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Richland County SC Criminal Records
Locate Richland County criminal cases and request General Sessions documents, with the local Criminal Records contact and separate Magistrate and SLED routes.
First identify the Richland court
Richland County, South Carolina has more than one criminal-record route. General Sessions holds filed warrants, indictments, sentence sheets, bond papers and related criminal documents. Its collection excludes Magistrate, also called Summary Court, cases. Start with the court printed on a ticket, warrant or existing order; a search of the General Sessions collection alone cannot establish that every county criminal court has been checked.
Open the Court Records link on the county’s General Sessions page to reach the South Carolina court index. Locate the proceeding using the available case or party information, then save the case number, court designation and defendant details. For a Magistrate matter, use the county’s Magistrates directory to identify that court. Ask for the sentence sheet or final disposition when the question is how a charge ended; an indictment describes an accusation, not its eventual outcome.
Request a specific court document
Criminal Records answers questions about warrants, indictments, sentencing and tickets at 803-576-1939. General Sessions copy requests can be made by mail or in person on the fourth floor of 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The Clerk’s mailing address is P.O. Box 2766, Columbia, SC 29202. Published office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; account for court holidays when planning a visit.
Give the defendant’s name, case number, court and exact filing needed, with its date if known. State whether the recipient needs a certified document and how you want it returned. The General Sessions service page does not publish a copy-price schedule or guaranteed fulfillment time. Call Criminal Records for the document’s availability, copy and certification charges, accepted payment and delivery estimate before sending payment. Do not apply a county administrative-records fee schedule to a court-copy order without confirmation.
Use SLED when you need a South Carolina history
The Clerk does not offer a certified criminal-records check because its holdings omit Magistrate cases. It refers background-check requests to SLED CATCH. CATCH is a name-based South Carolina history product, not a nationwide search, wanted-person check or sex-offender-registry search. A SLED report and a certified copy of a Richland court order answer different questions; order the product specified by the receiving organization.
CATCH uses first name, last name and date of birth to retrieve possible matches. Aliases or differing identifiers can cause missed or incorrect matches; a name search is not fingerprint confirmation of the person you mean. Preserve the input details and response date, and do not turn a multiple-subject or special-processing response into a definite identification.
Check the fee notice and certification route
SLED lists a nonrefundable $25 standard check. Its dated notice effective July 1, 2026 adds a $1.43 service fee per $25 online report, while an older paragraph on the same page still states a $1 convenience fee. Those statements are inconsistent. Confirm the amount shown before payment or ask SLED which charges apply; do not assume both charges should be added. Eligible charitable organizations pay an $8 base fee, with the dated notice listing a $1.14 online service fee. Qualifying checks for prospective teachers and substitute teachers are provided to local school districts without charge.
For mail service, send the Criminal Records Check Form, permitted payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope to SLED Records Department, P.O. Box 21398, Columbia, SC 29221-1398. SLED says the online convenience fee does not apply to mailed requests; personal checks and cash are not accepted. Specifically request notarization or certification if needed.
Resolve an incomplete or disputed result
Compare the identifiers and individual charges before relying on either product. If an outcome is absent, ask the court holding that case for the relevant disposition; if a Magistrate case is missing from General Sessions, return to the Magistrate rather than assuming the case vanished. A detention entry establishes custody at a point in time, and should not be substituted for the court’s decision.
For questions about a CATCH result or erroneous history information, contact SLED’s Public Dissemination Unit at 803-896-1443, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or [email protected]. Keep the report and any supporting court order together so the discrepancy can be identified precisely.
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