How to Search Spartanburg County Court Records
The official starting point is the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search. From there you reach the Spartanburg County Public Index. That portal holds Circuit Court and Family Court cases, plus some Municipal Court records. The search is free. There is no account to make. Spartanburg County is Circuit Number 7 and County Number 42, so you pick it from the county list.
Get a few things ready first. Turn on cookies and JavaScript, because the Judicial Branch says both are required. Some browsers also need a pop-up exception to open case detail. Have a party name or a case number on hand. One privacy change matters: as of January 1, 2026, home address information no longer shows on the public index for new or existing cases.
The steps below work for most case types.
- Open the SC Judicial Branch Case Records Search and pick Spartanburg County.
- Accept the public index disclaimer in the county portal.
- Search by case number if you have it. If not, use a party or business name, or another identifier like CDR code or indictment number.
- Narrow the list by court type, case type, action type, or filing date.
- Open the case number link to read the docket, parties, charges, hearings, and judgments. Allow pop-ups if the detail window does not open.
- Contact the Clerk of Court for a certified copy or for any record not posted online.
The Judicial Branch does not promise that recent filings show right away. For anything official, ask the Clerk. The county and state list every court office on the Spartanburg County courthouse page, a quick way to confirm a phone number before you call.
Spartanburg County court records reach back across the trial courts, so the right tool depends on the case. The county Public Index is the main one for Circuit and Family Court files.
The Public Index opens to a search screen where you choose a search type and enter your terms. It pulls Spartanburg County court records straight from the state case management system.
Spartanburg County Court Records Search Fields
The Public Index gives several ways to query. You do not need every field. A last name or a case number usually gets you there. The table lists the common fields and how each one works. Use the beginning letters of a name and do not assume exact punctuation, since spacing and middle names vary by case.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last / Business Name | Text | Conditional | Use the first letters; punctuation may differ |
| First Name | Text | No | Narrows an individual party search |
| Party Type | Dropdown | No | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, attorney |
| Case Number | Text | Conditional | Format like YYYY-XX-CC-NNNNN by case type |
| Court Agency | Dropdown | No | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, some Municipal |
| Case Type / Subtype | Dropdown | No | Civil, criminal, domestic, judgment, lis pendens |
| Filing Date From / To | Date | No | Narrows by date range, MM/DD/YYYY |
| CDR Code | Text | No | Charge and disposition reference for criminal cases |
You can also search by indictment number or tax map number when the portal exposes those options. A Reset button clears your terms. If a name returns too many hits, add a first name or a date range to trim the list.
Types of Spartanburg County Court Records
The Spartanburg County Court makes records across every division. Some are fully public. Others are sealed or limited by statute. Which court made the file tells you where to look and how much you can see. Civil and most criminal records are open. Family, juvenile, and mental-health matters carry the most restrictions.
Here are the main categories of Spartanburg County court records.
- Civil / Common Pleas - lawsuits, contracts, injury, foreclosure, liens, lis pendens, and judgments.
- Criminal / General Sessions - felony and serious misdemeanor cases prosecuted by the Seventh Circuit Solicitor.
- Family Court - divorce, custody, child support, name changes, and juvenile matters, much of it restricted.
- Probate - wills, estates, guardianships, marriage licenses, and mental-health commitments.
- Magistrate civil and traffic - small claims, landlord-tenant, and citations from the summary courts.
- Master-in-Equity - foreclosure and equity sales handled by reference.
Marriage licenses come from Probate Court, not the Clerk. For divorce and license details, see Spartanburg County marriage and divorce records. Land documents sit with the Register of Deeds, a separate office from the court clerk.
What Spartanburg County Court Records Show
A case file holds a standard set of fields. The public index shows most of them once a case is filed. A criminal record adds the charge, the CDR or statute code, the bond, the arrest date, and the disposition. A civil judgment shows the amount and whether it was satisfied. The data table below lists what a typical result returns.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court's unique case ID, by year, case-type code, and county code |
| Court Agency | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family, or available Municipal Court |
| Filing Date | When the case opened |
| Status | Open, pending, disposed, closed, or appealed |
| Parties | Names and roles; home addresses removed as of January 1, 2026 |
| Attorneys | Attorney name and the party represented |
| Charges | Charge description, CDR or statute code, disposition, and date |
| Actions / Docket | Event date, action type, motions, and document links when posted |
| Hearings | Date, time, type, and courtroom or judge when public |
| Financials | Fines, costs, restitution, bond, and payments |
| Judgment | Final amount or sentence and any satisfaction status |
Confidential records do not appear. Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, PINs, and other protected identifiers are redacted by rule. For event-by-event detail, the Spartanburg County court dockets page breaks down how to read each docket line.
