Marlboro County Clerk of Court Contact
South Carolina uses a unified Clerk of Court structure for county-level Circuit and Family Court records. The South Carolina Judicial Branch lists The Honorable Marquita McLain as Marlboro County Clerk of Court. Her state biography says she was elected on November 7, 2024 and began service January 7, 2025, after work in local law office and school district roles. The county directory places the Clerk of Court at 105 Main Street in Bennettsville and gives the office email MMcLain@marlborocounty.sc.gov.
Marlboro County Clerk of Court
Clerk: Marquita McLain
105 Main Street
Bennettsville, SC 29512
Mail: P.O. Drawer 996, Bennettsville, SC 29512-0996
843-479-5613 or 843-479-5615
Fax: 843-479-5653
MMcLain@marlborocounty.sc.gov
County hours were not published as one courthouse-wide block in the research. The county directory lists 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday for some courthouse offices, so call the Clerk before relying on that schedule for court-copy service.
Marlboro County Clerk Record Duties
The Marlboro Clerk's office is the local hub for Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, Register of Deeds, and related court-record functions. Common Pleas records include civil complaints, answers, motions, judgments, notices, and docket entries. General Sessions records include indictments, pleas, sentencing sheets, bond papers when filed, dispositions, and docket activity. Family Court staff support divorce, custody, support, adoption, juvenile, and name-change matters, though public access is narrower for many family files.
- Common Pleas civil case filings, docket entries, judgments, and copy requests.
- General Sessions criminal case filings, pleas, dispositions, sentencing sheets, and court charge records.
- Family Court records support, including divorce decree requests and restricted domestic files.
- Register of Deeds indexed records through the COTT eSearch route and local staff.
- Certified and plain copy requests when an online index is not enough.
Marriage licenses and Probate Court estate matters are not Clerk of Court records in Marlboro County. Those requests go to Marlboro County Probate Court. Divorce decrees, however, are Clerk and Family Court records from the county where the final divorce hearing occurred.
Marlboro County Clerk Staff
The staff directory gives unusually specific contacts for the office. A requester with a known division can route the request more clearly than a generic letter. Common Pleas questions can name the civil division. General Sessions questions can name the criminal division. Family Court requests, including divorce decree questions, should identify the family case type and whether the requester needs certified copies.
| Staff or division | Contact | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Marquita McLain, Clerk of Court | MMcLain@marlborocounty.sc.gov, 843-479-5613 ext. 510 | Clerk office leadership. |
| April Driggers, Senior Deputy Clerk of Common Pleas | adriggers@marlborocounty.sc.gov, 843-897-0256 ext. 501 | Civil Common Pleas records. |
| Tracy Polson, Chief Deputy of General Sessions | TPolson@marlborocounty.sc.gov, 843-479-5613 ext. 505 | Criminal General Sessions records. |
| Courtney Skipper, Family Court Supervisor | CSkipper@marlborocounty.sc.gov, 843-479-5613 ext. 506 | Family Court records. |
| Samantha Cummings, Family Court Clerk | SCummings@marlborocounty.sc.gov, 843-479-5613 ext. 509 | Family Court filings and copies. |
| Sharon Wilson and Emma Ocean, Register of Deeds Clerks | SWilson@marlborocounty.sc.gov / EOcean@marlborocounty.sc.gov | Indexed recorded records. |
Search Marlboro County Clerk Records
The main online case-record channel is the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search path into the Marlboro County Public Index. Marlboro is listed as Circuit Number 4 and County Number 34. The Public Index requires cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers may need a pop-up exception to open case details. The Judicial Branch also posted a privacy notice that home address information will no longer display on public index sites beginning January 1, 2026.
Use Public Index for Circuit Court and Magistrate Court case records. Use Court Roster Search for calendars and docket settings. Use COTT eSearch for Clerk/Register indexed records, not for the main civil or criminal trial docket. If the desired document is not available online, call or write the Clerk with the case number, party names, year, court division, document type, and copy type.
| Channel | Best for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Marlboro Public Index | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Magistrate, and public case data. | Index data, not always full document images. |
| Court Roster Search | Hearing dates, terms, rosters, and schedule checks. | Not a complete case file. |
| COTT eSearch | Clerk/Register indexed records and guest indexed searches. | Exact field list was not exposed in research. |
| Clerk counter, phone, mail, or email | Certified copies, older files, restricted review, full documents. | Fees and access depend on record type. |
Request Marlboro County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a copy authenticated by the court office for official use. People often need certified copies for appeals, name changes, divorce proof, title or lien matters, and agency filings. Online index entries are useful for finding the case, but they are not the same as a certified court document. If a document must be filed with an agency, school, court, or benefits office, ask the receiving office whether it requires certification or an exemplified/authenticated copy.
