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Terms of Use

These conditions govern every visit to Dorchester County Criminal History, including use of its content and search tools. Visiting or using the website means that the user accepts all terms below. Anyone who does not agree should stop using the service.

NO FCRA USE. Dorchester County Criminal History is privately operated and has no government affiliation. Neither this website nor its advertising partners offers a service intended for credit, employment, insurance, tenant, or other Fair Credit Reporting Act decisions. It is not a consumer reporting agency or private investigation firm.

1. What This Website Is

This private reference website does not hold official criminal records, conduct official checks, or file documents. It directs readers to the Dorchester County clerk and Sheriff, city agencies, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry Tool. Official access is governed by laws including the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and S.C. Code ยง23-3-115.

2. Rules for Using This Site

Users must act lawfully and must not:

  • Harass, stalk, intimidate, threaten, or harm another person
  • Use content for an FCRA-regulated decision
  • Gain or try to gain unauthorized system access
  • Use bots, scraping tools, or other automated extraction
  • Interfere with service performance or another visitor's access
  • Violate federal, South Carolina, or local law

3. No Harassment, Stalking, or Discrimination

Information reached through this website may not be used for threats, harassment, stalking, intimidation, vigilantism, or unlawful discrimination. This restriction applies especially to registry information. South Carolina law can add penalties when registry data is used to commit a crime, and the public registry exists for safety awareness rather than retaliation.

4. We Are Not a Consumer Reporting Agency

The website does not create background checks, credit files, or consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. Users agree not to rely on the website or a linked tool to:

  • Make a hiring or termination decision
  • Evaluate a housing or rental application
  • Set credit or insurance eligibility or terms
  • Determine access to a license, permit, or public benefit
  • Carry out any other regulated consumer-reporting purpose

A lawful regulated check must use an authorized official process or an FCRA-compliant provider.

5. No Legal Advice

General explanations about Dorchester County records are not legal advice. A South Carolina lawyer should address how a pending charge, warrant, conviction, or expungement rule affects a particular person.

6. No Warranties

The website and its content are provided "as is." No promise is made that:

  • Information will always be complete, accurate, or current
  • Every feature will remain available without interruption
  • The website will be free from errors or security weaknesses
  • A search partner will return complete or correctly matched results

Records change as courts file outcomes and agencies seal, destroy, correct, or update entries. Only an originating government office can issue an official statement.

7. Third-Party Services and Links

Links can lead to government portals, legal resources, and outside search services. Their operators control their own content, availability, fees, privacy practices, and terms. Dorchester County Criminal History is not responsible for those services.

8. Intellectual Property

Text, graphics, logos, and code are owned by Dorchester County Criminal History or the applicable content partner. They may not be copied, altered, distributed, or used to create derivative work without prior written permission.

9. Limits on Our Liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, the site operator is not liable for loss or damage arising from use of this website, its information, or any linked service.

10. Indemnification

A user agrees to defend and hold the site operator harmless from claims, demands, proceedings, and related costs caused by that user's conduct or breach of these terms.

11. Governing Law

South Carolina law governs these terms. A dispute related to use of the website must be brought in a court with proper jurisdiction in South Carolina.

12. Changes to These Terms

The terms may be revised. A new version becomes effective when it is posted on this page.

13. Cutting Off Access

Access may be restricted or ended at any time, with or without advance notice, including when conduct threatens the website or violates these terms.

14. Severability

If a court finds one provision invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue. The affected term will be narrowed only as needed to make it enforceable.

15. Questions

Questions about these terms may be directed through the Contact page.