South Carolina Department of Corrections

The South Carolina Department of Corrections maintains a searchable public database of all of the inmates they have in custody.

In addition, the offender search contains information about prisoners, parolees, and probationers who are currently under supervision, and who have been discharged. It also contains those inmates who have absconded, or escaped.

The actual prison that an inmate is assigned to depends on factors such as security classification, remaining time of their sentence, gang affiliation, and location of their residence.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections began in 1867, when the first state prison, South Carolina Penitentiary, was built in Columbia.

Today the state of South Carolina's Prison System maintains 21 state correctional institutions.

With a staff of 4,000 correctional workers, as of the end of 2023 they oversee approximately 16,000 inmates, with another 35,000 on parole and probation.

The following will explain the instructions, tricks and hacks you can use to find any inmate in custody with the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

South Carolina Department of Corrections Inmate Search Instructions

The South Carolina Department of Corrections provides a limited amount of information you may want to know about any inmate in their system, however they do list every inmate. Inmates in custody have their crimes listed, as well as previous convictions. To look up an inmate (or parolee), you need the full last name.  

• You can also list any and all inmates by just filling in either the last or first name with a single letter.
• You can also list any inmate by entering their first or last name.

The first set of results if you used the full last name, provided there are more than one with that same name, will list their Name, Age, Race, Height, Weight. Click on the linked Name to get to the inmate's page.  

The inmate's page has complete information, and includes the inmate's most recent mugshot.

There are five choices for putting money on an inmate's books that can be used for communication services:

1. Commissary money in the form of a money order may be mailed to:
ViaPath/GTL Financial Services
10005 Technology Blvd West
Suite 130
Dallas TX 75220

Use this deposit slip...  ENGLISH   SPANISH

2. You may use cash or credit/debit cards at any time by using the kiosk located in the front lobby.  The fee for the use of the ATM is generally $1.50 per transaction for cash and 10% fee for credit/debit cards.

3. Commissary money can also be added to an inmates account at any time using any of these methods online.

4. Cash deposits to ConnectNetwork are now available at 26,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE, Kmart, Kroger, and more. You’ll start the payment process online in your ConnectNetwork account, then complete your transaction with cash at a participating local retail store. Plus, many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Find a retail store near you.

5. You can call customer service 24/7 at 877-650-4249 and get instructions for depositing money over the phone using a debit or credit card.

MORE INFORMATION about Deposits

English

Spanish

South Carolina Department of Corrections Inmate Visitation and Schedules

How do I apply for visiting privileges?

If the inmate wants you to visit, they will send you a Form 19-127, "Request for Visiting Privileges." Only inmates are authorized to provide an application.

FULLY complete the Form and return it by mail to: 
Division of Visitation and Inmate Drug Testing
P. O. Box 212969
Columbia, SC 29221 

If you do not provide all requested information, the form will be rejected. If the "Request for Visiting Privileges" cannot be processed because it is incomplete or because you have provided an incorrect inmate name or inmate number (the identification number assigned to the inmate by the South Carolina Department of Corrections), it will be returned to you, if the address on the form is complete.

A parent, legal guardian, or other adult may assist a child in completing the form; however, only a parent or legal guardian will be permitted to sign this form.

The inmate is responsible for notifying visitors once they have been approved.

The only minors who will be considered for inclusion on an inmate's approved visiting list are the inmate's brothers and sisters, the inmate's children (including adopted), stepchildren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and step-grandchildren; as shown on the inmate's relative list which will be verified by certified long-form birth certificates (Attach a copy to application). A parent or legal guardian must assist the child in completing the "Request for Visiting Privileges." A parent or legal guardian must sign this form, and a parent, legal guardian, or authorized adult must accompany the child during the entire visit.

VISITATION INQUIRY LINE - 803-896-1838

The Visit

Read and understand all the rules, regulations and dress codes on this page.

All visits must be scheduled through the GTL scheduling tool, and visitors must be on the inmate’s approved SCDC visitation list.

Follow these directions after logging in to GTL.

Click here to schedule a visit.

Each inmate in the SC Department of Corrections is allowed to have a maximum of 15 approved visitors on his/her visiting list.  

What can you bring into the visit?

For those visitors bringing authorized infants and small children, no more than five diapers, three baby bottles (or two sipper cups for toddlers, must be clear), and three jars of sealed baby food in a clear plastic bag. (Baby wipes/towelettes may be brought in by visitors provided they are brought in a clear plastic bag. Infant/baby carriers will be allowed but will be subject to search prior to entry into the institution. (Visitors will be required to remove the infant from the carrier for this purpose.)

You can also bring one small clear wallet or change purse, one set of keys and your ID.

South Carolina Department of Corrections offers Video Visitation for Inmates using the Services of GTL, aka ViaPath Techologies

In order to schedule and then visit an inmate using GTL you need to first register with GTL.

Next Steps:

• Register yourself and all visitors.
• Select South Carolina Department of Corrections
• Select your inmate.
• Schedule your preferred time for the visit.