- Search Public Index first, if possible, and write down the case number and court agency.
- Identify the division: Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, or Register of Deeds.
- List the exact document wanted, such as decree, judgment, sentencing sheet, order, or docket sheet.
- State whether a plain copy, certified copy, or exemplified/authenticated copy is needed.
- Contact the Clerk for the current cost, payment method, pickup, mail, or email options.
- Do not send full Social Security numbers, full driver-license numbers, or financial account numbers in an open message.
Note: South Carolina FOIA supports public-record access, but sealed records, juvenile records, adoption files, protected identifiers, and court-order limits still control release.
Marlboro County Request Fields
No Marlboro-specific court-copy request form was located in the official research. A written request should be specific enough for staff to locate the file and quote the cost without exposing protected identifiers. The request inventory combines the documented Marlboro request channels with South Carolina court-record access limits.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Requester name and contact | Yes | Include phone, email, and mailing address for cost or pickup updates. |
| Case number | Recommended | Best locator when found in Public Index or prior paperwork. |
| Party names | Yes | Use full names and former names for family records where known. |
| Approximate year | Recommended | Helps staff narrow older files. |
| Court division | Recommended | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, or Register of Deeds. |
| Document type | Yes | Order, decree, judgment, sentencing sheet, docket sheet, deed record, or other document. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain, certified, or exemplified/authenticated. |
Marlboro County Clerk Fee Schedule
Marlboro-specific court copy fees were not located in official county sources. The research did locate South Carolina court fee statutes and state/vital-record amounts that often affect Clerk-adjacent requests. Do not quote a final Marlboro copy total until the Clerk confirms the current local charge, page count, and certification need.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marlboro Clerk court-record copies | Not located | Call 843-479-5613 or 843-479-5615 before mailing payment. |
| Certificate under seal | $10 | State court fee statute. |
| Common Pleas or Family Court motion fee | $25 | Excludes family juvenile delinquency motions. |
| Civil first complaint or petition filing | $100 plus applicable judicial fee | Case-specific totals may vary. |
| Transcript of judgment from magistrate or federal court | $35 | State court fee statute. |
| SC DPH divorce report | $12 standard / $17 expedited / $3 additional copy | Not a divorce decree. |
| SLED criminal history | $25 unless eligible reduced fee applies | Separate statewide criminal-history channel. |
Marlboro Clerk and Other Courts
The Marlboro Clerk of Court does not maintain federal court, bankruptcy court, Court of Appeals, or prison records. Federal civil and criminal matters are handled by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the nearest federal courthouse division in the research is Florence. Federal appellate matters go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Bankruptcy records are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. PACER or CourtListener may help with federal docket research, while Marlboro County Public Index remains the local trial-court path.
The SC Judicial Branch public defender overview helps distinguish court records from defense services in criminal cases.
Defense-service information may help a defendant, but the court file and certified copies still route through the Clerk.
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina is separate from the Marlboro County Clerk of Court.
Federal district cases should not be requested from the Marlboro County Clerk unless a state-court transcript or related local filing is involved.
The District of South Carolina case-records information page explains federal party-index and search-fee details.
That federal source is useful for U.S. District Court cases, while Marlboro Public Index remains the state trial-court search route.
The District of South Carolina PACER information page describes federal electronic case access.
PACER records are federal electronic records, not Marlboro Clerk counter records.
The PACER CM/ECF lookup for South Carolina District Court is another federal filing and search path.
Use that source only for federal District Court matters, not for Marlboro Common Pleas or General Sessions files.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina handles bankruptcy records separately from the Marlboro Clerk.
Bankruptcy dockets belong to the federal bankruptcy court, even when a debtor lives in Marlboro County.