Search Union County Court Records
Most Union County court records begin with the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search. The state page routes users to the Union County Public Index and identifies Union County as Judicial Circuit 16 and County Number 44. The Public Index is the main online route for trial and summary court case information, while the Union County court rosters are the direct source for many court-date and docket-calendar checks.
Online lookup is not the whole access path. The Union County Clerk of Court handles Circuit Court, Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, and child-support support functions. Probate files are handled separately by Union County Probate Court, and that court uses in-person review for public probate files. Magistrate and Municipal Court matters may appear in state tools, but local court offices are still the fallback when an older ticket, warrant, or small civil matter does not show online.
- Open the South Carolina Judicial Branch case-records page and choose Union County from the county list.
- Use a browser with cookies and JavaScript enabled, because the state search page requires both.
- Allow popup exceptions for publicindex.sccourts.org if a case-detail window does not open.
- Use court rosters when the main need is an appearance date, roster type, or docket schedule.
- Contact the Clerk, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or Municipal Court when certified copies or restricted files are needed.
The official Union County homepage supplies the county courthouse contact block and links to county officials. That local entry point is useful when the state portal does not answer a copy, office, or counter-service question.
The county homepage ties the record search back to the offices on West Main Street, which is where several Union County court counters are clustered.
Union County Court System
Union County is part of South Carolina's Sixteenth Judicial Circuit with York County. The primary trial court is the Circuit Court, which has the Court of Common Pleas for civil cases and the Court of General Sessions for criminal prosecutions. Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, and Municipal Court handle separate streams of Union County court records, so the correct search path depends on the case type.
The South Carolina Judicial Branch Union County courthouse page lists county courts, judges, magistrates, municipal judges, public defender links, and solicitor links. That state listing is helpful for confirming court level, but the local office pages should be checked before an in-person visit because the state listing shows a courthouse address that differs from several county office pages.
The Judicial Branch listing confirms the court structure behind Union County court lookup and helps separate Circuit Court records from Magistrate, Municipal, Family, and Probate matters.
| Court or Office | Record Role | Common Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Primary trial court | Common Pleas civil cases, General Sessions criminal cases, lower-court appeals |
| Family Court | Domestic and juvenile court | Divorce, custody, child support, juvenile matters |
| Probate Court | Separate probate office | Estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, commitments, probate copies |
| Magistrate Court | County summary court | Warrants, bond, preliminary hearings, traffic, small civil matters |
| Municipal Court | City and town court | Municipal traffic, ordinance, and lower-level criminal cases |
Case flow: warrant or citation to Magistrate or Municipal Court to Circuit Court when prosecution or appeal moves upward to the Court of Appeals.
Union County Courthouse Contacts
For most in-person Union County court records work, the practical address is Union County Court House, 210 West Main Street, Union, SC 29379. The Clerk of Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, and county courthouse contact block use that location. Probate Court describes the courthouse as being at West Main and North Herndon Streets and says visitors entering through the North Herndon Street entrance will find Probate Court as the first office on the left.
The Clerk page lists courthouse security limits. Knives, firearms, defensive sprays, stun devices, needles, sharp instruments, and other items that can be used as weapons should be left outside. Cell phones and electronics must be turned off in the courtroom.
Union County Magistrate Court
210 West Main Street
Union, SC 29379
864-429-1648
Union County Court Record Types
Union County court records include civil suits, criminal prosecutions, summary criminal cases, traffic tickets, family matters, divorce case files, probate files, and marriage records. Civil files in Common Pleas may include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, notices, service documents, and docket entries. General Sessions criminal files may include indictments, warrants or charging papers, bond details, pleas, dispositions, sentencing orders, probation conditions, and docket entries.
Some records are held outside the Clerk of Court. Probate Court maintains estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, trust litigation, commitments, marriage licenses, and marriage certificates. The jail portal shows custody and hold information, not a full court case file. SLED CATCH is a name-based criminal history report and does not include wanted-person information. SCDMV driver records are separate from court traffic records.
