Divisions of Court

Below you will find information regarding the different types of Court held by the Lancaster County Magistrates Office. The Magistrates Court is composed of four specific courts with clearly defined responsibilities.  Specifically, bond court, traffic court, criminal court and civil court. Click on the type below for more information.

Bond Court

Instructions: 

Individuals inquiring about bond hearings should call 803-416-9483 at either 9:30 am or 2:30 pm with questions.  Bondsmen may bond out individuals at the Magistrates Office from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays and at 9:30 am and 2:30 pm on weekends and holidays. 

On the days the office is closed, bond court will start at 9:30 am and again at 2:30 pm ONLY for the time required to set bonds and individuals who have not had hearings.  Once bonds are set, court will close until the next session. 

Traffic Court

Traffic court possesses any tickets issued by South Carolina Highway Patrol Officers or South Carolina State Transport Officers.

Criminal Court

Criminal court possesses any tickets issued by designated officers representing various Lancaster County agencies, i.e., Sheriff Office, South Carolina Department of Natural Resource, Building and Zoning, Animal Control, SLED and South Carolina Forestry. 

Civil Court

Handles various small claim law suits. Summons & Complaint is an $80.00 filing fee and is used to sue individuals or businesses for monies owed to the Plaintiff which total  $7,500.00 or less. Claim and Delivery is $65.00 for the initial filing fee and a $20.00 pick up fee paid on the date of the pick up if ordered by the Magistrate. A Claim and Delivery would be filed to retrieve personal property. Eviction is $45.00 for the initial filing fee and a $10.00 fee in the end if the defendant does not move out of property. Eviction would be filed for landlord and tenant agreements. Notice to Quit Premises is $65.00 initial filing fee and a $10.00 filing fee in the end if defendant has not moved out of the property.   Notice to Quit Premises would be filed against individuals who do not pay rent and would consist of adult children, boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, a friend or family member. Public Sale is $35.00 filing fee and used to get an Order of Sale for Department of Motor Vehicle to obtain a title. You must be a business owner who has done repair work to a vehicle, towed a vehicle or has incurred storage charges. 

Expungement Process

The Magistrate Court provides and expungement service and procedure which gives an individual an opportunity to clear-up their criminal background record.  This process is reserved for criminal cases and is initiated 30 days following an individual's court date and ONLY IF the defendant's case was dispositioned as not guilty, nolle prossed or dismissed. In the expungement procedure, the hard copy of the file and computer data relative to the file would be destroyed.  Once the records are destroyed, copies of a certified expungement document is sent to other law enforcement agencies including South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).  The Magistrate Court does not have a charge for this service.