Williamsburg County Clerk of Court
South Carolina uses a county Clerk of Court structure for Circuit Court and Family Court records. The South Carolina Judicial Branch identifies the current Williamsburg County Clerk of Court and Register of Deeds as the Hon. Deitra Johnson. County materials list Deitra M. Johnson as Clerk of Court and Register of Deeds with the main office phone at 843-355-9321 ext. 7100.
The clerk's mission statement is to provide professional, effective, and efficient service and to maintain accurate and accessible county records, court systems, and real estate records. The office is not limited to courtroom paperwork. It covers Common Pleas civil cases, General Sessions criminal cases, Family Court matters, Register of Deeds recordings, jury management, warrants transmitted to the solicitor, bail receipts, trial lists, and courtroom staffing.
The Williamsburg County staff directory source appears below.
The directory source is useful because the clerk page depends on current local office routing, staff extensions, and county department contact paths.
Williamsburg County Clerk of Court and Register of Deeds
Clerk: Hon. Deitra M. Johnson
125 W Main Street
Kingstree, SC 29556-3343
843-355-9321 ext. 7100
Fax: 843-355-1580
Williamsburg County Clerk Duties
The Williamsburg County Clerk of Court and Family Court page ties the office to Circuit Court, Family Court, and Register of Deeds work. In Circuit Court, the clerk receives criminal warrants and transmits them to the Solicitor, receives bail, compiles trial lists, manages juries, staffs courtrooms, and receives civil case paperwork.
That county page establishes why a requester may need the clerk for both case records and family court copies, even when the first search step is a state portal.
- Common Pleas civil work includes car accident cases, claim and delivery, repossession, condemnations, foreclosures, post-conviction relief, arbitration, attachments, motions, new civil cases, and judgments.
- General Sessions criminal work includes bonds, dispositions, expungements, fines, fees, restitution, warrants, and bonds.
- Family Court work includes divorce, domestic disputes, DSS proceedings, DNA paternity, alimony, child support, custody, adoption, emergency domestic protective hearings, and rules to show cause.
- Register of Deeds work includes deeds, mortgages, contracts, leases, powers of attorney, plats, easements, liens, judgments, financial statements, and maps.
Williamsburg County Clerk Staff Routing
The county Divisions and Duties page gives unusually specific local staff routing. Family Court Division lists Karen Boyd and Hazel McKnight at ext. 6100. Register of Deeds lists Nyqwesha McElveen at ext. 7105. Common and Civil Pleas lists Melissa Elmore at ext. 7106. General Sessions lists Karla D. Joe and Lakela Pearson at ext. 7103 and ext. 7102. Jury Management lists LaKeshia Burgess at ext. 7104.
This source also notes that Lakela Pearson handles pending cases, indicted pending cases, expungements, and bench warrants, while LaKeshia Burgess processes incoming warrants and tracking sheets for the Solicitor's Office.
| Division | Local Staff or Extension | Record Use |
|---|---|---|
| Family Court Division | Karen Boyd and Hazel McKnight, ext. 6100 | Divorce, custody, support, DSS, adoption, and related family records. |
| Register of Deeds | Nyqwesha McElveen, ext. 7105 | Recorded deeds, mortgages, plats, liens, easements, and maps. |
| Common and Civil Pleas | Melissa Elmore, ext. 7106 | Civil lawsuits, foreclosures, judgments, arbitration, and civil case files. |
| General Sessions | Karla D. Joe and Lakela Pearson, ext. 7103 and 7102 | Criminal dispositions, bonds, fines, restitution, expungements, pending cases, and bench warrants. |
| Jury Management | LaKeshia Burgess, ext. 7104 | Jury duties plus incoming warrants and tracking sheets for the Solicitor's Office. |
Request Williamsburg County Certified Copies
Certified copies are office-issued copies that carry clerk certification. They are often needed for legal, agency, title, or court use. Williamsburg County did not have a general Clerk court-record request form captured in the research, so a certified copy request should be made directly through the correct division with enough case details for staff to locate the file.
- Identify the record type first: Common Pleas civil, General Sessions criminal, Family Court, or Register of Deeds.
- Search the South Carolina Public Index or the relevant office record channel for the case number, party names, court type, and filing or action date if available.
- Call the correct Williamsburg County Clerk division to confirm copy availability, certification needs, total cost, and pickup, mail, fax, or in-person options.
- Provide the document type, number of copies, payment method requested by staff, and requester contact information.
- Verify whether sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, protected-party, or confidential information affects the copy before relying on the record.
Note: The Clerk Direct Deposit Form is not a public court-record request form, and marriage or probate forms belong to Probate Court.
Williamsburg County Clerk Request Details
No dedicated general clerk records request form was found in the research. A practical request should still include the fields staff need to identify the correct file. If the record is a county agency record rather than a judicial record, the county FOIA route may apply under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.
| Detail | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or book/page | If known | Use Public Index for court cases or Register of Deeds search details for land records. |
| Party names | Yes | Include plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, grantor, grantee, or spouse names as relevant. |
| Record type | Yes | State whether the request is civil, criminal, family, divorce decree, judgment, deed, mortgage, plat, or another document. |
| Date range | Helpful | Use filing date, action date, marriage or divorce date, recording date, or approximate year. |
| Copy type | Yes | Say whether a plain copy, certified copy, entire file, order, decree, or certified printout is needed. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Include name, phone, mailing address, and email if staff need follow-up. |
Williamsburg County Clerk Fees
The county Divisions and Duties page lists local print and copy prices for the Clerk of Court. These are the only clerk copy prices captured in the research. Fees for filing new cases, e-filing, certified court processes, or special searches should be confirmed with the division handling the request.
| Item | County Listed Price |
|---|---|
| Print outs | $2 |
| Copies | $0.50 |
| Orders, divorce decrees, child support, affidavits, certified print outs and copies | $5 |
| Entire file | $10 or more, price determined by size |
| Divorce packets | $10 |
Williamsburg County Clerk Online Access
Online clerk-related access has more than one route. Trial and summary court public case records can be searched through the South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Index. Family Court public access is separate through the state family portal. Real estate records are different again because the Clerk also serves as Register of Deeds.
The Williamsburg County Register of Deeds Avenu portal source is shown below.
The research found that the portal appears official or vendor-hosted for Deitra M. Johnson, Williamsburg County Clerk of Court, but it was not fully inspected. Use it for Register of Deeds access only after confirming the document category and search options in the live portal.
For court case access, use the state case search path and then contact the proper clerk division for copies, certification, files, or questions about documents that are limited online. For county administrative records, South Carolina FOIA allows public bodies to charge actual-cost search, retrieval, and redaction fees and requires response within statutory timeframes.
The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act source appears below.
The FOIA source is included only for county administrative records and fee-response context, not as a substitute for judicial copy requests through the clerk.
Clerk Records and Court Boundaries
The Clerk of Court should not be confused with Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or municipal courts. Probate Court handles estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, conservatorships, minor settlements, and some commitments. Magistrate and municipal courts handle many lower-level criminal, traffic, warrant, bond, preliminary-hearing, and ordinance matters.
The South Carolina Municipal Court source appears below.
Municipal Court context helps separate town ordinance and minor traffic matters from records that are held by the Williamsburg County Clerk of Court.
The South Carolina Probate Court source appears below.
Probate Court context is useful because marriage licenses and estate files are county probate matters, while divorce decrees and family case copies route to the Clerk and Family Court Division.