Perform a Free Greenville County Warrant Search (South Carolina)

Run a Greenville County warrant search today to ensure you or anyone else you may know is not wanted by law enforcement.

The ability to perform this search is due to South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act and the encompassing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Citizens can often view warrant data at no cost from state, county, and — in some cases — local agencies. These agencies provide interested parties with various means of access, such as electronic and mail requests.

This resource provides helpful information and lookup options to aid searchers in finding information on wanted individuals and fugitives.

A Look at What’s Needed To Run a Greenville County Warrant Search for Free

A successful query for wanted persons will depend on whether the requester has adequate information to find the fugitive, the most important of which is having the subject’s full name. In addition, patrons will need to know where the warrant originated, or the address of the wanted person since apprehension orders are not issued by one sole agency.

Some county and state agencies will also require the requester to provide the subject’s date of birth (DOB). In rare cases, physical descriptions of the subject may be needed; these include the wanted person’s sex, height, weight, or race.

South Carolina courts mostly issue warrants; these records are part of court documents, which makes them public data pursuant to the state’s Freedom of Information Act (Section 30-4-30).¹ These laws allow the public to view most court data and information from law enforcement with almost no restriction except in cases of sealed records or if revealing them hampers investigations.

Moreover, the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows citizens to seek records created by federal agencies with some exceptions, such as classified information or data that would invade another person’s privacy.²

There are several state and county agencies which interested individuals can contact to find information on wanted persons. The main county agencies to contact to find warrant records would be the Greenville County Clerk of Circuit Court and the County Sheriff’s Office. These agencies provide citizens several ways to seek warrant records including online, telephone, in-person, and email requests.

Warrants are of several types in Greenville County; common ones include search, arrest and DNA orders—these will be discussed in depth in the following sections below. Warrant records are mostly available for public consumption; however, there are cases when members of the public cannot access this information.

For example, citizens cannot view search warrants while they are still active and outstanding. This is because revealing these records might tip off suspects to conceal their evidence.

How To Verify if You or Someone Else Has an Active Warrant in Greenville County

Citizens have two options for finding and retrieving warrant data — the Greenville County Clerk of District Court and the Sheriff’s Office. Requesters may seek warrant records in several ways, including through online portals, email, and in-person requests.

Acquire Warrant Data via the Clerk of Court: The Greenville County Circuit Court issues warrants to defendants, and these records become part of court documents. The Clerk of Court maintains court records that citizens can retrieve online, through email, or by visiting the office in person.

Citizens can conveniently view warrant data online by browsing court documents using the Greenville County Case Search Tool, a free lookup method.³ Users can refine the search by selecting the ‘Court’ (Summary or Circuit) and ‘Agency’ (Common Pleas or General Sessions) that issued the warrant.

They may then search for ‘Case Type’; this can be criminal, civil, family, etc. At this point, patrons can enter details on the subject, such as name, case number, and date filed. Lastly, they’ll need to select warrants from the ‘Action Type’ drop-down menu.

Upon finding the case record, users must select the ‘Actions’ tab—this shows warrant information, including the issue date and type.

As another options, inquirers may make general requests for court records by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] for copies of criminal records.

Citizens can visit the courthouse and view records at the address below; here, clerk staff can assist with copying and printing documents. The cost of copies is $0.25 per page, and can be paid by cash, credit card, money order, or a business check. Requesters are encouraged to call 864.467.8551 with any questions.

Greenville County Clerk’s Circuit Court Office
305 East North Street
Greenville, SC 29601-2121

Retrieve Warrant Information Through the Sheriff’s Office: The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office is the county’s primary law enforcement agency, and its Warrant Services Division handles apprehension orders. This agency doesn’t have an active online database where citizens can view warrant records.

Instead, interested parties can contact the Sheriff’s Office by calling 864.467.5241 during business hours. Alternatively, they may visit the office at the address below; however, those with active warrants risk being placed into custody.

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office
4 McGee Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601

Any individual with insight on wanted persons can email the sheriff’s office, or submit an anonymous tip online through Crime Stoppers.⁴ In addition, if there is a time-sensitive emergency, citizens can call dispatch on wanted individuals after hours by calling 911 or 864.271.5210 (option 8).

Search Warrant Records Through Local Public Channels: The search for warrant records can be distilled to local jurisdictions such as police departments and municipalities. Greenville County’s most populated cities are Greenville, Simpsonville and Mauldin. They’ll showcase the search for records through local agencies.

Citizens of Greenville can contact their police department to find individuals with outstanding warrants. The Greenville Police Department (GDP) does not have an online wanted persons list. However, citizens can contact the GDP by calling 864.271.5333 or visiting the city’s Warrant Division at the Law Enforcement Center address below:⁵

Greenville Police Department
4 McGee Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601

Citizens can contact the Simpsonville Police Department (SPD) for wanted persons; the agency maintains a list of wanted persons through social media sites found in the prior link.⁶ While this may be a time consuming process, they may also submit a public record request for this information by performing a local criminal history check, which costs $6.00.

Citizens will need to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) form to initiate this process.⁷ Requesters can either email this form to [email protected] or drop it off at the following location:

City of Simpsonville
City Hall
118 North East Main Street
Simpsonville, S.C. 29681

Alternatively, patrons may visit the police headquarters at the address below or call 864.228.2595 or 864.967.9536.

