Lost Traffic Ticket in South Carolina

Search for your SC lost traffic ticket with the presiding magistrate court or municipal court. Be sure to ask for important ticket details that will help you plead including the ticket fine, deadline, and court appearance requirements (if applicable).

NOTE: Your court's website might provide an online traffic ticket search feature.

Contact the SC Traffic Court

Typically, magistrate courts and municipal courts handle traffic tickets in South Carolina; if you remember the court presiding over your ticket, just call or stop by to gather the important ticket information.

If YOU DON'T REMEMBER your presiding traffic court, think about:

  • Where you were going when you were pulled over.
    • If you can remember where you were headed—a doctor's appointment, work, or school—you might be able to pinpoint the city or county you were in.
  • The type of law enforcement officer who issued the ticket.
    • Was the officer a city or county officer? Usually, magistrate courts handle county-level tickets while municipal courts handle city-level tickets.
  • Any passengers who were with you; they might remember where you were pulled over or at least the kind of officer.

Because you have a deadline to respond to your SC traffic ticket before you face additional penalties, it's important you find and contact your court as soon as possible.

SC Traffic Citation Details

The following citation details are critical for responding to your SC traffic ticket—whether you decide to plead "guilty" or "no contest" and pay your fine or plead "not guilty" and challenge your ticket in court.

NOTE: Some violations are serious enough to require a mandatory court appearance, meaning you can't just plead "guilty" and send your payment online or by mail. You must appear in court on your court date; there, you can make your plea and move forward based on the judge's decision and the violation's penalties. Understand that violations serious enough to require a court appearance might also be serious enough to consult a traffic ticket attorney. Ask the court clerk if you must appear in court and if so, get the court's address and the date and time to be there.

Collect the following information:

  • All of your traffic ticket details:
    • The specific violation(s).
    • The citation number.
    • The location and time you received the ticket.
    • The name of the police officer who issued the ticket and the law enforcement agency (i.e. city, county, or highway patrol).
  • Your traffic ticket payment information:
    • The traffic ticket fine.
    • Any additional fees or surcharges.
    • Your deadline to pay. (This also is your deadline to plead “not guilty" and schedule a hearing).
    • Your court's accepted payment options and methods.

Plead to Your SC Traffic Ticket

Depending on your violation, you might want to plead "guilty" or "no contest" and pay your fine, or you might want to plead "not guilty" and take your case to court.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each option, and we explain it all in our Pay Traffic Tickets and Fight Traffic Tickets sections.

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