1. Go to the Sheriff's Current Inmates portal on a phone or computer.
2. Type the last name. If nothing turns up, try another spelling, a maiden name or a hyphenated name.
3. Look over the results for the right first name.
4. Open the record and copy down any booking or ID number, plus the listed charges.
5. Still not sure? Ring the Detention Center at 843-549-5742.

In South Carolina, a list of the people held in a jail is a public record that anyone may see (S.C. Code 30-4-30(D)(3)).

A search that returns nothing can mean:

• Booking is still going on. Prints, a photo and forms all have to be finished first.
• They already left. Perhaps someone paid the bond, or the judge released them on a signed promise.
• They were moved. A different county could have collected them on its warrant. State prison and federal custody are other options.
• They are under 18. Young people are sent to a youth facility, never the adult jail.
• The arrest happened somewhere else. Someone stopped in a nearby county is booked into that county's jail.

Jail staff at 843-549-5742 will look the person up for you. For a police report, the Sheriff's Records Unit answers at 843-549-1203.

Every adult booked here goes to a single lockup, the Sheriff's Detention Center. Phone 843-549-5742 for directions. Trustees (inmate workers) and maximum security inmates each have their own visiting times there.

Someone stopped just over the line in another county is usually booked there. These jails surround the area:

• Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center (Charleston County): 3841 Leeds Ave., North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-202-7200
• Dorchester County Detention Center: 843-832-0215
• Beaufort County Detention Center: 843-255-5200
• Bamberg County Detention Center: 444 Second Street, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3020
• Orangeburg-Calhoun Regional Detention Center: 1520 Ellis Avenue, Orangeburg, SC 29118, 803-539-2091
• Hampton County Jail & Detention Center: ask the Walterboro jail staff whether a transfer went there.

Look at the person's record in the Sheriff's Current Inmates portal. If you need a photo that is not shown there, ask the Sheriff's Office at 843-549-2211 how it handles photo requests. Under the state's open records law, an agency must answer a written request within ten working days (S.C. Code 30-4-30(C)).

A 2016 law protects people whose charges fall apart. Once the case ends in dismissal, expungement or acquittal, a website that posted the booking photo has 30 days to remove it after a certified-mail request, and it cannot charge a fee (S.C. Code 17-1-60). An expungement also leads to the official booking records and photos being destroyed (S.C. Code 17-1-40).

ICE photos are released only by request, through the agency's FOIA records page. In general, federal mugshots stay private, though the Marshals do post pictures of fugitives they are hunting.

Sign up with VINELink South Carolina. This free state service reports custody status and location, and it sends word of a release or transfer. The automated phone line is 866-727-2846, in English or Spanish.

VINE was made for crime victims. Families can use it too. It tracks a person who moves from the county jail to another jail or to prison.

After a move to state prison, release notices can also come from the South Carolina Department of Corrections Division of Victim Services at 803-896-1733, which signs people up by a mailed form.

A magistrate usually decides bond at a hearing held twice a day, in a 9:00 a.m. block and a 3:00 p.m. block. State law demands that hearing no later than a day after arrest, and release within four hours after the bond is turned in (S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)).

• The law's starting point is a personal recognizance bond, a signed promise with no money (S.C. Code 17-15-10).
• Other bonds call for full cash, a bondsman's surety, or, if the judge permits, ten percent paid to the clerk.
• For murder, and anything punishable by life in prison or execution, only a circuit judge can set bond.

The Sheriff's website links an online court payment page labeled for traffic fines and bonds. Before using it for a bond, phone the Magistrate Court at 843-549-1122 to make sure the payment will free the person. Payment places and every bond type are laid out on our bail page.

