McCormick County Circuit Court
South Carolina's primary general-jurisdiction trial court is the Circuit Court. Circuit Court includes the Court of Common Pleas for civil cases and the Court of General Sessions for criminal cases. McCormick County is in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit with Edgefield, Lexington, and Saluda counties. The South Carolina Judicial Branch county page lists McCormick County as Judicial Circuit 11 and provides local courthouse, clerk, judge, magistrate, bond court, and probate details.
McCormick County Circuit Court access runs through the Clerk of Court in Room 102 of the courthouse for civil, criminal, and Family Court clerk functions. The courthouse address is 133 South Mine Street, McCormick, SC 29835, with the county listing general courthouse hours as Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Clerk's phone is (864) 852-2195.
The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor courthouse locations page is one official source tied to McCormick County General Sessions practice.
That solicitor context matters for criminal Circuit Court cases because General Sessions prosecutions are handled at the circuit level.
McCormick Circuit Court List
South Carolina does not use separately numbered district courts for McCormick County. The local table is best read as the courts and offices that handle Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, bond, prosecution, and defense functions for county case flow.
| Court / Office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCormick County Courthouse / Clerk of Court | Circuit, Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court clerk functions | 133 South Mine Street, Room 102, McCormick, SC 29835 | (864) 852-2195 |
| McCormick County Probate Court | Probate, estates, marriage licenses, guardianship, conservatorship | 133 S. Mine Street, Room 101, McCormick, SC 29835 | (864) 852-2630 |
| McCormick Magistrate | Summary criminal, traffic, civil under limit, warrants, bond and preliminary matters | 211 Augusta Street Extension, McCormick, SC 29835-8105 | (864) 852-2316 |
| McCormick County Bond Court | Bond proceedings | 141 Cecil Wall Circle, McCormick, SC 29835-9549 | (864) 852-2316 |
| Eleventh Circuit Solicitor | General Sessions prosecution | 205 East Main Street, Suite 309, Lexington, SC 29072 | (803) 785-8352 |
| McCormick Public Defender Office | Indigent criminal defense | 133 South Mine Street, McCormick, SC 29835 | (864) 852-9555 |
Circuit vs Lower Courts
McCormick County users often need to know whether a matter belongs in Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or a municipal court if one exists for the event location. The State Court Structure Map lists lower courts as Magistrate Court, Bond Court, and Municipal Court where a municipality has one. No separate official McCormick municipal court page was found in the county or Judicial Branch materials reviewed.
| Function | Circuit Court | Family / Probate Court | Magistrate / Municipal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil cases | Common Pleas civil disputes, judgments, liens, appeals from lower courts | Family handles domestic cases; Probate handles estates and protective matters | Magistrate civil matters where the amount in controversy does not exceed $7,500 |
| Criminal cases | General Sessions serious criminal matters | Family handles most juvenile matters | Lower-level offenses, warrants, bail, preliminary hearings, and traffic |
| Records office | Clerk of Court | Clerk for Family Court; Probate Court for probate files | Magistrate Office or municipal court if applicable |
| Search route | Public Index, rosters, Clerk contact | FCCMS for public family access where available; Probate Court direct contact | Public Index or Traffic Ticket Search, plus court office contact |
McCormick Circuit Case Flow
Civil and criminal matters do not move the same way. A Common Pleas case often begins with a complaint, answer, motions, discovery, mediation, trial, judgment, and possible appeal. A General Sessions case may begin with arrest or warrant activity, bond or preliminary matters in Magistrate or Bond Court, solicitor review, indictment or other charging action, arraignment, pretrial motions, plea or trial, sentencing, and appeal.
Criminal flow: Arrest or warrant › Bond or preliminary hearing › Solicitor review › General Sessions charge › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Civil flow: Complaint filed › Answer › Motions › Discovery › Mediation › Trial or settlement › Judgment › Appeal
The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor public-record links page points users toward official criminal-record channels.
Those links are useful for criminal court records, but the Clerk remains the county keeper of General Sessions case files.
McCormick Circuit Divisions
Court of Common Pleas records are Circuit Court civil records. They can include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, liens, garnishments, foreclosure-related filings, enforcement filings, appeals from lower courts, and case-event entries. Public access usually starts with Public Index and falls back to Clerk contact when a case is older, restricted, or not digitized.
Court of General Sessions is the Circuit Court criminal division for more serious criminal matters. Records may include indictments, warrants, charging documents, bond conditions, solicitor actions, pleas, motions, trial events, sentencing, probation terms, restitution, fines, and dispositions. The Clerk keeps General Sessions criminal case records and collects General Sessions fines and fees.
Family Court is separate from Circuit Court but is maintained locally by the Clerk. It covers divorce, custody, visitation, support, alimony, adoption, termination of parental rights, and most juvenile matters. Many Family Court records are restricted or confidential.
Eleventh Judicial Circuit
McCormick County belongs to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit includes Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick, and Saluda counties. South Carolina uses the term Solicitor for the prosecutor. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor is S. R. "Rick" Hubbard III, and the main office listed in the research is at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center, 205 East Main Street, Suite 309, Lexington, SC 29072, phone (803) 785-8352.
The Solicitor handles criminal matters in General Sessions, Family Court, and certain Magistrate Court criminal charges. The office defines General Sessions as crimes carrying more than 30 days in jail and/or more than $1,000 in fines, while Magistrate Court matters are misdemeanors up to 30 days and/or fines up to $1,000.
McCormick Magistrate Court
Magistrate Court is the local summary court for lower-level criminal matters, traffic, small civil cases, warrants, bail, bond, and preliminary hearings. The McCormick Magistrate Office is at 211 Augusta Street Extension, McCormick, SC 29835-8105. The office phone is (864) 852-2316, and the Judicial Branch confirms fax (864) 852-2582. County contact hours for the Magistrate Office are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Magistrate criminal trial jurisdiction generally covers offenses punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both, with statutory exceptions. Magistrates also set bail, conduct preliminary hearings, issue arrest and search warrants, and handle civil matters where the amount in controversy does not exceed $7,500. Traffic ticket searches may use the separate statewide Traffic Ticket Search portal when the case is a Summary Court traffic matter.
Federal Court Is Separate
McCormick County Circuit Court is a South Carolina state trial court. Federal records are separate. If a matter belongs to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, federal case access uses federal court systems, not the McCormick Clerk of Court. The manifest assigned several federal-source images to this trial-court page, so they are included here only to show the boundary between county Circuit Court records and federal case records.
The United States District Court for South Carolina is the federal trial court source.
Use that federal court only for federal cases; McCormick County Circuit Court records remain in the state court system.
Federal PACER and CM/ECF resources explain electronic access to federal court files.
PACER is not a substitute for the South Carolina Public Index or the McCormick County Clerk of Court.
The PACER court lookup confirms the federal District of South Carolina court system.
That lookup belongs to federal filings, while state civil and criminal McCormick County cases remain Circuit Court records.
Bankruptcy records are also separate from McCormick County Circuit Court files.
Bankruptcy Court records should be searched through federal bankruptcy channels, not the county trial court office.
Access Circuit Court Records
McCormick County Circuit Court records can be searched through the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search, the direct McCormick Public Index where available, and the McCormick court rosters for scheduled matters. Family Court public information may use FCCMS. Appellate matters move to C-Track for the South Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. If the online system fails or the case is older, restricted, or not digitized, contact the Clerk of Court.
For broader case help, the McCormick County court records page covers the main lookup channels, while the McCormick County Clerk of Court page covers copies, office contact, and certified record requests.
Note: As of January 1, 2026, Judicial Branch notices state that home address information no longer displays on the public index.