Search Free Greenville County Public Records via Local Agencies

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Free Greenville County Public Records Search

Access Greenville County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

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Greenville County public records encompass a wide range of information available to citizens and can be found through local agencies for free with the right knowhow. Some examples of these records include–but are not limited to–marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, criminal, court, property, prisoner information, background check reports, probation, and more.

This information is readily accessible, as Greenville County has done an amazing job digitizing these records and making them available for public use. Through this resource, citizens will be empowered to find all types of public records in Greenville County through official channels to learn more about another person or see what’s on their own record.

How To Access Recent Arrest Records for Free in Greenville County South Carolina

Fortunately for interested members of the public, both the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments are committed to providing easy access to arrest records, incident reports, and traffic violations.

It is important to note that while each local law enforcement agency does have their own record custodian, sometimes this information is not shared. If this happens, the individual police agency must be contacted for that information.

Because of this, there are a few general guidelines when contacting local authorities to help narrow down a search:

• Arrestee’s name
• Approximate location of the arrest
• Date and time of the arrest
• Nature of the charges

As far as the various agencies in the area, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction over the whole county, while local police departments will have jurisdiction just within their respective city limits. Because of this, it is necessary to contact the local police department and the Sheriff’s office if the location of a subject’s arrest or incident is unknown.

Finding Inmates Recently Booked in Greenville County via the Sheriff’s Inmate Search Tool

Though Greenville County has a population of just over half a million people, there is just one primary jail that services the entire county, including the city of Greenville. Known as the Greenville County Detention Center, the jail complex can house over 1,000 inmates either serving their sentence in jail or awaiting trial.

With so many inmates coming in and out of the jail, the Sheriff’s office has created a great Inmate Search Tool that members of the public can use to find recent jail records. However, using the tool is a little tricky.

Unlike most other jurisdictions, members of the public seeking to find information here must provide at least a full last name. Partial spellings, misspellings, or aliases will not result in a hit. Once through to the jail roster, interested parties can see a whole host of information such as charges, arrest dates, warrant number, etc.

It is also a great way to find someone’s mugshot since all arrestees are required by South Carolina law to have their photo taken and published.

Another way to find information about arrests and Greenville County bookings is by contacting the local Department of Public Safety – Records Management Services Division. The records department is dual-hatted in that it manages records for both the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

Members of the public interested in any records from either of these two county-level entities must submit a FOIA request in person or via email. Once completed, the Department of Public Safety will confirm the fees associated with the request. Some common fees might include $3.00 for a police arrest report, $3.00 for a traffic incident report, $6.00 for written confirmation of time spent incarcerated, and so on.

These fees will more than likely have to be paid before releasing any records allowable under South Carolina law.

For questions or concerns regarding this process, to find out more information about people currently incarcerated in the area, or the availability of Greenville County arrest records, both the jail and Management Services Division can be contacted in the following ways:

Greenville County Detention Center
20 McGee Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.467.2309

Greenville County Department of Public Safety – Records Management Services Division
20 McGee Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.467.5278
Email: [email protected]
Mon -Fri 8:30am – 5pm

Retrieve Arrest Information & Police Reports via Various Greenville County Law Enforcement Agencies

While the Detention Center and the Sheriff’s Office are a great place to start for finding arrest records, these two entities are not the only record custodians that maintain them.

In fact, six other police departments in the area maintain some form of criminal records that citizens can obtain.

Greenville: The largest police department in the county services the city of Greenville, which is also the county’s largest city and its county seat. Because of this, Greenville police records–including arrest records, incident reports, and other documentation–are filed with the Greenville Department of Public Safety alongside the county criminal records.

Those interested in obtaining these records must submit the FOIA Request Form that one would use when requesting county arrest records. The same fee schedule also applies.³

However, while the Greenville Police Department does not advertise a public records division, the department does claim to have one on its Contact Us page. The site only lists incident reports as the only available record that can be obtained by phone.