Several places can tell you:

• The jail record. Open the person's entry in the Current Inmates portal, then ask jail staff to read you each charge.
• The court index. Search the county's Public Index by name once a case is opened.
• The magistrate's desk. For warrants and bond hearings, call the criminal and traffic line at 843-549-1140.
• The police report. Under state law, the public may see reports on the nature and place of a crime (S.C. Code 30-4-50(A)(8)). The Sheriff's Office lets the public look at case reports from the last 14 days, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 394 Mable T. Willis Blvd, Walterboro, SC 29488. Its Records Unit is at 843-549-1203.

If city officers made the arrest, ask the Walterboro Police Department at 843-782-1032.

A defendant without money for a private lawyer can request a public defender in court or phone the office directly. To qualify, they sign a sworn form describing their finances (S.C. Code 17-3-45) and owe a $40 application fee, which the clerk can shrink or skip for someone too poor to pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

The office for this county is at 319 North Lucas St, Walterboro, SC 29488, 843-549-1633. It is one of five county offices in the 14th Circuit's public defender system.

Relatives can phone the office with the person's name and booking date so the request is not missed. The statewide agency, the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, is at 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

In-person visits happen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. Each inmate gets one hour in total, no matter how many people come. The schedule depends on the inmate's group and last name:

• Trustees: Friday, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
• Maximum security: Friday, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
• Last names A through G: Friday, noon to 4:00 p.m.
• Last names H through O: Saturday, noon to 4:00 p.m.
• Last names P through Z: Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m.

Video visits are booked online through the company that runs the jail's inmate communications; our visiting page explains how. Lawyers can request visits through that same system or by calling 843-549-5742. Before driving over, phone that line about ID and dress rules.

There are two ways the Sheriff's Office describes:

• Lobby kiosk at 22 Klein St., Walterboro, SC 29488. It takes cash, credit cards and debit cards. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (holidays excluded), and on weekends and holidays from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
• Online, by credit card, through the website of the jail's commissary supplier.

Our deposits page walks through both, and our commissary page lists the snacks and supplies it pays for. Card fees and deposit limits can change, so ask the jail at 843-549-5742 before sending a large amount.

County council signed a deal in 2020 with one company to handle inmate communications at the jail. That deal covers kiosks too. The Sheriff's website sends families to that company's site to schedule video visits.

For account setup, prices, and whether calls and text-style messages share that account, read our calling guide and our messaging guide. You can also ask jail staff at 843-549-5742.

Keep those chats about home and family; the case is for the defense lawyer.

Before you write, call the jail at 843-549-5742 and ask two things: the current address for inmate mail, and which number the jail wants next to the name. Some jails route letters through an outside mail center, so the right address matters.

Then follow these habits:

• On the front, write the inmate's name exactly as booked, then their jail number.
• Put your own name and mailing address at the upper left.
• Never mail cash. Use the kiosk or the online deposit for money.
• Leave out anything about the case.

Our inmate mail page keeps the address details for this jail. Lawyers should ask the jail how to send legal mail.

At booking, the jail takes and stores what the person was carrying, such as a phone, keys, cash and clothing. All of it is held until release. A family member who needs an item sooner, like car keys, should call the Detention Center at 843-549-5742 and ask:

• whether the inmate must first sign a release letting you collect,
• what days and hours property can be picked up, and
• which photo ID to bring.

Money left on the jail account belongs to the person too. Ask how it is paid out at release.

The county must give people in its jail basic necessities, such as meals, water, clothes and a way to see medical staff (S.C. Code 24-5-80). Each year, at minimum, state inspectors from the Department of Corrections check the jail against set standards (S.C. Code 24-9-10).

If you know about a health problem, call the jail at 843-549-5742 right away. Give the officer:

• the person's name and birth date,
• any medicines they take and the doses,
• the name and phone of their doctor or pharmacy, and
• any allergy, pregnancy, seizure or mental health concern.

A defense lawyer can also raise a serious medical need with the judge, including at a bond hearing.