- Civil court records: Common Pleas and Magistrate civil files, including small civil and landlord matters.
- Criminal court records: General Sessions files and summary criminal cases in Magistrate or Municipal Court.
- Traffic records: Summary Court and some Municipal Court ticket records, plus separate SCDMV driver-history tools.
- Family and divorce records: Family Court files through Clerk channels, with party and privacy limits.
- Probate and marriage records: Probate Court files, copy requests, marriage licenses, and certificates.
What Union County Court Records Show
A Union County court record usually identifies the court, parties, case number, filing date, docket events, hearings, status, and disposition. Criminal and traffic records may also show the charge, statute or ordinance, bond, arresting or issuing agency, court date, sentence, fines, costs, restitution, or probation. Civil records may show pleadings, motions, orders, judgments, service events, and appeal notices.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court's identifier for locating the file or docket entry. |
| Court | Whether the matter is Circuit, Family, Magistrate, Municipal, or Probate. |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant, State and defendant, or petitioner and respondent. |
| Docket events | Filings, hearings, continuances, orders, judgments, sentencing, or appeals. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as dismissed, guilty, not guilty, nolle prossed, closed, or pending. |
| Redactions | Missing or masked details, such as home addresses, minor data, sealed data, or financial identifiers. |
Union County Court Public Access
South Carolina public-record law supports access to nonexempt public records, but court files also follow court-specific rules, confidentiality statutes, and office procedures. Circuit Court and Family Court records generally start with the Clerk or the Public Index. Probate Court says public probate files may be viewed in person during office hours, but the court generally will not search files by phone, mail, or email because it lacks staff for those searches.
The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act sets a broad access framework for public bodies. Title 30, Chapter 1 addresses preservation and security of public records. Criminal expungement rules appear in Title 17, Chapter 22, and probate estate procedure appears in Probate Code Article 3.
The state Freedom of Information Act is one of the core South Carolina sources for access rules.
FOIA helps frame public access, but certified court copies and sealed-file questions still belong with the office that maintains the court file.
Key access rules: South Carolina FOIA allows inspection or copying of nonexempt public records; exemptions can require redaction; public-record custodians must preserve records; criminal expungements can seal or remove qualifying arrest, charge, or conviction records.
Restricted Union County Court Records
Not every Union County court record is public in full. Juvenile records are not ordinary public case files. Expunged or sealed criminal records should not be treated as complete in public search systems. Family Court records can include divorce, custody, support, juvenile, minor, and financial information that may be party-restricted or redacted. The Union County Clerk states that case-file information will not be discussed unless the requester is a party to the action.
Mental-health and chemical-dependency commitments are handled by Probate Court, but they are sensitive and should not be approached as ordinary public lookup material. Adoption records are restricted under state law. The South Carolina Judicial Branch also states that home address information is no longer displayed on the Public Index for new and existing cases as of January 1, 2026.
The South Carolina public records preservation statute gives context for official custodianship and record security.
That preservation framework does not make every court record public, but it explains why official custodians remain the source for record status and copies.
Union County Court Record Fees
Confirmed fee information varies by office. Probate Court publishes several copy and filing amounts in accessible page text. Magistrate Court publishes local civil and summary-court fee examples. The Clerk page links official fee PDFs for recording and Family Court or child-support fees, but the research file notes that those PDFs were scanned and no reliable text extraction was available. Clerk copy and certification fees should be confirmed by phone before ordering.
| Item | Amount or Status |
|---|---|
| Probate regular copy | $0.50 per page |
| Probate Papervision archived copy | $1.00 per page |
| Probate mailed-copy processing | $5.00 plus page charges |
| Marriage license | $30 cash only |
| Marriage certificate | $5.00, plus $0.50 postage if mailed |
| Formal probate action | $150 filing fee |
| Magistrate summons and complaint | $80 |
| Clerk certified-copy fees | Not located in readable official HTML; call the Clerk |
Union County Criminal and Jail Records
Criminal records split across several systems. The jail portal can show current custody and hold reasons. Magistrate Court may hold warrant, bond, and preliminary-hearing context. General Sessions records are Circuit Court prosecution files handled through the Clerk and the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor. SLED CATCH is a statewide criminal-history tool, not a court file and not a warrant search.