For any other questions regarding this process, the Greenville police department can be reached at the contact information listed below:

Greenville Police Department
4 McGee Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.271.5333

Greer: Among one of the smaller departments in the area, the Greer Police Department has jurisdiction over the City of Greer and its immediate vicinity. Despite its small size, the department has several methods of obtaining arrest reports and police records. The first way is by contacting the department directly.

The department maintains a records division, and requests may be sent by phone, email, or in person.

Another way to get public records from the Greer police department is by submitting a FOIA request through the City of Greer’s online portal. New users have to make an account and can submit for any department through that portal. However, it is essential to note that no known fee schedule is associated with either method.

To get clarification on the fee schedule or ask any other questions, please direct inquiries to the Greer Police Department.

Greer Police Department
101 W Poinsett Street
Greer, SC 29650

Phone: 864.848.2161
Mon – Fri 8 am – 5 pm

Mauldin: While other departments in the area have a dedicated records department, the Mauldin Police Department is not one of them. Instead, interested parties must submit a FOIA request directly to the City of Mauldin. The city requires the form to be mailed to the following address, where it will then be directed to the appropriate agency:

Mauldin, SC FOIA Requests
City of Mauldin
City Clerk’s Office
P.O. Box 249
Mauldin, SC 29662

According to the FOIA requests, up to 25% of the estimated fees shall be collected prior to conducting research for the requested records. However, the request does not specify what those fees are, and the fee schedule published by the City of Mauldin is equally ambiguous.

This document claims a “gross hourly rate” for records research and does not list an exact number. For clarification on this policy and others, the Mauldin police department can be contacted in the following ways:

Mauldin Police Department
5 E Butler Road
Mauldin, SC 29662

Phone: 864.289.8900

Simpsonville: The Simpsonville Police Department does maintain a public records division.⁴ Interested parties may obtain incident reports, accident reports, and arrests conducted by Simpsonville police only by submitting a FOIA form over the phone or online.

Accident and incident reports are both $5.00 per report, regardless of length. Victims of crimes may receive reports related to their cases free of charge.

Questions regarding available records or submitting a FOIA request can be directed to the Simpsonville police department records division:

Simpsonville Police Department Records Division
405 E Curtis Street
Simpsonville, SC 29681

Phone: 864.228.2595

Travelers Rest: Travelers Rest is the smallest police department in the county. Because of this, the department has just one employee who manages all record requests.⁵ There is no formal process for requesting records, such as filling out FOIA forms or a fee schedule.

Instead, all questions regarding this process should be done via phone to the Travelers Rest Records Department:

Travelers Rest Records Department
6711 State Park Road
Travelers Rest, SC 29690

Phone: 864.834.9029

How To Find Someone’s Criminal Record in Greenville County SC

Luckily for law-abiding citizens interested in Greenville County public records, many custodians have made it possible to conduct free criminal record checks online or pay only a nominal fee.

There are two types of records for criminal records that have already been adjudicated or worked through the legal process in court. These are misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors are heard in various jurisdictions in Greenville County, such as Summary Court, City or Municipal Court, Court of Common Pleas, and others.

For felonies, these are exclusively heard at the Greenville General Sessions court.

Another type of criminal record type that is available for public use are warrants. These court documents are issued when a person is a fugitive from justice. A judge can issue a warrant for a variety of reasons, including failure to appear or trying to elude authorities.

Probation records are also considered public information. In fact, the state of South Carolina maintains a freely accessible database of all persons currently serving on probation within the state. This database can then be accessed by county.

Lastly, Greenville County also has several local resources for which members of the public can obtain a background check on any person at a low cost. Additionally, state resources are available to conduct a statewide search.

Searching Prior Charges & Criminal Convictions via the 13th Judicial Circuit Court

Searchers can locate Greenville County judicial records by either contacting the Clerk of Court or researching through the 13th Judicial Court.

It is important to note that this court has limited jurisdiction when contacting the Clerk of Court to perform a records search of the Greenville General Sessions Court. The Greenville General Sessions court handles only felony cases from any part of Greenville County.

