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.
Berkeley County, South Carolina, has about 264,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Berkeley County comes from a judge of the Berkeley County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court, is served by whichever agency finds the person, and is recorded in the court file of the case it was issued in. This guide says who issues and serves warrants here, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one and how one is cleared.
This guide covers who issues warrants, who serves warrants, after a warrant arrest, checking for a warrant, clearing a warrant and common questions.
Related guides: Berkeley County public records, Berkeley County arrest records, Berkeley County inmate search, Berkeley County criminal records, Berkeley County court records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Berkeley County
In South Carolina an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Berkeley County that means the Berkeley County Circuit Court, which hears felonies in the Court of General Sessions and civil cases over $7,500 in the Court of Common Pleas; the Magistrate Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $7,500, issues its own warrants on the cases before it. A city with a municipal court of its own issues warrants on the tickets and ordinance cases it tries.
When a defendant misses a court date the judge issues a bench warrant, and either kind of warrant lives in the court file of the case, kept by the Clerk of Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at berkeleycountysc.gov/dept/coc (page title: Clerk of Court | Berkeley County Government), phone (843) 719-4050, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
South Carolina has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Berkeley County
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Goose Creek, Hanahan, Moncks Corner, St. Stephen and Jamestown serve warrants in Berkeley County.
The FBI's agency list also places six state agencies and one state police unit in Berkeley County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Charleston Police Department and the Summerville Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Berkeley County, so their arrests are not broken out for Berkeley County here.
A warrant issued in Berkeley County is good anywhere in South Carolina, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Together, the five agencies in Berkeley County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,289 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Berkeley County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Berkeley County Is Held
A person arrested on a warrant and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, held about 360 people on an average day in 2021 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at sheriff.berkeleycountysc.gov/report/inmate-lookup. The Berkeley County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Berkeley County on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Berkeley County
The place to check for a warrant from Berkeley County is the custody page of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office at sheriff.berkeleycountysc.gov, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Clearing a Warrant from Berkeley County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Berkeley County starts with the Clerk of Court: the case goes back on the calendar and the judge recalls the warrant when the person appears.
A missed date in a case before the Magistrate Court is handled by that court, not by the Berkeley County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Berkeley County?
The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the Clerk of Court.
Who serves warrants in Berkeley County?
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an South Carolina warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Berkeley County held?
At the county jail, run by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Berkeley County cleared?
By appearing before the court that issued it; the judge recalls the warrant in court. The case is put back on the calendar through the Clerk of Court.
Is this the official Berkeley 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.