Union County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Jeff Bailey at 200 East Main Street. The official sheriff page links the inmate portal, P3 Tips, Crime Stoppers, SLED background checks, civil process and warrant resources, and most-wanted content. The detention center page describes pretrial and work-camp divisions, average custody population, state inmate workers, CIDNET video visitation and phones, commissary deposits, and mail inspection rules.
For custody details, use the Union County inmate records page. For active warrant channels, use the Union County warrant records page.
Union County Probate and Divorce Records
Marriage licenses and certificates are Probate Court records in Union County. Marriage license applications are by appointment, both applicants must appear in person, applicants need picture ID and Social Security information when applicable, and noncitizens need a valid passport and visa. Probate Court does not perform ceremonies. After application, South Carolina's 24-hour waiting period applies before pickup.
Divorce records are not Probate Court records. Divorce case files are Family Court records through Clerk channels, while South Carolina DPH provides divorce reports as vital-record summaries. Probate Court also handles estates, public probate file viewing, copy requests, small estates, formal actions, guardianships, conservatorships, trust litigation, commitments, and minor or wrongful-death settlements.
Union County Traffic Court Records
Traffic records require the issuing court. The statewide traffic ticket search covers Summary Court tickets and some Municipal Court tickets. City of Union Municipal Court uses an nCourt payment page for citation or case-number payments. Jonesville Municipal Court appears in the state courthouse listing and should be contacted when a Jonesville ticket is not found in the statewide or vendor search.
A court traffic record is different from a state driver record. The court record shows the citation, court case, payment status, fines, costs, court date, and disposition. SCDMV driver records show points, license history, suspensions, and certified driver-record data. SCDMV says points are reduced by half after one year from the violation date.
Federal Court Records Near Union County
Union County state cases are not federal dockets unless a federal case is filed. Federal cases for this region route through the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, with Spartanburg, Greenville, and Greenwood division context. The Spartanburg location is the Donald S. Russell Courthouse at 201 Magnolia Street, but that location page states there is no clerk's office in Spartanburg and directs inquiries to Greenville at 864-241-2700.
Federal case access uses PACER, the District of South Carolina, and bankruptcy channels such as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. These systems do not replace Union County Clerk, Magistrate, Probate, jail, warrant, or traffic court access.
Union County Court History
Union County's local law and court history traces to March 1785, when the first court session was held at the home of Alexander McDougal. At that session, William Farr was appointed first sheriff, and several local men were appointed justices of the peace. Modern Union County court records now run through state portals, local counters, and specialized offices, but the courthouse area on Main Street remains the core access point.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History National Register material for Union Downtown Historic District includes the Union County Courthouse among West Main Street resources. The research file did not locate a current official county page with a full courthouse construction chronology, architect, parking map, ADA entrance map, or courtroom-by-courtroom layout.
Union County Court Records FAQ
Can Union County court records be searched online? Many trial and summary court records start with the South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Index. Probate files, copies, restricted records, and some local matters still require the office that keeps the record.
Which office keeps Union County divorce records? Divorce case files are Family Court records handled through Clerk of Court channels. South Carolina DPH provides divorce reports, which are not the full court case file.
Are Union County warrants online? No confirmed active public warrant list was found in the research. Magistrate Court, Sheriff's Office, and Municipal Court contacts are the practical warrant-check channels.
Where are probate copies requested? Union County Probate Court handles probate file viewing and specific mail copy requests. Mail requests must identify the case or decedent and the exact documents requested.