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.
Dorchester County, South Carolina, has about 175,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Dorchester 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: Dorchester County public records, Dorchester County arrest records, Dorchester County warrants, Dorchester County inmate search, Dorchester County criminal records, South Carolina arrest records and South Carolina inmate search.
The DUI Law in South Carolina
Drunk driving is charged as DUI in South Carolina, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
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 Dorchester County
The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Summerville, St. George, Ridgeville and Harleyville make the DUI arrests in Dorchester County.
The FBI's agency list also places five state agencies and one state police unit in Dorchester County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Highway Patrol in Dorchester County makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the three agencies in Dorchester County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,647 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Dorchester County does not break DUI out.
The North Charleston Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Dorchester County, so its arrests are not broken out for Dorchester County here.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Dorchester 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 Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, held about 250 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at dorchestercountysc.gov/government/public-safety/sheriff-s-office/de.... The Dorchester County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
A DUI charge from Dorchester County is heard in a Magistrate or Municipal Court; the Solicitor or, in a municipal court, the city's own prosecutor brings it.
The Solicitor's page SearchSystems verified is at dorchestercountysc.gov, phone (843) 563-0097.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dorchestercountysc.gov/government/courts-judicial-services/magistra.... That page belongs to a lower court, the Magistrate Court, not to the Dorchester County Circuit Court.
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: Dorchester County arrest records, Dorchester County police reports and Dorchester 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 Dorchester County heard?
In a Magistrate or Municipal Court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dorchestercountysc.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Dorchester County held?
At the county jail, run by the Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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.