Deputies serve warrants countywide, and Walterboro, Cottageville and Edisto Beach officers serve them in town. To ask about one, phone the Sheriff's Warrants and Civil Process unit, 843-549-1964, at 394 Mable T. Willis Blvd, Walterboro, SC 29488. Statewide wanted lists come from Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (tip line 888-761-6175) and the U.S. Marshals. Surrender at the court behind it, bringing a lawyer if possible, or phone that court to reschedule. The Clerk of Court is at 101 Hampton Street, Walterboro, SC 29488, 843-549-5791.

Try these, in order:

1. Search the person's name on the county's Public Index.
2. For felony terms, scan the court rosters.
3. For magistrate cases, call 843-549-1140.
4. For General Sessions, call the Clerk of Court at 843-549-5791, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

A skipped date brings a bench warrant and can cost the bond, so put it on a calendar. Each court in the county, with addresses, is on our court page.

People charged by federal agents stay in U.S. Marshals custody until their case ends. Call the Marshals' Charleston office at 85 Broad Street, Room 260, Charleston, SC 29401, 843-727-4255, with the person's name and birth date ready.

The case is heard in the Charleston Division of the federal court. Its clerk is at the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center, 83 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401, 843-579-1401. At the first hearing, a judge decides under 18 U.S.C. 3142 whether the defendant is released or held until trial.

A sentenced federal prisoner is given a register number. The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator finds them by that number or by full name.

Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Type in the A-number. Without one, pair the name with the country of birth. If the search fails, ICE says to contact its local field office. For this state that is 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800, open Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Here is how a transfer to ICE usually goes. Agents send the jail a detainer. Jailers can then hold on for up to 48 hours past release (8 CFR 287.7(d)). ICE picks them up during that window.

State law adds a 72-hour status check for every criminal booking, and anyone found to lack legal status is reported to federal immigration officials (S.C. Code 23-3-1100). In bond court, unlawful presence and flight risk both count (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).

Terms longer than three months put a person in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Use the SCDC inmate search, which is updated to midnight the night before.

• New prisoners get an SCDC number within a week of arriving.
• Intake (reception and evaluation) comes first; in-person visits wait unless intake passes 30 days.
• Later visits are on Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in two-hour blocks booked online.
• Deposits have been limited to approved visitors since November 3, 2025.

SCDC is at 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500. The SC VINE line, 866-727-2846, gives custody alerts. Our South Carolina prison directory has every facility.

A teenager may pass through the county jail only briefly. State law caps adult jail time for a child at six hours and forbids jailing anyone 10 or younger (S.C. Code 63-19-820). Youth awaiting court are mostly sent to the state's juvenile complex at 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440 for visits.

Family Court must decide on continued detention within 48 hours, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays aside (S.C. Code 63-19-830). Adult court takes 17-year-olds facing Class A through D felonies, or felonies with 15-year maximums or higher (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)).

The local Department of Juvenile Justice office, 219 South Lemack St., Walterboro, SC 29488, 843-549-1509, can tell parents where their child is. Family Court can be reached through the Clerk of Court's line, 843-549-2870.

The county has three town police departments. The Sheriff covers everything else.

• Sheriff's Office (rural areas plus Lodge, Smoaks and Williams, which have no police force of their own; it also runs an Edisto Beach patrol unit): 394 Mable T. Willis Blvd, Walterboro, SC 29488, 843-549-2211, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Non-emergency reports go to this number.
• Walterboro Police Department: 242 Hampton Street, Walterboro, SC 29488, 843-782-1032. Alternative number: 843-549-1811.
• Cottageville Police Department: PO Box 57, Cottageville, SC 29435, 843-835-8655.
• Edisto Beach Police Department: 2414 Murray Street, Edisto Beach, SC 29438, 843-869-2505.
• South Carolina Highway Patrol, Troop 6: 2070 Northbrook Blvd, Suite A-20, North Charleston, SC 29406, 843-953-6000. Troopers work the highways here.

Whichever agency made the arrest, adults it books are held at the Sheriff's Detention Center, 843-549-5742.