An expungement is a court order for the destruction or sealing of criminal records relating to an arrest or a conviction. South Carolina law allows for expungement of certain criminal offenses under limited circumstances. 

The Solicitor's Office is responsible for processing expungement requests for criminal charges in the Court of General Sessions and Juvenile Court as well as Magistrate and Municipal Court criminal convictions if eligible for an expungement. Magistrate and Municipal Court process expungement requests for charges that were dismissed or nolle prossed or where the defendant was found not guilty in their jurisdictional courts. 

The expungement application packet contains information needed to determine whether an individual is eligible for an expungement and the process to obtain an expungement order through the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. Please review the packet in its entirety to determine eligibility and the required documentation needed to begin the expungement process. See Quick Links for packet. 

If you successfully completed an Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office Diversion Program, you must contact that program for assistance in obtaining an expungement order.

Applications for expungement must be made in the county in which the arrest occurred.  If the arrest occurred outside of Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick, or Saluda County, the person must contact the summary court or the solicitor's office that processed the charge. Each county in South Carolina has a different application procedure for expungements.