Beaufort County Courts and the Public Index

The Public Index is the free online case search that the county’s Clerk of Court points to for court records. It is run by the South Carolina Judicial Branch, and the Beaufort County index is at publicindex.sccourts.org/beaufort. The Clerk’s page calls it the case records search, and the same site carries the court rosters and online payments.

The Clerk keeps the circuit court files, civil (Common Pleas) and criminal (General Sessions), plus Family Court, so that is the court to ask if a case does not turn up. The magistrate courts publish their own docket on the county’s magistrate court site, and Probate has a case index with its forms. We do not copy case records onto this page. The jail’s own booking lookup is covered on the detention center page.

The Beaufort County Clerk of Court is at 102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208, in Beaufort, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone for both civil and criminal matters is (843) 255-5050, and the email is coccp@bcgov.net. The office handles Common Pleas (civil suits), General Sessions (criminal cases) and Family Court filings. The Clerk’s page also lists a fee schedule and takes payments online.

Nothing on the island handles circuit court business in person, so a Hilton Head resident with a civil or criminal circuit matter goes to the courthouse in Beaufort, which is on the mainland.

Family Court is in the main courthouse at 102 Ribaut Road, first floor, Room 119, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone is (843) 255-5660. It hears divorce, child support, alimony, separate maintenance, domestic abuse cases, custody and visitation, adoptions and terminations of parental rights, and juvenile cases. The county lists only the Beaufort office, with no Hilton Head or Bluffton branch.

Magistrate courts are the county’s local courts. They hear civil claims up to $7,500, such as small claims, evictions and landlord disputes, and criminal matters carrying no more than 30 days in jail or a $500 fine, which includes most traffic tickets. The county site also has bond information, payment options for citations, and information on summons and warrants.

The county lists two magistrate offices, both open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and says it cannot process payments or filings outside those hours: Beaufort at 104 Ribaut Road, (843) 255-5700, and Bluffton at 4819 Bluffton Parkway, 2nd Floor, (843) 255-5610. Neither is on Hilton Head Island. Bluffton is the nearer one, and a ticket or summons says which court to use.

For short-term rental owners and property managers: an eviction of a long-term tenant or a deposit dispute goes to magistrate court, in Bluffton or Beaufort. Town rental permit violations are separate and covered on the short-term rental permits page.

The Probate Court handles estates, guardianships and conservatorships, marriage licenses and involuntary commitments. It is the one court with an office on the island, at County Government Center South, and the county says every location needs an appointment for marriage licenses and court business, so call (843) 255-5850 first. The main office is at 102 Ribaut Road in Beaufort, and a Bluffton satellite at 4819 Bluffton Parkway, Myrtle Park Building, 3rd Floor, is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed 12 to 1.

The county’s Probate Court page has the forms. The rest of what the county does on the island is in the Beaufort County guide.

The Clerk of Court calls jurors for circuit court. Jurors are picked at random, and a summons comes with a response form to return to the Clerk’s office promptly. If you think you should be disqualified, exempted or excused, say so on that form and tell the Clerk’s office. The magistrate courts have their own jury pages on the county site.

Watch for scams. The Clerk’s office warns that court officials will not ask for money over the phone, so a caller who threatens a fine for missing jury duty is not the court. Hang up and call the Clerk at (843) 255-5050.