The Clerk of Court does provide terminals at the courthouse for members of the public to search any materials filed with that court. Interested parties may also call the Clerk directly, though the results would not be certified.

However, performing case research through the 13th Judicial Circuit Court is arguably the best way to find Greenville County criminal records quickly and for free. The 13th Judicial Circuit Court maintains records for all types of criminal action that occurs within Greenville County, from traffic tickets to the most heinous felony cases.

Fortunately for the public, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court has a great search function that allows users to look up any criminal case that has occurred in the county since records started becoming digitized.

When users first come onto the site, there are numerous ways to perform a Greenville County case search including:

• Name
• Court agency
• Disposition
• Action type
• Case type
• Date
• Case number

These are just some of the ways to filter the massive amount of data held in this repository. Once on a case, members of the public will see that each case will have a great amount of information displayed to include but not limited to:

• Case number
• Parties involved
• Major case milestones
• Sentence
• Fines and penalties

For any other inquiries regarding obtaining hard copies of any records obtained from the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Greenville County Clerk of Court to be in contact with the relevant court clerks:

Greenville County Clerk of Court
305 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.467.8551

How To Find Out if Someone Has a Warrant in Greenville County South Carolina

When trying to find Greenville County warrants, there are two main ways to do so. The first way is by contacting the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Services Division. This division receives active warrants issued from all courts within the jurisdiction of Greenville County.

The Sheriff urges members of the public who want information on active warrants to call them directly at 864.467.5241.

But for those who do not want to speak on the phone and remain completely anonymous, there is another way to perform a free warrant search from the comfort of one’s home. Searchers can also utilize the search tool that the 13th Judicial Court provides for court cases to locate active warrants within Greenville County.

To do this, the Action Type must be filtered by Warrants with at least one additional piece of information entered, such as a last name. However, as much information as possible should be entered since search results are limited.

How To Run a Greenville County Probation Record Check

The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole & Pardon Services provides the officers that monitor those on probation in Greenville County. For those interested in finding who is on probation, the department has a statewide search tool for locating any person who falls into this demographic.

When accessing the function, interested parties may search the database by name, date of birth, county of domicile, and probationer number. From testing various combinations, it appears the best way is to search by both county and last name.

While this public index of probationers and parolees is a great tool, the information can vary wildly. While most results are comprehensive, some do not include the charges or the start and stop dates of the probation period. This could be due to the sealing of said records or to avoid interfering with active law enforcement investigations.

How To Obtain a Background Check Report in Greenville County SC

There are numerous ways to look up someone’s criminal record in Greenville County via a Level I or Level II background check. A Level I background check includes searching by name only, while a Level II background check includes fingerprints and can search records at the state and federal level. Among local law enforcement agencies, there are three that offer these services.

The first two of these are the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and the Greenville Police Department, which both utilize the Greenville Department of Public Safety Records Division. According to the published fee schedule, either of these entities will perform a background check that goes back five, ten, or more than ten years. These reports are priced at $5.00, $10.00, and $15.00 respectively.

These reports can be made in person or over the phone, and follow the same process for obtaining these records as stated earlier. However, for those who do not want to do that process, there is another way unique to background checks.

Greenville County has created an online request form for those who would rather submit background check requests online.⁹ The public can submit for any person anonymously and must provide payment exclusively by credit card if using the portal. There is a processing fee associated with these requests, and the online requests follow the same fee schedule as if made in person or over the phone.

The other local law enforcement agency that offers background checks is the Simpsonville Police Department. Those seeking a background check must complete a FOIA request online or over the phone. Once completed, the report will cost $6.00, and the officers will only check public records pertaining to the Simpsonville Police Department and no other jurisdiction.

Among these agencies, submitting a request for a Level I background check is fairly easy for both personal and professional reasons. However, a Level II background check where a person’s fingerprints are taken is only for professional reasons like a new job or for obtaining certain licenses like doctors, teachers, and concealed carry permits.

