low cost and little delay. Court access also rests on the state's open-courts tradition and on court rules. Access is not total, though. Some records are sealed, redacted, or closed by statute. For court cases, the path usually starts with the Public Index or the right clerk office, not a FOIA request. A FOIA request fits better for administrative county records.
Horry County runs FOIA through its Public Information Office. That office also notes that Register of Deeds records, such as deeds and mortgages, are not handled as FOIA records. For broader county requests and the fee schedule, see the Horry County public records page.
Key Statutes:
S.C. Code § 30-4-30 gives a person the right to inspect and copy public records unless an exemption applies.
S.C. Code § 30-4-40 lists the exemptions, such as personal privacy and law-enforcement-sensitive records, and requires the release of nonexempt parts.
S.C. Code § 30-2-10, the Family Privacy Protection Act, shields personal data like Social Security numbers, home addresses, and account numbers.
If a request is denied, South Carolina FOIA lets a person seek review in circuit court under S.C. Code § 30-4-100. Court rules add another layer. Sealing a settlement or document falls under Rule 41.1, which leans on the state's open-court history before any file is closed.
Online Records Versus Official Copies
Public Index access is fast and free, but it is informational. A certified copy comes from the office that keeps the file. For Circuit and Family Court, that is the Clerk of Court. For probate and marriage, it is Probate Court. For a traffic summary case, it may be central traffic court or the city court. Public-facing results should not be treated as a certified criminal-history report. A job or licensing check may need a SLED product or a certified court disposition instead of a screenshot.
The same split shows up in jail and inmate systems, which run on their own software apart from the court index. The Horry detention center, for one, switched its inmate messaging and mail handling to a new provider, and those records sit outside the Public Index. You can read the county's notice on the detention center inmate communications page.
That page shows how jail messaging and mail rules sit in a separate system from the court case files you pull on the Public Index.
For the full jail roster and booking data, the Horry County inmate records page collects those tools. The Clerk of Court page covers certified copies for Circuit and Family files.
Sealed and Confidential Horry County Court Records
Not all court files are open. Several groups are closed by law and will not show in a public search. Juvenile cases, adoption records, and mental health commitments are confidential. Sealed civil settlements and expunged criminal records drop out of the Public Index. Personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and medical data are redacted. As noted above, home addresses came off the index in 2026.
A file can be released in part rather than withheld in full. The FOIA exemption rule asks public bodies to separate exempt from nonexempt material, so a record may arrive with blacked-out personal details instead of a flat denial. The common closed categories are listed below.
- Juvenile records - Family Court matters for minors, handled under the Juvenile Justice Code.
- Adoption and parental rights - confidential Family Court files.
- Sealed settlements - civil documents closed under Rule 41.1.
- Expunged cases - eligible records removed under Title 17, Chapter 22.
- Mental health commitments - Probate Court matters limited by medical privacy.
- Personal identifiers - Social Security numbers, account data, and medical records.
To open a sealed record, a person usually needs a court order. Expungements run through the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office, which screens eligibility under Title 17, Chapter 22 and related statutes. Categories are narrow, so not every dismissed or old case will qualify.
Expungement and Removing Records From Public View
Expungement is the legal process that removes an eligible record from public criminal history. In Horry County it runs through the Solicitor's Office for the Fifteenth Circuit. Eligibility is category-specific. First-offense magistrate and municipal convictions fall under one section. Youthful-offender first offenses fall under another, with rules about age and a clean five-year window after the sentence ends. Juvenile expungements are handled at the Solicitor's Office too.
A simple path runs like this. Screen eligibility first. Gather the court disposition and case number. Complete the application and pay any required fees unless you are exempt. Wait for agency review. If a court approves it, an order tells the agencies to remove or destroy the public records. Requests get denied for a violent or nonqualifying offense, a new conviction in the waiting period, pending charges, a missing disposition, or unpaid fees.
The Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor, Jimmy Richardson, prosecutes serious cases for Horry and Georgetown Counties and runs the local expungement screening. The Solicitor page links the screening and fee steps.