How do I obtain a transcript?

Anyone who is a party or an attorney interested in obtaining a transcript from a court proceeding in Circuit or Family Court must order the transcript in writing by contacting the court reporter assigned to record the proceedings. In your letter, you must provide the exact date of the proceeding, the name of the judge, the county where the proceeding was heard, and the name of the case. If you are requesting a transcript from court proceedings in Municipal, Magistrate, Master-In-Equity, or Probate court, you must contact that court directly.

In order to determine who was the court reporter for a Circuit or Family Court hearing, you may click on the Judicial Department calendar at www.sccourts.org, which lists the terms of court. There you will find every Family and Circuit court term from January 2002 to the present. Once you have located the term of court, county, and the judge who presided, you will see the court reporter's name listed in blue. Clicking on the blue link will bring up the mailing address. You may contact the court reporter directly using this address. If you do not have access to the Internet, you may contact the Office of Court Administration to determine who the court reporter was who recorded the proceedings. Once your request is received, court reporters should acknowledge your request in writing within two weeks, advising you of the cost to obtain the transcript. Court reporters do not accept personal checks. You will be instructed to send a money order or certified bank check in order to obtain the transcript.

Pursuant to South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 607, court reporters have 60 days to prepare and deliver the transcript after satisfactory payment arrangements are made. If the court reporter is unable to complete the transcript in 60 days, he or she may request a 30-day extension. If this extension is granted, you will be notified by Court Administration. Court reporters may ask for up to three extensions from Court Administration. If court reporters are unable, due to heavy transcript loads, time in court, or other extenuating circumstances, to produce the transcript within that additional 90-day time frame, they may request an additional extension from the Chief Justice. If granted, you will be notified by Court Administration.

If after following this procedure, your request is not acknowledged, or the transcript has not been received, you may contact Court Administration, and we will be glad to assist you. If you are requesting a transcript from court proceedings, contact Tammie Holmes, Court Reporter Manager, via email: tholmes@sccourts.org, or if you prefer, at South Carolina Court Administration, 1220 Senate Street, Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29201.