Dorchester County Residents Directory
The Dorchester County residents directory is your guide to public records kept by county and city offices in the Lowcountry. Dorchester County sits west of Charleston and is part of the First Judicial Circuit. The county seat is St. George, where the Clerk of Court and Register of Deeds have their main offices. Summerville and parts of North Charleston also fall inside Dorchester County lines. This residents directory covers court records, property filings, vital records, and open records requests for people who live in or own property in Dorchester County.
Dorchester County Quick Facts
Dorchester County Clerk of Court
The Dorchester County Clerk of Court is at 5200 East Jim Bilton Boulevard in St. George, SC 29477. The phone number is (843) 563-0181. This office is part of the First Judicial Circuit and keeps records for both Circuit Court and Family Court. Staff manage jury duty, schedule court dates, and collect payments ordered by the court.
Court records in Dorchester County include criminal, civil, and family cases. You can search for a person in the Dorchester County residents directory through the South Carolina Public Index. That tool is free and lets you search by name or case number. For certified copies or in-person record reviews, visit the Clerk of Court at the Dorchester County Clerk of Court office during business hours. Orders of Protection are also filed at this location.
Note: Court filings and public access end at 5:00 p.m. each weekday, so plan your visit to the Dorchester County office early enough.
Dorchester County Property Records
The Register of Deeds for Dorchester County handles all property document filings. The mailing address is PO Box 38, St. George, SC 29477. The phone and fax numbers are 843-563-0181 and 843-563-0182. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but the recording window closes at 4:30 p.m. Real estate records and deed records are available online through the Dorchester County Register of Deeds website.
The office records deeds, mortgages, plat maps, and UCC filings. Veterans can file DD-214 military discharge records at no cost. Notary public oaths are also on file here. Dorchester County offers a property fraud alert service that warns you when a document is recorded under your name. If you are looking up a property owner in the Dorchester County residents directory, this office has records sorted by grantor and grantee going back many years.
For tax questions on Dorchester County property, call the Assessor at 843-563-0162 or the Treasurer at 843-563-0163. These offices can tell you the assessed value and tax status of any parcel in the county.
Summerville Residents Directory
Summerville is one of the largest towns in Dorchester County. The Town Clerk keeps the official municipal records. Town Council agendas and meeting minutes are posted online. You can submit an open records request through the Town Clerk under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code Ann. Section 30-4-10. Municipal ordinances and codes are also on file for public review.
Visit the Summerville town website for contact info and forms.
Police records in Summerville go through the Summerville Police Department. Property records for Summerville residents are kept by the Dorchester County Register of Deeds, not the town. Vital records like birth and marriage certificates are handled at the state level by SC DHEC.
North Charleston Public Records
Parts of North Charleston fall within Dorchester County. The city has its own system for open records. The Clerk of Council is Courtnay Fields, and her phone number is 843-740-2509. City Hall is at 2500 City Hall Lane in North Charleston, SC 29406. You can submit requests by fax to 843-745-1050 or by mail to PO Box 190016, North Charleston, SC 29419. All requests must be signed.
North Charleston also has an online FOIA portal where you can create an account to file and track your requests. This makes it easy to check the status of your records request at any time. You can also hand-deliver your form to the third floor of City Hall. Visit the North Charleston FOIA page for the portal and forms.
The Dorchester County residents directory includes North Charleston because part of the city sits in this county. Make sure you know which county your address falls in before you file a request.
Dorchester County Vital Records
Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records are kept by the state. SC DHEC Vital Records has files going back to 1915. You can order by mail to 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, or online through VitalChek. A birth certificate search is $12, and extra copies are $3. A photo ID is required.
Marriage licenses in Dorchester County come from the Probate Court. The Probate Court also handles estates and guardianships. For the Dorchester County residents directory, vital records are a key tool for finding and confirming information about a person. The South Carolina State Records portal can also help with broad searches across more than 45 million public records statewide.
Note: Marriage and divorce certificates from DHEC confirm that an event took place but do not include the full terms of any court order from Dorchester County.
Cities in Dorchester County
Dorchester County includes Summerville and parts of North Charleston. Each city has local offices that handle their own municipal records. County-level records like deeds and court cases are kept in St. George.
Nearby Counties
Dorchester County borders Charleston and Berkeley counties. All three are part of the greater Charleston metro area. If you are not sure which county a person lives in, try the nearby residents directories.