Public Access Laws for Spartanburg County Court Records
South Carolina starts from open access. The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a right to inspect and copy records held by public bodies, and county offices fall under it. Court files add their own layer of rules through court orders, juvenile law, mental-health law, and Judicial Branch public-index policy. When an office denies a FOIA request, the remedy is a Circuit Court action, not an agency appeal board.
Fees must stay reasonable and cannot top the actual cost of the search and copies. A fee waiver or reduction is allowed when the release serves the public interest. The statutes below shape who sees what among Spartanburg County court records.
Key Statutes:
S.C. Code § 30-4-30 gives the right to inspect and copy public records, with fees kept at or below actual cost.
S.C. Code § 30-4-40 lists exemptions, including some law-enforcement investigation material and personal privacy.
S.C. Code § 30-4-100 lets a citizen apply to Circuit Court when a request is wrongly denied.
S.C. Code § 63-19-2010 makes juvenile court and agency records confidential.
S.C. Code § 44-22-100 keeps mental-health commitment records confidential.
The Spartanburg County public records page walks through filing a FOIA request and the fees involved.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Spartanburg County
Not every court file is open. Juvenile records are confidential under S.C. Code § 63-19-2010 and reach only a judge, the child's attorney, and a few authorized people. Mental-health commitment files held by Probate Court are closed. Adoption records are sealed. The public index hides sealed cases and any expunged charge. Personal identifiers should never appear in a public filing.
To view a sealed record, a person usually needs a court order. Expungement is its own track. The Clerk is required by statute to send expungement questions to the Seventh Circuit Solicitor, who handles eligibility, fees, and SLED verification. Article 9 of Title 17 in the criminal procedure code controls that process. Summary-court dismissals and not-guilty results carry special no-cost expungement steps, including removal from internet public records within set timelines.
Diversion can also keep a record out of the public index. South Carolina runs problem-solving courts that route eligible defendants away from a standard conviction, and success can mean a noncriminal disposition.
The Judicial Branch Treatment Court FAQ lists drug, veterans, mental health, and education programs that can change how a case shows in Spartanburg County court records.
Note: Once a charge is expunged, it drops off the public index, so a clean search does not always mean a person was never charged.
Federal Court Records for Spartanburg County
Federal cases do not appear in the state Public Index. Spartanburg County falls within the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. That court hears federal civil suits, federal crimes, civil-rights claims, federal-question and diversity cases, and habeas petitions. Appeals move to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.
Federal records are searched through PACER and CM/ECF, not the county portal. PACER is the federal judiciary's paid public access system. You register, then search a single court's docket or the PACER Case Locator.
The PACER site handles registration and per-page billing for federal dockets and documents. CourtListener and its RECAP archive offer some of the same federal documents for free when users have contributed them.
Attorneys and courts file through CM/ECF, the electronic case filing system tied to the district. The same login can open docket sheets once you have access.
The District of South Carolina CM/ECF system manages filings and dockets for the federal trial court that covers Spartanburg County.
Federal bankruptcy is its own court. Chapter 7, 11, and 13 cases for Spartanburg County go through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina, and federal inmate status is tracked through the Bureau of Prisons locator.
The U.S. District Court for South Carolina site posts local rules, judge assignments, and links to the federal portals that hold Spartanburg County federal court records.
In-Person Court Record Requests
Some records still need a clerk visit or a written request. The Clerk of Court is the records office for Circuit and Family Court files. Copies of General Sessions, Common Pleas, and Family Court records run through the Clerk's records contact. The new judicial center opened in January 2024 and holds the Clerk, Probate, Magistrate central operations, the Solicitor, and court security. Free public parking is at the Library Street Parking Garage, and the courtyard adds a short walk to the door.
Spartanburg County Clerk of Court
180 Magnolia St, 2nd Floor, Suite 2100
Spartanburg, SC 29306
864-596-2591
Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Bring the case number if you have it, since it speeds the pull. Certified copies cost more than plain copies, and the Clerk does not post a full copy-fee schedule online, so call ahead. The Clerk of Court page on this site covers forms and certified copies in more detail.
To confirm a trial date instead of pulling a full file, the state also runs a roster tool. The SC Court Roster Search links county trial rosters by court term.
The roster page lists Spartanburg County court records by court session, which helps when you want a hearing date rather than the entire case file.