For at-home video visits: Sign in to the visitation scheduling site 15 minutes prior to your scheduled visit. Test your connection, and follow the steps to start your visit.
For on-site video visits: Arrive at the facility at least 15 minutes prior to check-in. A valid photo ID is required. 

All your questions can be answered after you register, at the Frequently Asked Questions page, or call 855-208-7349 during the following hours:
6AM – 4PM MST Monday – Friday, or 
7AM – 4PM MST Saturday – Sunday

Costs for Visits are subject to change but generally run less than $10.00 for a 30 minute visit.
Payment can be made with Visa, Mastercard debit, credit or gift cards.

REMOTE VISITATION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

South Carolina Department of Corrections offers Video Visitation for Inmates using the Services of GTL, aka ViaPath Techologies

In order to schedule and then visit an inmate using GTL you need to first register with GTL.

Next Steps:

• Register yourself and all visitors.
• Select South Carolina Department of Corrections
• Select your inmate.
• Schedule your preferred time for the visit.

For at-home video visits: Sign in to the visitation scheduling site 15 minutes prior to your scheduled visit. Test your connection, and follow the steps to start your visit.
For on-site video visits: Arrive at the facility at least 15 minutes prior to check-in. A valid photo ID is required. 

All your questions can be answered after you register, at the Frequently Asked Questions page, or call 855-208-7349 during the following hours:
6AM – 4PM MST Monday – Friday, or 
7AM – 4PM MST Saturday – Sunday

Costs for Visits are subject to change but generally run less than $10.00 for a 30 minute visit.
Payment can be made with Visa, Mastercard debit, credit or gift cards.

REMOTE VISITATION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There are three Ways to Communicate with an Inmate in the South Carolina Department of Corrections by Phone

To get started you must first open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)

• Advance Pay - This phone account allows you to prepay so that your inmate can call you (and only you) whenever he/she wants and the cost of each call is deducted from your balance. You can even be notified by text when your balance gets low. You still have the option of accepting or rejecting each call.
• Pin Debit  -  This option allows you to fund an inmate's commissary account and lets him pay for phone calls to you and others with the money. You will have no control over who your inmate calls.
• Voicemail  -  You can leave a secure voicemail without having to contact the facility. When you call the local phone number for a facility offering Inmate Voicemail (call Customer Service at 877-650-4249 to get the local voicemail number for South Carolina Department of Corrections, you will be informed of the cost for leaving a message. To leave your message, simply select the inmate by ID number. Then, record your voicemail.

How to deposit money for Inmate Communications:

• Online
• By phone by calling 877-650-4249
• Deposit by cash, visa or mc debit and credit cards in the South Carolina Department of Corrections lobby kiosk
• By mail... Check or Money Order made out to:
  AdvancePay Service Department
  P.O. Box 911722
  Denver, CO 80291-1722
• Cash deposits to ConnectNetwork are also available at 26,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE, Kmart, Kroger, and more. You’ll start the payment process online in your ConnectNetwork account, then complete your transaction with cash at a participating local retail store. Plus, many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Find a retail store near you.

South Carolina Department of Corrections Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The South Carolina Department of Corrections allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature. It is best to only use blue or black ink. Always include your name and return address.

Envelopes
The South Carolina Department of Corrections also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates. It is best to only use blue or black ink.

Postcards and envelopes MUST HAVE the sender's full name and return address on the envelope. 

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate Name / Inmate #
South Carolina Department of Corrections
Confirm Mailing Address here
 

Legal Mail

Send all Legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate Name / Inmate #
South Carolina Department of Corrections
Confirm Mailing Address here

Newspapers
Newspapers may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The South Carolina Department of Corrections allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address noted.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the South Carolina Department of Corrections standards will be disposed of. 
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.

All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate Name / Inmate #
South Carolina Department of Corrections
Confirm Mailing Address here

South Carolina Department of Corrections contracts with Access Securepak, also known as ‘My Care Pack’, for families to send pre-determined packages of commissary items to your inmate.

Access Securepak carries over 1,000 different items in the following categories:
- Food and Snacks
- Personal Hygiene Products
- Electronics
- Apparel

Registration Process:
1. Register here.
2. Select South Carolina.
3. Select South Carolina Department of Corrections.
4. Find your Inmate.
5. Deposit Funds.
6. Order Commissary Items.
Once you are logged in, you will receive instructions on how much (and what products) you can send your inmate.
Contact Information:
* If you have any questions, you can call Access Securepak at 800-546-6283.
* You can email My Care Pack at customerservice@securepak.net.
* You can write them at:
    Access Securepak
    10880 Linpage Place
    St. Louis, MO 63132

* You can Live Chat with a Representative online: (bottom left corner of page)
   Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.–11 p.m. CST, 
   and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. CST.

*Note* Access Securepak will issue a refund for or replace broken, damaged, or missing products reported by South Carolina Department of Corrections staff. They will not honor reports of discrepancies from inmate's families or friends.
My CarePack is the South Carolina Department of Corrections's outside vendor for Commissary Items. They have a very good mix of Chips, Snacks, Candy, Meat, Seafood, Hygiene products, Letter writing materials, Electronics and Apparel items for sale on their website.

