South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) — Inmate Records & Recent Arrests

South Carolina DOC: Inmate Search, Visits, Money & Mail

This page holds the inmate records we have on file for the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). South Carolina runs a statewide system of institutions, and the person you are looking for could be housed at any of them and may be transferred during their sentence. The records below are a historical directory of custody entries we hold — a starting point for identifying the right person and taking the next step — not a live count of any single facility, so confirm anything current against the state's official search. For more on this facility — history, programs, and what to expect — see our full facility profile.

How to find someone in SCDC

SCDC offers an online inmate search and a toll-free inmate information line at 1-866-727-2846 as public services. To search, you will want the person's full name and, ideally, their inmate ID number. On this page you can also browse the records we hold by last name (A–Z), gender, or age to narrow a common name, then confirm the current facility and ID through the state search. Because people are transferred between South Carolina institutions as their classification changes, a record here can lag behind a recent move, so verify before you plan a visit or send anything.

Getting on the visiting list and scheduling

Each SCDC inmate may have a maximum of 15 approved visitors on their list; once your application is completed, submitted, and approved, you are added. All visits must be scheduled at least 15 hours ahead using the GTL scheduler. When you arrive, everyone age 10 and older must present a public-safety photo identification, and children younger than 10 must show a copy of their long-form birth certificate. Minor children on the list must be accompanied by an adult and may visit only if they are the inmate's siblings, children (natural or legally adopted), stepchildren, grandchildren, or step-grandchildren. Both in-person and virtual visitation are approved for nearly all institutions, so confirm your person's specific options and whether their unit is one of the few exceptions. Arriving early to clear screening helps you make the most of the scheduled window.

Sending money — note the 2025 approved-visitor rule

South Carolina requires cashless transactions, and you can send money to a person's trust account through GTL financial services. There is an important recent change: as of November 3, 2025, deposits are restricted to individuals on the inmate's approved visitor list, a step SCDC says is meant to improve security and accountability. From that date, the sender's name on a money order must exactly match a name on the inmate's approved visitor list. The practical implication is that getting approved as a visitor is now tied to your ability to send money, so start the visitor application early. Always include the person's full name and ID number, and allow processing time before funds are available. Our guide to money and phone calls at this facility covers vendor-specific setup steps.

Writing to an SCDC inmate

When you write, include the inmate's full name, ID number, and the correct correctional facility name and address, along with your return address. South Carolina keeps incoming mail simple: you should not include anything other than a letter or a photo. Skip stickers, glitter, adhesive, cash, checks, and stamps, all of which can get mail rejected or treated as contraband. Because mail procedures can vary and change, when in doubt keep it to a plain letter and confirm the current policy for your person's facility. Our letter service handles formatting and postage so your correspondence meets facility requirements and reaches the right person.

Phone calls and staying connected

Calls are placed by the incarcerated person out to numbers on their approved list, so set up and fund an account with the facility's phone provider in advance and make sure your number is approved so their calls connect. Because visitation, deposits, and calling are increasingly tied to a person's approved list, getting approved early streamlines everything. For families who talk frequently, lower-cost calling arrangements can meaningfully reduce the expense over a long sentence, and pairing calls with in-person or virtual visits and steady mail keeps the connection strong.

Programs, parole, and reentry

Because SCDC holds sentenced people, many families are also navigating classification, earned credits, and parole rather than a pending trial. South Carolina offers education, vocational, and treatment programming, and participation can matter both for a person's daily life and, in some cases, for their release timeline. Staying closely involved — encouraging participation and helping line up the practical pieces of reentry, such as housing and identification — is one of the most effective things a family can do, and consistent contact is associated with smoother transitions back to the community.

How to read the records on this page

Think of this listing as a snapshot assembled from public data, not a window into South Carolina's prison system as it stands right now. Classifications change, people are moved between facilities, and releases happen, so an entry can be behind the times, and a stray detail — a spelling, an identification number, an age fixed to an old booking — may simply reflect how the source recorded it rather than anything true about the person. Use what you find as a lead and verify it through the SCDC inmate search, the authoritative record. If someone you are certain is in custody is not here, they may be held in a county jail, in transit, or only recently admitted, so wait a day and look again or try the last name by itself. And remember that a listing reflects an arrest or a sentence, not a moral verdict — the presumption of innocence applies to everyone who has not been convicted.

Next steps

Confirm your loved one's ID and current facility through the SCDC inmate search or the information line at 1-866-727-2846, then use this page to keep track and take the next step — submit your visitor application early (it now gates deposits too), schedule a visit at least 15 hours ahead through GTL, and open a steady line of mail. Verify anything time-sensitive with the facility before you travel or send anything; the general information line is 803-896-8500 and the visitation inquiry line is 803-896-1838.

Sources: www.doc.sc.gov/family, www.doc.sc.gov/inmate-search-disclaimer