How To Access Criminal Records in South Carolina via State & Federal Agencies

While various local law enforcement agencies provide great ways to view someone’s criminal history, there is a statewide agency that provides access to South Carolina public criminal records for anyone interested party.

Known as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division or SLED, the agency has access to criminal records sent in from counties across the state.

SLED has two methods of getting a background check done. The easiest and fastest method is by using the online portal the agency offers to conduct an instant check at home.

The cost for this check is $25.00 and is non-refundable. Charities and nonprofits can apply for a reduced fee of $8.00 with proper documentation. Those who do not want to submit a background check online may mail one in using this fillable form.¹¹ Only certified checks, business checks, or money orders are accepted.

While the SLED records division is not open to the public, hard copy requests can be mailed to the following address:

SLED Records Department
P.O. Box 21398
Columbia, SC 29221

Thankfully for the public, the state of South Carolina offers other ways to perform free public records search on individuals who want a completely free option. Some of these resources include:

South Carolina Department of Corrections: The South Carolina Department of Corrections offers a great free search tool to locate currently incarcerated state prisoners.¹² Users may search by either partial or full first or last names as well as inmate I.D. numbers. The information provided on each inmate is astounding and includes most of the following for each inmate:

• Recent booking photo
• Location where subject is held
• Current convictions
• Prison infractions
• Estimated parole date
• Agency where charges originated

South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole & Pardon Services: The DPPPS has a robust online directory where members of the public can search for any person in the state who is currently on probation, parole, or has been pardoned. While the database is great for viewing those currently in the system, it does not list historical incidents where the offender has finished their probation or parole.

Bureau of Prisons Inmate Search: Prisoners held at the federal level fall under the Bureau of Prisons. South Carolina is home to several state prisons. Members of the public can use the online federal inmate search to see if a person is held in federal custody in South Carolina.¹⁴

South Carolina Sex Offender Registry: SLED provides the public with a sex offender registry meant to inform interested parties about convicted sex offenders living within a certain radius of a desired location. To use the function, an address or desired zip code must be entered. The registry is not set up by city or county.

It can then be modified for a 1, 2, or 3-mile radius. Information provided includes:

• Current photo
• Current address
• Previous addresses
• Scars, marks, tattoos
• Convictions

Federal Sex Offender Registry: Provided by the Department of Justice, the Federal Sex Offender Registry is a free public records repository of information sent in from state law enforcement agencies.¹⁵ It is slightly better than the state database because members of the public may search by name, which can be further broken down by zip code.

How To Look Up Greenville County Court Records

There are numerous courts throughout the county, and they each maintain records that are then maintained by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court.

To begin with, searchers can start with the state database of courts.¹⁶ Once there, a member of the public can click through to Greenville County and then be directed to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court.

Once there, the best way to find Greenville County court records is by using the court record search tool offered by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. As noted previously, the Greenville County Clerk of Court maintains records primarily for felony cases that occur at the Greenville General Sessions court.

The 13th Judicial District provides an amazing function that maintains a database for a multitude of Greenville County public records. 

For example, the index has the following courts in its jurisdiction:

• City Magistrate 1
• City Magistrate 2
• City of Travelers Rest
• Domestic Violence Court
• East Greenville Summary Court
• Fairview/Austin Summary Court
• Fountain Inn Municipal Court
• Gantt Summary Court
• Greenville County Court of Common Pleas
• Greenville County Master in Equity
• Greenville General Sessions
• Greer Municipal Court
• North Greenville Summary Court
• South Greenville Summary Court
• West Greenville Summary Court

With all of these courts under the purview of the 13th Judicial Circuit court, there is a wide range of cases heard. Below is a quick summary of what is available at each court.

Summary Courts: These courts have the broadest range of jurisdiction in Greenville County. They can hear anything from civil cases to traffic court and misdemeanors.

City/Municipal Courts: Smaller localities often have one primary court to hear similar issues to summary courts. Essentially, the functions are the same, and these courts hear civil, criminal, and traffic cases.