Simpsonville Police Department
405 East Curtis Street
Simpsonville, SC 29681

Lastly, interested persons can contact the Mauldin Police Department (MPD) or the Municipal Court to obtain information on wanted persons. Call the MPD on 864.289.8900 or visit their offices at the following location:

Mauldin Police Department
5 East Butler Road
Mauldin, SC 29662

Lastly, citizens may contact the Municipal Court by calling 864.214.4480 864.289.8934 or visiting the clerk at the courthouse, which has the same address as above. Defendants may also post and pay for bail at this court.

How To Retrieve Information on Any South Carolina Warrants

Citizens acquiring statewide warrant records can turn to the South Carolina Judicial Branch. The state agency has a database with court records derived from all County Clerks of Court in the state.

This database is accessed using a South Carolina Case Record Search, which is free for public access. Users need to select the county where they are searching for a warrant record and proceed to search for court documents using several criteria. These include case number, case type and party name.

Moreover, the South Carolina Department of Social Services allows the public to search domestic relations cases throughout the state.⁸ This may be useful for searching warrants related to child support payments.

Users may select the county where the case was heard and select child support-related cases. They can then search through the “Register of Actions” tab to check for any active and outstanding orders.

Lastly, citizens can find information on wanted persons in Greenville County through Crime Stoppers.⁹ Information on offenders includes:

• Full Names
• Wanted For
• Gender
• Date of Birth
• Height
• Race
• Age
• Weight
• Eye & Hair Color

A Look at Warrant Types & Their Meanings

As seen earlier, there are several types of warrants in South Carolina and Greenville County; these include search, bench and arrest apprehension orders. A warrant is a writ (order) permitting law enforcement officials to take individuals into custody, search a premises or confiscate some item.

Warrants infringe on citizen’s rights and property and are only permitted due to provisions set forth by the Fourth Amendment—they are only legal if probable cause exists.

Search warrants are court orders that direct the police to search through premises, vehicles, or persons who may be suspected of crimes.¹⁰ These are also known as judicial warrants or criminal orders.

Arrest warrants are the most common apprehension orders issued in Greenville County. They authorize law enforcement agencies to take persons suspected of committing crimes (mostly misdemeanors) into custody. Several arrest orders exist, including capias, bench, traffic, and child support warrants.

Judges issue bench warrants to defendants who are in contempt of court. This may be caused by several reasons, with the most notable one being a failure of defendants to appear for their required court appearance. When individuals fail to appear for a court hearing before a plea is entered, the judge will issue an alias warrant.

Defendants are often found guilty through court appearances or by making a plea. Subsequently, they are required to pay fines. If they fail to do this, judges authorize capias warrants.

Civil capias warrants are issued by judges in civil courts when defendants repeatedly fail to conform with the judge’s orders.

Fugitive warrants are sent from out of state to suspects who are in Greenville County. Conversely, suspects who have committed crimes out of state and need to be deported back will have Governor’s warrants issued.

DNA warrants allow law enforcement agencies to take samples of DNA from suspects; this will involve obtaining swabs of mucus or saliva.

Judges sometimes issue child support warrants to parents needing to catch up on child maintenance payments. These orders will result in the parent being taken into custody until the amounts are settled.

Lastly, drivers who have yet to pay their fines for traffic violations will receive traffic warrants against them.¹¹

Warrants are considered active and outstanding when they have not been executed by law enforcement officials searching a premises, taking a defendant into custody or the subject of the order taking steps to resolve it. The process for how to quash warrants is discussed in the following sections.

How To Get a Warrant Dropped or Resolved in Greenville County

Once courts issue warrants, they will not go away until they have been executed—this places defendants in a precarious position since they are at risk of being taken into custody. Thus, defendants must take steps to remedy their warrants, including paying outstanding fines and rescheduling missed court dates.

Once an active warrant is confirmed for someone else, it is recommended that they be informed since they are likely unaware. If a wanted fugitive is discovered living in the community, citizens should take steps to inform law enforcement agencies.

Vigilantes have several options for tipping law enforcement. During business hours, they may contact the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office by calling the Warrant Division at 864.467.5241. Patrons may also email the sheriff’s office or call 864.271.5210 (option 8) during off-hours.¹²

Citizens may also submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers or call 911. In addition, patrons may contact the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division through the SC Information & Intelligence Center.¹³

To resolve warrants, citizens have several options at their disposal, outlined below.

Visit the Greenville County Clerk of Circuit Court in person or call them at 864.467.8551 to receive instructions on resolving the warrant including paying fines or outstanding amounts. For example, defendants with traffic warrants can pay traffic tickets online to help cure these apprehension orders.

Alternatively, those who need to clear child support warrants may do so through the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Defendants may also need to reschedule court dates to cure bench warrants.

Greenville County Clerk of Court
305 East North Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601-2121

In some cases, defendants will need to turn themselves in. They should enlist the services of a lawyer and hire a bonds agent if a bail amount is available.

To have the warrant served, visit the Law Enforcement Center in Greenville. The location of the Warrant Division is listed below.¹⁴ Their main contact number is 864.467.5300.

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office
Law Enforcement Center
4 McGee Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601

When needing to find wanted persons, a Greenville County warrant search will be helpful for information on fugitives; this resource provides versatile links that aid citizens in finding the data they need.