Getting your own criminal record in South Carolina: what to do
Checked against official sources: Oct 25, 2026
In South Carolina:
- State criminal records office
- South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED): Search your own name in SLED CATCH online for $25, or mail the Criminal Records Check Form with a $25 certified check or money order and a SASE to SLED…
- Do this now
- Ask your state's criminal records office for your own record.
You can ask your state's criminal records office for a copy of your own state record, usually with fingerprints and a fee, and ask the FBI for your national record (the Identity History Summary) for $18. Your own copy is for your review and is usually not accepted for job or license checks.
More about this
If something is wrong, the agency that sent the information, such as the arresting agency or the court, is the best place to fix it.
General legal information, not legal advice. RobinClaim is not a law firm.
Build your plan
Choose your state and answer 2 quick questions. The plan below changes as you answer: steps that don't fit your answers are hidden, and your state's deadlines appear. Your answers stay in the page address.
Your plan for South Carolina
Do now
Ask your state's criminal records office for your own record.
South Carolina: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED): Search your own name in SLED CATCH online for $25, or mail the Criminal Records Check Form with a $25 certified check or…
Why: Each state's records office sets how to ask for your own record and the fee; your plan shows your state's office and how to ask.
Ask the FBI for your Identity History Summary online at edo.cjis.gov, or by mail.
Why: The FBI keeps a national record of arrests sent in with fingerprints. You need fingerprints; the fee is $18, and with a mailed request you can ask for a fee waiver if you can't pay.
If you were arrested in more than one state, ask each of those states' records offices too.
Why: The FBI record may be missing outcomes or arrests kept only by a state.
Nothing extra here for your answers.
This week
Get the court papers that show how each case ended from the court that handled it.
Why: The FBI record lists the outcome only if the FBI knows it; you need each case number and how it ended.
If you need a record check for a job or a license, ask the agency that needs it how it wants the check done.
Why: Your own copy is for your review and is usually not accepted for job or license checks; for those, ask the agency that needs the check or your state identification bureau.
If you are getting your record to clear it, gather what you need with the checklist before you file.
Why: You need the case numbers, the court papers, proof that you finished your sentence, the forms and the fees.
Nothing extra here for your answers.
If it's not resolved
If something on your record is wrong or incomplete, ask the agency that sent it, such as the arresting agency or the court, to correct it.
Why: That is the best way to fix it. You can also file a challenge with the FBI online at edo.cjis.gov; the FBI changes the record only when the agency that sent the data tells it to.
If a state court seals or expunges a case, check that your FBI record was updated.
Why: Ask the court or the state repository whether it notified the FBI; if your FBI record still shows the case, use the FBI's challenge process.
Nothing extra here for your answers.
Deadlines
FBI record (Identity History Summary) fee
General rule: $18; with a mailed request you can ask for a fee waiver if you can't pay
Fingerprints
General rule: Needed for the FBI record; after an online request they can be taken electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office (additional fees may apply)
State criminal records office
General rule: see state
In South Carolina:
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED): Search your own name in SLED CATCH online for $25, or mail the Criminal Records Check Form with a $25 certified check or money order and a SASE to SLED Records Department, PO Box 21398, Columbia SC 29221-1398. Phone: 803-896-1443.
checked Oct 2026 · Official source
Key facts for South Carolina
Record Clear Map
- What it's called
- Expungement
- Convictions
- Some misdemeanor convictions may be cleared.
- Automatic clearing (Clean Slate)
- Yes (Summary court expungement of dismissals and acquittals)
- Automatic clearing started
- Summary court rule: 2016; mistaken identity: June 25, 2026.
- Example waiting period
- First misdemeanor fraudulent check conviction: 1 year, counted from date of conviction
- Filing fee
- No fee for charges that were dismissed, discharged, nolle prossed or found not guilty, unless the charge was dropped as part of a plea deal on other charges.
Record Clear Map: South Carolina · checked Oct 2026
Documents to gather
- A photo ID
- Fingerprints (a fingerprint card for a mailed FBI request)
- The fee or a fee waiver request
- Any case numbers and court papers you already have
Where to go
- StateYour state's criminal records office
To get a copy of your own state record
South Carolina: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED): Search your own name in SLED CATCH online for $25, or mail the Criminal Records Check Form with a $25 certified check or money order and a SASE to SLED Records Department, PO Box 21398, Columbia SC 29221-1398. Phone: 803-896-1443.
- FederalFBI Electronic Departmental Order (eDO): your Identity History Summary
To get your national FBI record, or to challenge something on it
- StateRecord Clear Map: your state's records office and courts
For how to ask, and the papers showing how a case ended
Record Clear Map: South Carolina
- FederalLegal aid (Legal Services Corporation finder)
You want free legal help to check whether your record qualifies
Costs
The FBI record costs $18, and with a mailed request you can ask for a fee waiver if you can't pay; fingerprinting may cost extra. Each state's records office sets its own fee, shown in your plan. Record Clear Map's request letter is free.
Talk to a lawyer if
- Your record shows a case that isn't yours
- You need the record for an immigration case
- You were arrested in several states and the records don't match
Free help
Free civil legal aid for people with low income: find your local program through LawHelp.org (lawhelp.org) or the Legal Services Corporation (lsc.gov/about-lsc/what-legal-aid/i-need-legal-help). Record Clear Map lists free legal help for each state. Court clerks can't give legal advice.
Guides for your state
Guides for every state
Questions
FBI record fee: what is the rule?
$18; with a mailed request you can ask for a fee waiver if you can't pay
Fingerprints: what is the rule?
Needed for the FBI record; after an online request they can be taken electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office (additional fees may apply)
State criminal records office in South Carolina: what is the rule?
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED): Search your own name in SLED CATCH online for $25, or mail the Criminal Records Check Form with a $25 certified check or money order and a SASE to SLED Records Department, PO Box 21398, Columbia SC 29221-1398. Phone: 803-896-1443.
When should I talk to a lawyer?
Your record shows a case that isn't yours; You need the record for an immigration case; You were arrested in several states and the records don't match.
How much does it cost?
The FBI record costs $18, and with a mailed request you can ask for a fee waiver if you can't pay; fingerprinting may cost extra. Each state's records office sets its own fee, shown in your plan. Record Clear Map's request letter is free.
Plans by state
Open the plan with one state's rules filled in:
Sources
- 28 CFR 16.30-16.34 (your FBI record)
- FBI Electronic Departmental Order (eDO)
- Legal Services Corporation: find legal aid
Plan checked Oct 2026. Independently fact-checked 2026-10-25.
This plan is general legal information, not legal advice. RobinClaim is not a law firm. Laws and deadlines change and have exceptions: check with the official source or a lawyer or legal aid office about your own case. How we research.