Greenville General Sessions Court: All felony cases that are charged in the county will make their way through this jurisdiction.

The 13th Judicial Circuit Court maintains the database of all of the proceedings from these courts. Everything from civil cases, criminal cases, judgments, liens, lawsuits, traffic tickets, and more all comprise this massive database of information freely available to the public at any time.

Despite the Greenville County Clerk of Court not providing much in regard to court records, the agency does offer a detailed court schedule of all upcoming court hearings. The Clerk breaks down the forthcoming hearings by court type, and then users can sort either by court date, judge, or hearing type. While many court types are listed, unfortunately, one of them is not probate court.

People searching for those kinds of records can visit the official Greenville County probate case search on the online portal.

How To View or Acquire Vital Records in Greenville County SC: Marriage, Divorce, Birth & Death Records

Vital records custodians for qualifying events like birth, death, marriage, and divorce reside both inside and outside the county.

These records are important to keep on hand since so many agencies and organizations require birth certificates for getting identification, a marriage certificate for certain benefits, divorce decrees for dissolving certain obligations and remarrying, and death records for court cases.

Additionally, these records are essential for generations of one’s family when conducting genealogy searches since these documents highlight important aspects of a family history.

For those interested in these records, several entities hold them. These include the Greenville County Family Court and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, or DHEC.

How To Request Divorce & Marriage Records via the Greenville County Courts

There are two ways to find out if someone is married in Greenville County. The first way is to look up marriage licenses that have been filed with the Greenville County courts.¹⁷

Greenville County marriage records are offered at two different price points. Those marriage licenses filed between 1911 and 1970 cost $5.50 per certified copy, while marriage licenses filed between 1971 to the present cost a $5.25 fee per certified copy. If a record cannot be located, the county will charge a $5.00 search fee.

The South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) also offers several ways for individuals to check if someone is married in Greenville County.¹⁸

The DHEC retains marriage licenses for all marriages that occurred between July 1950 and December 2022. For marriages during those dates, any member of the public can submit a marriage or divorce application form either by mail or in person.

Interested parties may also choose to pay for one using a state-authorized third party that accepts applications and payment both over the phone and online.

For those who choose to send an application in the mail or visit in person, the fee is $12.00, with an additional $3.00 fee per copy.

People interested in visiting the DHEC in person must go to the following address that is not located in Greenville County:

DHEC State Vital Records Office
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Phone: 803.898.3630

Regarding access to Greenville County divorce records, there are several options to find these as well. The Greenville County Family Court has a great search tool that allows people to search for divorce records either by name or case number.

To obtain hard copies records of divorce degrees and other records, interested parties may contact the Greenville County family court once a case number is known:

Greenville County Family Court
350 Halton Road
Greenville, SC 29607

Phone: 864.467.5800

Historical divorce reports can also be obtained from the DHEC. The DHEC maintains a database of all divorces decreed in the state of South Carolina from July 1962 to December 2022. Applicants must complete an application for a divorce record and mail it in or take it to the DHEC office in Columbia.

The cost is the same as a marriage license and costs $12.00 per report and a $3.00 charge per extra copy. Of note, the actual divorce decree can only be obtained from the county where the divorce was finalized since the DHEC just maintains a database of divorce reports. Additionally, only people named in the report, adult children of said persons, or current spouses of that person can obtain a copy.

How To Order Birth & Death Certificates in Greenville County SC via DHEC

Obtaining a birth certificate or death certificate in Greenville County can be accomplished the same way as marriage and divorce records — through the state’s Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC).

People interested in obtaining these Greenville County public records can also use either of two authorized third-party vendors the state of South Carolina works with.

For those wanting to fill out and file an application in person, this can be done at either the state office or a regional office. For the local Greenville office, please go to the following location:

Greenville County DHEC Office
352 Halton Road
Greenville, SC 29607

Phone: 864.372.3267

For those wanting to mail in an application or drop one off, these two methods can only be done at the state DHEC office:

DHEC State Vital Records Office
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Phone: 803.898.3630

But regardless of where or how a person chooses to submit an application, the forms and fees remain the same. Those seeking a record must complete either a application for a certificate of birth or application for a certificate of death and submit them using the information above.

