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 between September 24, 2026 and September 28, 2026.
Charleston County, South Carolina, has about 431,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Charleston County comes from a judge of the Charleston 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: Charleston County public records, Charleston County arrest records, Charleston County inmate search, Charleston County police reports, Charleston County property records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Charleston County
In South Carolina an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Charleston County that means the Charleston 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.
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 Charleston County
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach and Sullivan's Island serve warrants in Charleston County.
The FBI's agency list also places one state police unit, four campus police departments, six state agencies and one other agency in Charleston County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Summerville Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Charleston County, so its arrests are not broken out for Charleston County here.
A warrant issued in Charleston 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 seven agencies in Charleston County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 12,405 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Charleston County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Charleston 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 Charleston County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,080 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at charlestoncounty.gov/departments/sheriff/law-enforcement.php, phone (843) 202-7200. The Charleston County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Charleston 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 Charleston County
The place to check for a warrant from Charleston County is the Solicitor, phone (843)719-4529, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Charleston County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's and the prosecutor's) is a list of open warrants, so a check means asking the court or the prosecutor about a case by name.
Clearing a Warrant from Charleston County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Charleston County that means appearing before the Charleston County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of Court.
A missed date in a case before the Magistrate Court is handled by that court, not by the Charleston County Circuit Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The Solicitor's page SearchSystems verified is at expungement.charlestoncounty.gov, phone (843)719-4529.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Charleston County?
Not from the Charleston County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the Clerk of Court.
Who serves warrants in Charleston County?
The Charleston 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 Charleston County held?
At the county jail, run by the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Charleston 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 Charleston 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.