Richland County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Richland County was formed on Mach 12, 1785 as part of the large Camden District. It is reputed as the second most populous county in South Carolina with an estimated population of 416,161 as of 2022. Richland County has six water bodies, (Broad River), (Congaree River), (Lake Murray), (Little River), (Saluda River), (Wateree River) and spreads across 771.96 square miles. It was named after its “rich land” and its county seat is Columbia. A Circuit Court, a Family Court, one Probate Court, and several Magistrate and Municipal Courts run the legal affairs of Richland County. They create a free for all avenue for residents to express their legal needs and in return serve with appropriate and time-sensitive justice.

The Probate Court located in Columbia hears and decides trusts cases, estate cases such as the administration and proper distribution of the wealth/estates of deceased persons, and guardianship of incompetent persons. The Family Court in Columbia has exclusive jurisdiction over juvenile and family relationship cases of young persons under the age of 18 and child support cases respectively. The Magistrate Courts presides over eviction cases and property damages in monetary claims under $7,500. They also have criminal trial jurisdiction over traffic cases in which the amount to be paid in fine is $500. They are located in Columbia, Elgin, and Eastover. The Circuit Court in Columbia is a court of general jurisdiction. It handles most cases in the county. Civil, criminal, guardianship, small claims, juvenile, and issuance of protective orders are within the purview of the Circuit Court's jurisdiction. It has limited appellate jurisdiction over appeals coming from the Probate Court, Magistrate Courts, and Municipal Courts. Instances where municipal ordinances, building codes, and traffic code violations occur are presided over by the Municipal Courts. The Columbia Municipal Court, Forest Acres Municipal Court, Blythewood Municipal Court, and Arcadia Lakes Municipal Court are the Municipal Courts. All Municipal Courts are located in Columbia except Blythewood Municipal Court in Elgin and jury/bench trials are held here.

The data gathered from the Clerk of Circuit Court states that over 5,000 civil cases, 5,000 domestic cases and juvenile cases are filed each year. In the same light a total of 10,000 criminal warrants are filed. There were 27,864 cases pending before the 2022 period and 2,644 additional cases, altogether case filings from July 2022 to June 2023 was 30,508. There were 3,132 disposed cases. The Circuit Court Clerk is constitutionally approved to manage and keep records of court proceedings in the county. For court records inspection, you can visit the courthouse where such cases were filed/Richland County Premier Online Data Services portal. The public have the right to copy and receive electronic transmission of court records. Juvenile, adoption, mental health, and domestic violence case records are protected to ensure privacy and safety for those involved.

The mission of the Magistrate, Probate, Family, Circuit and Municipal Courts are to provide an efficient, equitable, and impartial forum to hear and resolve alleged violations of criminal laws, traffic laws and city ordinances while protecting the legal rights of individuals and safeguarding the public interest, to impose appropriate sentences.