Searchers must also know that not everyone is entitled to these records. For birth certificates, only the person named on the certificate, as well as the mother or father, may request such a document. That document becomes a public record once 100 years have passed since birth.

Birth certificates are also only available from 1915, and onward since before 1915, no state law required such documentation.

For deaths, these records are also limited to people named on the report, such as parents and spouses. Adult children may also request this document. Once 50 years have passed, the death becomes a public record.

Death certificates follow the same pattern as birth certificates since those records were not required before 1915 either.

The fees for both documents remain the same at $12.00 per first copy and $3.00 for each additional one.

How To Track Down Property Owners & Tax Information Using Greenville County Records (Free)

When attempting to locate both current and historical property records, there are several means to do so. The quickest and most accessible of these ways is to use the online search function offered by the Register of Deeds.

Here, interested parties can see all types of property information including but not limited to deeds, titles, mortgages, and more. This data can be sorted by both party name and date entered into the register of deeds.

While this database contains information from 1985 to the present, historical land information is maintained at the Register of Deeds Historic Archive.²² These records pertain to all property records maintained by the office pre-1985. These records are not searchable but instead listed as alphanumeric PDF copies.

For help finding a current or historical property record, the Register of Deeds can be contacted in the following ways:

Greenville County Register of Deeds
301 University Ridge
Greenville County Square
Suite S-2100
Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.467.7240

As far as tax records for Greenville County properties, the Real Property Services Office maintains an online property database listing tax information for all properties in the county. Information that can be found in this database includes but is not limited to the following:

• Owners
• Tax assessments since 1995
• Current value
• Address and plot number

Of note, when searching the database by name, owner names should be entered last name first followed by first name with no commas in between.

How To Responsibly Access Greenville County Public Records

When utilizing public records, there are a number of rules and regulations in place to use them responsibly for both personal and professional use.

As far as personal use, public records should not be used to intimidate, harass, or be used for unlawful schemes. These records are an issue of public service to inform and make known to the general public certain facts. Abusing these facts for personal gain is not only morally wrong but often a crime in most jurisdictions, including South Carolina.

As far as professional resources, there are a number of both state and federal laws regarding the fair use of public records. Some of these include but are not limited to:

South Carolina Freedom of Information Act: The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act is the state’s way of ensuring open and unburdened access to public records. Of note, while this act mandates government agencies to provide such records, it does allow for several notable exceptions. Law enforcement records that could hinder or endanger an active investigation or hurt a prosecution in court are not public records.

Personally identifiable information of public servants, such as home addresses and phone numbers, are also not public records.

South Carolina Human Affairs Law: The South Carolina Human Affairs law provides protection for state workers through both outlawing hiring and wage discrimination. Use of public records to discriminate both before and during employment in South Carolina can entail civil and criminal penalties. Those who feel discriminated against can file a complaint with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Known in short as the EEOC, this federal law prevents employment discrimination across the country. Most state laws mirror the EEOC, and oftentimes, complaints can be combined when filing, i.e., state and federal complaints filed concurrently to ensure the employee’s rights are protected at all levels.

There are several ways to file an EEOC complaint, and the methods are flexible depending on the filer’s needs.²³

Freedom of Information Act: The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law passed in 1967 that allows citizens to request records from any government agency.²⁴ While members may request these records, a number of records are exempt. These include active law enforcement matters, national security matters, classified documents, trade secrets, and personal information.

Fair Credit Reporting Act: The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a landmark federal law that provides a host of protections to the American consumer.²⁵ Among these protections are the right to correct inaccurate or false information on credit reports along with obtaining free copies of one’s own credit reports.

When used responsibly and in accordance with applicable laws, Greenville County public records can provide many insights into the background history of both oneself and others.