Expungement Lawyer in Charleston, SC

How to Get a Criminal Record Expunged in Charleston

1. Get your record. Order your SLED criminal history (see how to get a copy of your criminal record) and the final disposition for each charge.
2. Match each charge to a statute. Check waiting periods, once-only limits and pending charges first: the $250 solicitor’s fee is nonrefundable even if the charge proves ineligible.
3. Summary-court dismissals. The magistrate or municipal court handles these free, on its own if you were fingerprinted, or on your application (form SCCA 223E) if not.
4. Get the solicitor’s form. Everything else uses the mandatory blank expungement order form from the solicitor’s office in the circuit where the charge originated (§ 17-22-930). For Charleston and Berkeley counties, that is the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, at 101 Meeting Street in Charleston and 300-B California Avenue in Moncks Corner.
5. File the packet. Include the disposition, each fee as a separate money order or cashier’s check (no personal checks or cash) and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
6. Review and signatures. SLED verifies eligibility on most routes, the solicitor consents, declines or finds the charge ineligible, and a circuit court judge signs the order, or a family court judge for a juvenile record (§ 17-22-940).
7. Confirm it worked. Allow SLED four weeks after it receives the order, then buy a new SLED records check.

Expungement Fees Under South Carolina Law

Section 17-22-940 sets the fees, per order:

• $250 administrative fee to the solicitor’s office, nonrefundable “regardless of whether the offense is later determined to be statutorily ineligible for expungement” or the solicitor does not consent. It is not charged for a general sessions dismissal or acquittal under § 17-1-40, unless the dismissal was part of a plea deal on other charges. The solicitor may waive it only for someone falsely accused because of identity theft, and each office keeps a donation account that can cover up to half, first come, first served.
• $25 SLED verification fee, not charged for § 17-1-40 dismissals, PTI, the Alcohol and Traffic Education Programs or a conditional discharge.
• $35 clerk of court filing fee, refunded if the charge proves statutorily ineligible, and not charged for a § 17-1-40 expungement after a dismissal or acquittal.

A § 22-5-910 or § 22-5-930 conviction therefore costs $310 per order. Charges from one incident can share one order and one set of fees under § 17-1-40 or PTI. A conditional discharge carries its own fee before dismissal: $350 in general sessions or $150 in summary court, waivable only for indigency (§ 44-53-450(C)).

Lawyers for Expungement Near Charleston, SC: What the Work Involves and Who May Apply

You may apply yourself: § 22-5-910 lets the person “apply, or cause someone acting on his behalf to apply,” and § 17-22-940(I) lets you retain a lawyer to apply for you. The work has three parts:

• Eligibility, charge by charge: matching each disposition to a statute and checking waiting periods and once-only history before paying a nonrefundable fee.
• A solicitor who will not consent: retained counsel may ask the circuit court to decide eligibility (§ 17-22-940(I)).
• A case still open: eligibility follows the offense you plead to, so the plea decides whether a route will ever exist.

Look for a lawyer who defends cases in the Ninth Circuit courts and tells you plainly when a charge cannot be cleared.

How Deaton Law Firm Handles an Expungement

• We read your SLED record and dispositions and tell you which charges qualify now, later or never.
• We prepare the solicitor’s form and fee packet, or the summary-court application, and follow the order to SLED.
• If the solicitor declines to consent, we can ask a circuit court judge to rule on eligibility.
• If your case is still open, we weigh each plea offer’s effect on your record. See our criminal defense page or, after an arrest, our guide to bond hearings in South Carolina.

Expungement Questions

How much does it cost to expunge a record in South Carolina?

For a § 22-5-910 or § 22-5-930 conviction, $310 per order: $250 to the solicitor, $25 to SLED and $35 to the clerk of court. Summary-court dismissals are free; a general sessions dismissal under § 17-1-40 is too, unless it came in a plea deal on other charges, which brings back the $250.

What crimes cannot be expunged in South Carolina?

Any conviction no statute reaches: DUI and DUAC convictions, other driving convictions unless a statute such as § 56-5-750(F) creates a route, convictions above the § 22-5-910 limits that fit no other route, and violent crimes on the youthful offender route.

Can a DUI be expunged in South Carolina?

No. A DUI or DUAC conviction is permanent because § 22-5-910(A) excludes offenses involving the operation of a motor vehicle. A dismissed DUI charge or a not-guilty verdict can still be cleared under § 17-1-40.

Will an expunged record still show up on a background check?

SLED removes the charge from the state criminal history it keeps, but it does not control private background-check companies or websites that already copied the record. Employers other than criminal justice agencies may not use expunged information against an employee (§ 17-22-960).

This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its facts. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney about your situation.