About the Aiken County Clerk's Office
Aiken County uses a unified Clerk of Court rather than a split district clerk and county clerk system. The current Clerk of Court is Robert J. Harte. County materials describe the Clerk as an elected official who provides support functions necessary for the operation of Circuit and Family Courts in Aiken County. Specific duties named in county lookup materials include collecting fees and fines, creating copies of legal instruments, and administering jury selection.
The official Aiken County Clerk of Court page is the local hub for court case information, court rosters, forms, jury-line instructions, and office contact details.
Because the county page links outward to South Carolina Judicial Branch tools, it should be treated as an official routing page, not as a standalone database. The local office remains the custodian for many copy and certification questions once the case number, party name, or division is known.
Aiken County Clerk of Court
Clerk: Robert J. Harte
109 Park Avenue SE, Second Floor / Judicial Center
Aiken, SC 29801
Mail: P.O. Box 583, Aiken, SC 29801
803-642-1715
SC Judicial Branch office phone: 803-642-7856
Fax: 803-642-1718
Jury Line: 803-642-1719
What the Clerk Does in Aiken County
The Clerk supports court operations for the Second Judicial Circuit and Family Court. Civil matters over $7,500 and selected other civil cases are routed to the Court of Common Pleas. Felony and higher-level criminal matters are routed to General Sessions. Family Court handles divorce, custody, visitation, support, adoption, termination of parental rights, name change, and many juvenile matters.
- Supports Circuit Court and Family Court operations in Aiken County.
- Collects court fees and fines connected to filed cases.
- Creates copies of legal instruments and handles certification requests when available.
- Administers jury selection and provides the jury information line.
- Maintains judgment records in the Clerk of Court's office at the Judicial Center.
- Links public users to the Aiken Public Index and court rosters.
The county's Clerk of Court directory separates the Clerk, General Sessions, and Family Court or Child Support entries by courthouse floor and mailing address.
The floor distinctions matter for in-person work. The Clerk of Court is listed on the second floor, General Sessions on the third floor, and Family Court and Child Support on the first floor.
Clerk Divisions and Request Channels
The Clerk's main directory entry gives 109 Park Avenue SE, Second Floor / Judicial Center, Aiken, SC 29801. General Sessions uses the third floor, the same phone and fax, and P.O. Box 583. Family Court and Child Support use the first floor, phone 803-642-1715, fax 803-642-1718, and mailing address P.O. Box 3047, Aiken, SC 29802-3047. Child support fax is noted as 803-502-1823 on the Family Court page.
The county's Family Court page confirms the local Family Court routing for domestic and child-support matters.
Use the Clerk path for Circuit Court, Family Court, and judgment records. Use Probate Court for estates and marriage licenses, the Register of Deeds for land records, Magistrate or Municipal Court for assigned summary cases, and the Sheriff's Office for incident, background, booking, and public-safety records.
| Channel | Use | Official Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Online Public Index | Initial case lookup | Aiken Public Index linked from county and SC Judicial Branch pages. |
| Court Rosters | Scheduled court activity | Aiken Court Rosters linked from the Clerk page. |
| In person | Copies, certification questions, division routing | Judicial Center, 109 Park Avenue SE, Aiken. |
| Phone | General Clerk contact | 803-642-1715; jury line 803-642-1719. |
| Clerk and General Sessions requests | P.O. Box 583, Aiken, SC 29801. | |
| Family Court mail | Family Court and Child Support | P.O. Box 3047, Aiken, SC 29802-3047. |
Online Case Search and Rosters
Aiken County Clerk resources route court users to the Aiken Public Index at https://publicindex.sccourts.org/aiken/publicindex/ and to Aiken County Court Rosters at https://publicindex.sccourts.org/aiken/courtrosters/. The statewide Judicial Branch case-records page says cookies and JavaScript must be enabled and that some browsers may require a pop-up exception to view case detail. As of January 1, 2026, home address information no longer displays on the public index for new and existing cases.
The research notes a technical access limitation: command-line and text-browser inspection of the Aiken Public Index returned HTTP 406 or blank content, so live field labels were not reliably captured. That does not undermine the official URL; it means the portal should be used in a normal browser with the required settings.
For a Circuit civil case, look for Common Pleas. For a Circuit criminal case, look for General Sessions. For domestic and divorce matters, Family Court and the Clerk's Judgment Division may be the better route. A missing online result does not prove no case exists because the issue may be court level, sealed status, older paper records, name variation, portal settings, or a municipal court that is not fully online.
