Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Beaufort County, South Carolina, has about 202,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Beaufort County starts two cases, a criminal case in a Magistrate or Municipal Court and a license case before the Department of Motor Vehicles, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Beaufort County public records, Beaufort County arrest records, Beaufort County warrants, Beaufort County inmate search, Beaufort County criminal records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
The DUI Law in South Carolina
In South Carolina the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in South Carolina is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Department of Motor Vehicles, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, South Carolina counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Beaufort County
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Bluffton, Port Royal and Beaufort make the DUI arrests in Beaufort County.
The FBI's agency list also places one state police unit, five state agencies and one campus police department in Beaufort County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Highway Patrol in Beaufort County makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the three agencies in Beaufort County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,559 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Beaufort County does not break DUI out.
The Hardeeville Police Department and the Yemassee Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Beaufort County, so their arrests are not broken out for Beaufort County here.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Beaufort County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, held about 120 people on an average day in 2021 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at beaufortcountysc.gov/detention-center/inmate-inquiry-system.html. The Beaufort County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
A DUI charge from Beaufort County is heard in a Magistrate or Municipal Court; the Solicitor or, in a municipal court, the city's own prosecutor brings it.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at beaufortcountysc.gov/clerk-of-court/index.html, phone (843) 255-5710.
South Carolina has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Department of Motor Vehicles runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
- The court file: from a Magistrate or Municipal Court, kept by the Clerk of Court.
- The driving record: from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: Beaufort County arrest records, Beaufort County police reports and Beaufort County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in South Carolina?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Beaufort County heard?
In a Magistrate or Municipal Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at beaufortcountysc.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Beaufort County held?
At the county jail, run by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in South Carolina?
The Department of Motor Vehicles, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in South Carolina?
10 years.
Is this the official Beaufort County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.