South Carolina § 22-5-910 - Expungement of criminal records.

§ 22-5-910. Expungement of criminal records.

(A) Following a conviction for a crime carrying a penalty of not more than thirty days imprisonment or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both, or a first offense for unlawful possession of a firearm or weapon carrying a penalty of not more than one year or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both, the defendant after three years from the date of the conviction, including a conviction in magistrates or general sessions court, may apply, or cause someone acting on his behalf to apply, to the circuit court for an order expunging the records of the arrest and conviction and any associated bench warrant. However, this section does not apply to an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle.

(B) Following a conviction for domestic violence in the third degree pursuant to Section 16-25-20(D), or Section 16-25-20(B)(1) as it existed before June 4, 2015, the defendant after five years from the date of the conviction, including a conviction in magistrates or general sessions court, may apply, or cause someone acting on his behalf to apply, to the circuit court for an order expunging the records of the arrest and conviction and any associated bench warrant.

(C) If the defendant has had no other conviction, including out-of-state convictions, during the three-year period as provided in subsection (A), or during the five-year period as provided in subsection (B), the circuit court may issue an order expunging the records including any associated bench warrant.

(D) After the expungement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is required to keep a nonpublic record of the offense and the date of the expungement to ensure that no person takes advantage of the rights of this section more than once. This nonpublic record is not subject to release pursuant to Section 34-11-95, the Freedom of Information Act, or any other provision of law except to those authorized law or court officials who need to know this information in order to prevent the rights afforded by this section from being taken advantage of more than once.

(E) As used in this section, "conviction" includes a guilty plea, a plea of nolo contendere, or the forfeiting of bail. For the purpose of this section, any number of offenses listed pursuant to subsection (A), for which the individual received sentences at a single sentencing proceeding that are closely connected and arose out of the same incident may be considered as one offense and treated as one conviction for expungement purposes.

(F) No person may have the person's record expunged under this section if the person has pending criminal charges of any kind unless the charges have been pending for more than five years; however, this five-year time period is tolled for any time the defendant has been under a bench warrant for failure to appear. No person may have the person's records expunged under this section more than once. A person may have the person's record expunged even though the conviction occurred before the effective date of this section.

HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 395, SECTION 1; 1995 Act No. 83, SECTION 22; 1997 Act No. 37, SECTION 1; 2003 Act No. 92, SECTION 6; 2005 Act No. 166, SECTION 13; 2009 Act No. 36, SECTION 5, eff June 2, 2009; 2013 Act No. 75, SECTION 1, eff June 13, 2013; 2014 Act No. 276 (H.4560), SECTION 2, eff June 9, 2014; 2015 Act No. 58 (S.3), Pt VI, SECTION 25, eff June 4, 2015; 2016 Act No. 132 (S.255), SECTION 4, eff May 16, 2016; 2018 Act No. 254 (H.3209), SECTION 2, eff December 27, 2018; 2024 Act No. 111 (H.3594), SECTION 17, eff March 7, 2024.

Editor's Note

2016 Act No. 132, SECTION 6, provides as follows:

"SECTION 6. This act takes effect ninety days after approval by the Governor. This act applies retroactively to allow for the expungement of offenses charged, discharged, dismissed, or nolle prossed prior to the effective date of this act, and persons convicted or found not guilty prior to the effective date of this act."

2024 Act No. 111, SECTIONS 1 and 24, provide as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024'."

"SECTION 24. No provision in this act should be construed as the General Assembly discouraging responsible gun ownership; and the General Assembly, in fact, encourages all gun owners to pursue and receive appropriate gun safety training before carrying a firearm or weapon."

Effect of Amendment

The 2009 amendment, in subsections (A) and (B), in the respective first sentences substituted "for a crime carrying a penalty of not more than thirty days imprisonment or a fine of five hundred dollars, or both," for "in a magistrates court or a municipal court,".

The 2013 amendment, in subsection (A), substituted "one thousand dollars, or both, the defendant after three years from the date of the conviction, including a conviction in magistrates or general sessions court" for "five hundred dollars, or both, the defendant after three years from the date of the conviction"; in subsection (B), substituted "one thousand dollars, or both, including a conviction in magistrates or general sessions court" for "five hundred dollars, or both"; and in subsection (C), substituted "pursuant to" for "under".

2014 Act No. 276, SECTION 2, in subsection (A), inserted "and any associated bench warrant"; and in subsection (B), inserted "including any associated bench warrant".

2015 Act No. 58, SECTION 25, in (A), substituted "this subsection" for "this section", and deleted former (A)(3), relating to offenses contained in Chapter 25, Title 16 except criminal domestic violence; added new (B); redesignated former (B) through (D) accordingly; and rewrote (C).

2016 Act No. 132, SECTION 4, in (A), incorporated text from former (1) into the last sentence, and deleted former (2), relating to a violation of Title 50.

2018 Act No. 254, SECTION 2, in (A), in the first sentence, deleted "first offense" following "Following a"; in (B), deleted "first offense" following "Following a", and inserted "or Section 16-25-20(B)(1) as it existed before June 4, 2015," following "to Section 16-25-20(D),"; in (C), in the first sentence, inserted ", including out-of-state convictions," following "has had no other conviction", and deleted the second and third sentences, which related to records being expunged more than once and records being expunged for convictions prior to June 1, 1992; in (E), added the second sentence, relating to multiple offenses; and added (F), providing that no person may have the person's records expunged more than once, and that a record may be expunged even though the conviction occurred before the effective date of this section.

2024 Act No. 111, SECTION 17, in (A), in the first sentence, inserted "or a first offense for unlawful possession of a firearm or weapon carrying a penalty of not more than one year or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both,"; and in (E), in the second sentence, substituted "offenses listed pursuant to subsection (A)" for "offenses for crimes carrying a penalty of not more than thirty days imprisonment or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both".