*NOTE* -- Once you are fully registered and have selected the inmate you wish to send commissary to, you will receive instructions on how much you can deposit, how much (and what) you can purchase for your inmate, and how often you can send commissary.

Emailing and Texting Messages, Photos & Videograms

South Carolina Department of Corrections contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles Inmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.


If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select South Carolina Department of Corrections,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

How Messaging Works
Watch this video on how to send a message.
1.  Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
2. After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.

How Uploading Photos Works
Watch this video on how to upload a photo.
1.  Select the Photos Tab.
2. Select “Take New Photo” or “Upload New Photo”.
3. Take a new photo with your webcam, or select "Choose File" to upload a photo from your computer.
4. Give your photo a Title or add it to the "Gallery" of your choice.
5. Select the "Share" button.
6. Select your inmate(s) and then select "Share".
7. Once the photo is approved, it will be shared with your inmate(s).

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

South Carolina Department of Corrections allows inmates access to tablets to use for the services provided by 'gettingout'.

The devices are similar to common handheld tablets, but are made exclusively by GettingOut, a GTL / Viapath company.
Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at South Carolina Department of Corrections, such as:

• Music
• Books
• Games
• Education
• News
• Radio
• Television
• Read mail and messages
• Video visits

-  Free services are already available for use on the device at South Carolina Department of Corrections.
-  Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
-  South Carolina Department of Corrections Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.

What Does a Tablet Cost?

• Tablet devices include some services and the content is free.
• The subscription services require additional funding.
• There may be multiple options such as 7-day or 30-day subscriptions.
• Costs are dependent upon the available services and what the South Carolina Department of Corrections charges.

To estimate costs for phone calls, sign in to your account and click “Rate & Fees Calculator” in the footer (bottom of the page) or call 866-516-0115 for assistance.

Once an inmate is convicted and sentenced for a violation of that state’s felony laws (and their sentence is more than one year in length), they are moved from the City or County Jail and sent to a State Prison in South Carolina. If the violation they are convicted of is a federal crime, they will be sent to a Federal Prison, but will not necessarily be doing their time in South Carolina.

South Carolina State Prisons are operated and maintained by the state government and are used to confine and rehabilitate criminals. State prisons are funded by state tax money. The fund is used to provide food and clothes to inmates and to hire employees to keep the prison running. Inmates in state prison enjoy certain privileges such as TV use and recreation, both indoor and outdoor. The number of privileges allowed depends on the security level of the prison, the inmate and the overall needs of the prison on a specific day.

South Carolina has minimum, medium and maximum security prisons. The Corrections Department in South Carolina also maintains low (or no) security residential settings and camps where inmates assist in state property maintenance and duties such as fighting fires. Almost all prisons provide ‘jobs’ where an inmate can earn a small hourly wage and even learn a trade. Some prisons even contract with call centers and handle phone calls on issues related to their state government. Criminals who have committed a violent crime or killed someone are likely housed in a maximum security prison. If the inmate in these prisons behave, they are also eligible to recreate and/or work as well.

In South Carolina Prisons rehabilitation is the stated goal but the reality is that they exist to punish inmates for their crimes and keep them from hurting or harming innocent people on the outside who follow the laws and live and act responsibly. The fact is that most prison systems are underfunded, overcrowded and are not able to spend time and money rehabilitating offenders. This is not the fault of the people hired to work in prisons, they are just victims of the lack of resources due to budgeting constraints.

State Inmate

Most states have Department of Corrections websites that allow you to type in a felon's first and last name and pull up inmates in that state.

If you need to find a sentenced inmate serving time in a state other than South Carolina, go here. To find an inmate in South Carolina, just scroll to the top of the page and click on the Inmate Search button.

Once you locate them click next to the inmate's name or on the link provided and it will show you which prison the inmate is housed in. If the inmate is no longer incarcerated, but is on parole/probation or discharged, it will tell you that as well. In addition, many state prison inmate pages show recent mug shots.

Federal Inmate

The federal prison system has its own inmate locator called the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator.

Type in the inmate's name and it will tell you where he or she is incarcerated and their projected release date. It also lists released federal prison inmates and the date they were released.

Federal inmates who are moved from one prison to another will show as "No longer in federal custody" on the system until they reach their next federal prison destination. This movement can take a few days to several months to complete, so keep checking back to find out where the inmate was taken.

ICE Inmates

The ICE Detainee Lookup allows friends, family members and interested parties to locate illegal and/or undocumented immigrants that are in the United States without permission.

Has the Inmate been recently arrested?... Try a County Jail

In many cases, the person you are looking for has either not been convicted or sentenced or has been sentenced and is awaiting transport to a State or Federal Prison and is still incarcerated in a City or County Jail.

To locate that person, go here to first find the State, and then the County where they were originally arrested or have been transported to. From there you can begin your search in our databases that contain the names and information of millions of inmates.

Jailexchange.com has all information on every jail and prison in the United States.