The Dorchester County jail roster is a public resource that lists individuals currently held at the county detention facility in South Carolina. DorchesterCourt.us can help you find publicly available information about current and recent inmates, including booking details and charges. You can also access jail roster information through the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office website, by calling the detention center directly, or by visiting the facility in person. A jail roster search allows the public to confirm whether someone is in custody, view the charges against them, and find basic booking information. The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office maintains the roster as a transparency tool, and it is updated regularly to reflect current custody status.
Search Current Inmates in Dorchester Jail
There are several ways to look up someone currently held at the Dorchester County Detention Center.
Online Search
- Visit DorchesterCourt.us to search publicly available court and inmate record information for Dorchester County.
- You can also check the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office website, which may publish a browsable inmate roster or provide a search tool. If the roster is displayed as a full list rather than a searchable database, use your browser's "Find" function (Ctrl+F on Windows or Cmd+F on Mac) to locate a name quickly.
- For individuals who have been sentenced to state prison, the South Carolina Department of Corrections Inmate Search covers inmates in SCDC custody statewide.
To search, you will typically need:
- The individual's full legal name (first and last name at minimum)
- A booking number, if known
Juvenile offenders are not included on any public jail roster.
By Phone
Call the Dorchester County Detention Center directly to ask whether a specific person is currently in custody. Be prepared to provide the individual's full name and date of birth.
In Person
You can visit the detention center lobby during regular business hours to request inmate information.
For criminal history background checks beyond what the jail roster provides, SLED CATCH (Citizens Access to Criminal Histories) offers a name-based search of South Carolina criminal records. You can also check the Dorchester County Public Sex Offender Registry for registrant information maintained through SLED.
Find Dorchester Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created each time someone is processed into the Dorchester County Detention Center. This happens after an arrest, when jail staff record the individual's personal information and the circumstances of their detention.
A typical booking record includes:
- Full legal name and date of birth
- Booking number
- Date and time of booking
- Charges at the time of arrest
- Arresting agency (Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, Summerville Police Department, St. George Police Department, or another agency)
- Bond amount, if set
- Mugshot photograph
Current booking records are generally viewable through the jail roster on the Sheriff's Office website or through DorchesterCourt.us. If you need a booking record for someone who is no longer in custody, you may need to submit a records request directly to the detention center. Contact the facility by phone at (843) 563-0460 to ask about the process and any associated fees.
For related court case information, the South Carolina Judicial Department Public Index allows you to search court filings by name across South Carolina counties.
Search the Dorchester Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The two most common ways to search the Dorchester County jail roster are by name and by booking number.
Search by Last Name
- Enter the individual's last name in the search field. Adding a first name will narrow results if the roster supports multi-field searches.
- Use correct spelling. If you are unsure of the exact spelling, try common variations.
- If the roster is displayed as a scrollable list without a dedicated search box, use your browser's built-in find feature to locate the last name on the page.
Search by Booking Number
If you have a booking number — often provided by the arresting agency or the jail — enter it directly. This is the fastest way to pull up a specific record and avoids issues with common last names.
If Your Search Returns No Results
- Double-check the spelling of the name.
- The person may have been released, transferred, or booked under a different name (such as a legal name versus a commonly used name).
- There may be a delay between the time of arrest and when the record appears on the roster.
- If the person was sentenced to state prison, search the SCDC Inmate Search instead.
- Call the detention center at (843) 563-0460 to confirm whether the individual is or was recently in custody.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Dorchester
The Dorchester County jail roster is updated on a regular basis, but it does not refresh instantaneously. There can be a gap — sometimes several hours — between when someone is booked into the facility and when their record appears on the public roster. The same applies to releases: a person may have already been released before their name is removed from the list.
Key limitations to keep in mind:
- Processing delays: After an arrest, it takes time for jail staff to complete intake paperwork, photographs, and data entry before the record goes live.
- Current custody only: The roster reflects who is in the detention center right now. It is not a historical archive. Once someone is released, transferred, or sentenced to another facility, their record is typically removed.
- Data entry variations: Names may appear differently than expected due to legal name differences, hyphenation, suffixes, or data entry formatting.
- Not all agencies appear immediately: Arrests made by municipal police departments within Dorchester County may take additional time to appear if the individual is transported to the county detention center after initial processing elsewhere.
For older records or a broader criminal history search, SLED CATCH provides access to statewide criminal history data. If you need official certified records for legal proceedings, contact the Dorchester County Clerk of Court or the detention center directly to request copies.