South Carolina Background Check Guide · 2025
Whether you're chasing a manufacturing job at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, a hospital position at MUSC in Charleston, a teaching license through CERRA, or a banking role in Columbia, the people reviewing your file are pulling your record through SLED CATCH, the State Law Enforcement Division's Citizen Access to Criminal Histories system. The CATCH portal lets you run the same check on yourself online for $25.
This guide explains how South Carolina's record system works, what shows up, and how the state's expungement statute (SC Code 17-22-910), administered through county Solicitors' offices, can clear eligible records from your file.
South Carolina's hiring market has been growing steadily, particularly in manufacturing, healthcare, and tourism, and background checks have become routine. SLED CATCH is the state's central system, and running a self-check is the cleanest way to know what's actually in your record before someone else opens it.
SLED's data is pulled from all 46 counties, the SC Department of Corrections, and law enforcement agencies statewide. Disposition gaps are common, particularly in cases handled at the magistrate court level. Catching a stale "open" case on your CATCH report before a hiring manager does is much cheaper than disputing it during an application.
South Carolina expungements are unusual because they're administered through county Solicitors' offices rather than directly by the courts. The order must travel from the Solicitor to SLED to actually remove the record from CATCH. Running a self-check 60–90 days after expungement confirms the record was actually cleared statewide.
BMW, Boeing, Michelin, MUSC, Lexington Medical, and the state's licensed professions (nursing, real estate, security) all run fingerprint-based SLED + FBI checks. Knowing what's on your record beforehand lets you address concerns proactively, particularly if you have any deferred prosecution or PTI (Pre-Trial Intervention) history.
South Carolina's tight rental markets, particularly in Charleston and Greenville, depend heavily on commercial screening services that aggregate SLED and county court data. Fixing errors at the source is the only durable solution.
Felony convictions and most misdemeanor convictions processed in South Carolina General Sessions, Circuit, and Magistrate Courts appear on the SLED CATCH record unless expunged. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, and sentence.
Arrest records, including arrests not leading to conviction, appear on the CATCH record. Non-conviction arrests are generally eligible for expungement through the Solicitor's office.
Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) and conditional discharge cases, common diversion programs for first-time offenders, appear on the CATCH record until successful completion. After completion, these cases are eligible for expungement.
Open and pending charges appear on the CATCH record. If a case was dismissed and the disposition wasn't transmitted to SLED, the record may still show "pending" until corrected.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile records (sealed by default), most traffic offenses (excluding DUI), and civil cases fall outside the SLED system. A complete personal check usually combines the state report with federal and multi-state sources.
The fastest official route is SLED CATCH at catch.sled.sc.gov. Create an account, enter the subject's name and date of birth, pay $25 + $1 convenience fee by credit card, and receive results electronically. CATCH only returns South Carolina records.
For those who prefer not to use the online portal, download the SLED CATCH form, complete it, and mail it with $25 by money order or certified check to SLED in Columbia. Turnaround is typically 2–4 weeks.
Approved charitable organizations and certain volunteer positions qualify for an $8 reduced fee. The form requires verification of the organization's approval status by SLED.
South Carolina Judicial Department's Public Index at sccourts.org/caseSearch provides free access to General Sessions, Common Pleas, and Magistrate court records. This catches case histories that may not yet be in SLED CATCH.
For a single report combining South Carolina SLED data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is fastest. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI. Useful if you've lived in multiple states.
South Carolina's expungement statute is administered through the Solicitor's office in each of the 16 judicial circuits. Eligibility is unusually specific:
Excluded offenses include most felonies, sex offenses, and violent crimes. Multiple convictions generally do not qualify.
The Youthful Offender Act provides special sentencing for offenders under age 25 and includes expungement provisions for successfully completed sentences. This is one of the more accessible paths to record clearing in South Carolina.
South Carolina's PTI program, administered by Solicitors, diverts first-time offenders from prosecution. Successful completion results in dismissal and eligibility for expungement.
South Carolina has no statewide private-sector Ban the Box law. Private employers can ask about criminal history on initial job applications. Some state agencies operate under their own internal policies, but there's no statutory protection statewide.
Third-party background checks in South Carolina are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
The SCHAC enforces state anti-discrimination law and follows EEOC individualized-assessment guidance for employer use of conviction records, particularly for policies that may have disparate impact on protected classes.
Yes, particularly because of the Solicitor-administered expungement process. Records that should have been cleared through PTI completion or YOA expungement sometimes weren't actually transmitted to SLED. A $25 SLED CATCH check confirms exactly what's still showing up on your file, and gives you time to follow up with the Solicitor's office if needed.
For a comprehensive personal report combining South Carolina SLED data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The fastest official route is SLED CATCH online at catch.sled.sc.gov: $25 + $1 convenience fee, electronic delivery. For free court searches, use the SC Judicial Department's Public Index. For broader coverage, request an FBI Identity History Summary or use a professional multi-state service.
South Carolina has no state cap on conviction reporting. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction records (arrests not leading to conviction) at 7 years on third-party employment reports. Expunged records are removed entirely.
Records expunged under SC Code 17-22-910 should be removed from the SLED database and should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports. Because SC expungements aren't automatic and run through the Solicitor's office, verify yours was processed by running a SLED CATCH check after the expungement.
SLED CATCH online: $25 + $1 convenience fee. SLED CATCH reduced fee for charitable organizations: $8. FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80.
Yes, when they use a third-party background check company, the federal FCRA requires written authorization. South Carolina has no statewide Ban the Box law, so private employers can ask about criminal history on initial applications. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.