How to Request a Certified Copy
Certified copies should be requested from the court office that holds the record. The online Public Index is useful for finding a case number and division, but the Clerk controls certification for Clerk-held court records. The official Clerk source reviewed did not publish a certified copy fee schedule, so confirm the amount before mailing payment or appearing at the counter.
- Identify the case type: Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, judgment record, or another court level.
- Search the Aiken Public Index or Court Rosters if the case is public and searchable online.
- Record the case number, party names, division, document type, and filing or judgment date if available.
- Contact the Clerk of Court at 803-642-1715 or appear at the correct Judicial Center floor to confirm copy availability and current fees.
- For Family Court or Child Support records, use the first-floor office and the P.O. Box 3047 mailing address when mailing is required.
- Request certification only from the official custodian, since a printed online docket is not the same as a certified court copy.
Records Request and Form Fields
The research did not identify a single Clerk records-request form. It did capture fields from Clerk-linked forms that show what the office expects for court-related updates and appearances. For a copy request, include enough identifying information to let staff locate the correct case and document, then use the official form path when the matter is a change of address or first appearance issue.
| Field or Item | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or warrant number | Strongly recommended | Warrant numbers are explicit fields on the Change of Address Form and First Appearance Affidavit. |
| Party or defendant name | Yes | Use full legal names when known. |
| Division | Recommended | Common Pleas, General Sessions, Family Court, Judgment Division, or other court office. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include judgment, order, divorce decree, filing, or certified copy request. |
| Requester's contact information | Yes | Include mailing address and phone number for fee and pickup questions. |
| Photo ID copy | Required for Change of Address Form | The form requires a copy of a driver's license or state-issued photo ID. |
Aiken County Clerk Fees
Only fee details located in official research are listed. The Clerk page did not publish a complete copy-fee schedule in the reviewed source, so copy and certification amounts should be verified with the Clerk before payment.
| Item | Fee or Note | Source Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk court case search online | No fee located for Public Index search | SC Judicial Branch and county links. |
| Certified court copies | Fee not located in official Clerk source reviewed | Confirm with Clerk before ordering. |
| Change of Address Form | No fee stated | Copy of photo ID required. |
| Court fines and fees | Depends on case | County Clerk description says Clerk collects fees and fines. |
| Expungement filing fee component | $35 Clerk of Court filing fee may apply | Solicitor expungement application research. |
Common Clerk Forms
The Clerk page links court case info, court rosters, Change of Address Form, child-support applications through SCDSS, child-support obligation worksheets, divorce forms for self-represented litigants, First Appearance Affidavit, SC Judicial Department Court Forms, and Second Appearance Report.
| Form | Captured Fields or Rules |
|---|---|
| Change of Address Form | Date, warrant numbers, name, current mailing address, city, state, ZIP, phone number, signature, and copy of driver's license or state-issued photo ID. |
| First Appearance Affidavit | First appearance date, case caption, warrant numbers, attorney or plan to retain attorney, initials beside terms, location-notice obligations, second appearance/PTI/other notice date, defendant or attorney signature. |
| First Appearance timing | Must be completed no earlier than 10 days before appearance date and received by Clerk's Office no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday before appearance date. |
| First Appearance contact | Angel Miles or Paige Barnes at amiles@aikencountysc.gov or pbarnes@aikencountysc.gov if more information is required. |
| Family and child support forms | County Clerk page routes to SCDSS applications and obligation worksheets rather than an Aiken-only form library. |
| Divorce forms | County Clerk page routes self-represented litigants to SC Judicial Branch divorce forms. |
Mail, Online, and Office Routing
Use online search first when a public case number is needed, but use the office counter or phone for certification, unavailable online records, division-specific routing, and fee confirmation. The Clerk's General Sessions division is the local court office most tied to criminal case files, first-appearance affidavits, bench-warrant notices, and solicitor roster coordination. Family Court and Child Support use a separate mailing address, so do not send domestic or child-support correspondence to the wrong box without confirming instructions.
The Register of Deeds is separate from the Clerk of Court. The SC Judicial Branch Aiken page lists Register of Deeds Julie Stutts at 1930 University Parkway, Suite 2100, Aiken, SC 29801-0537, office 803-642-2072. Land records and deeds are not the same as filed court records, even when both are public-record topics.