Horry County Bankruptcy Records
Horry County bankruptcy records are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina and are accessible through federal and state research tools available to the public. As the most populous county on the South Carolina coast and home to the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area, Horry County sees a significant volume of bankruptcy filings each year from both individual residents and businesses tied to the region's tourism-driven economy. This guide covers every office, database, and research method that researchers, creditors, attorneys, and individuals can use to locate Horry County bankruptcy case information.
Horry County Quick Facts
Horry County Clerk of Court and Court Records
The Horry County Clerk of Court is located at 1301 Second Avenue in Conway, SC 29526, and can be reached at (843) 915-5080. The office is open Monday through Friday during standard business hours and manages circuit court filings, family court records, civil matters, and general case administration for the 15th Judicial Circuit. The Clerk's office is the point of contact for obtaining certified copies of state court records, verifying case status, and accessing court documents that are not yet available in online databases.
The Horry County court records portal at https://horrycountycourt.org/records/ provides online access to case information and serves as the starting point for researching state-level court matters in Horry County. The image below shows the Horry County Clerk of Court records page, which directs researchers to available online tools and office contact details.
The records portal linked above connects users to case search tools for circuit and family court proceedings in Horry County, covering matters that may run concurrently with or precede a federal bankruptcy filing.
Horry County maintains a separate Register of Deeds office, also located at 1301 Second Avenue in Conway and reachable at (843) 915-5390. This appointed office handles the recording and indexing of deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, UCC filings, and DD-214 military discharge records. The separation of the Clerk and Register of Deeds functions means researchers need to contact two offices when building a comprehensive picture of a debtor's property holdings alongside their court filings.
Note: Horry County Clerk records from 1803 to 1939 are also available through FamilySearch, providing an additional research path for historical land and court matters predating modern digital records.
Horry County Court Records Online
The SC Courts Public Index for Horry County at http://publicindex.sccourts.org/horry/publicindex/ provides free online searches of circuit court and family court records. This state-maintained index is an important companion to federal bankruptcy research because it reveals civil judgments, foreclosure actions, family court orders, and other state proceedings that may accompany or precede a bankruptcy filing in the 15th Judicial Circuit.
The court records interface shown above provides name-based searching across Horry County circuit and family court filings, making it possible to identify related state legal proceedings when researching a bankruptcy debtor's full case history.
Researchers should use the Public Index alongside PACER to cross-reference federal bankruptcy filings with any parallel state court proceedings. This is particularly useful in Horry County, where real estate and business disputes tied to the Grand Strand tourism economy can involve both state and federal courts simultaneously. Certified copies of state court documents can be requested directly from the Clerk of Court at (843) 915-5080.
Note: The SC Judicial Public Index does not contain federal bankruptcy case data; it is limited to state circuit and family court filings only, so both systems are needed for a complete records search.
Searching Horry County Bankruptcy Cases Through PACER
All bankruptcy cases filed by Horry County residents and businesses are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. The primary online research tool is PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, available at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case. PACER requires free registration and charges $0.10 per page for document access, with fees waived when quarterly charges remain under $30.00. This cap makes PACER practical even for single-case researchers.
PACER searches can be filtered by debtor name, business name, case number, or Social Security number (with appropriate authorization). Results display the chapter type, filing date, assigned trustee, case status, and a full docket of documents. Chapter 7 cases in South Carolina typically discharge within 90 to 120 days of the initial filing. Chapter 13 repayment plans run 36 to 60 months. The SC Bankruptcy Court also operates a Case Information Portal at https://www.scb.uscourts.gov/case-information as a direct search gateway.
For those who prefer phone-based research, the Voice Case Information System (VCIS) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-866-222-8029 at no charge. VCIS provides basic case status information for cases filed after November 30, 1988, and is a fast option when a full PACER search is not needed. The SC Bankruptcy Court's main website at https://www.scb.uscourts.gov/ provides division contact details and local rules.
The court operates from three division offices: Charleston at 145 King Street, Columbia at 1100 Laurel Street, and Greenville at 300 East Washington Street. Horry County cases may be assigned to the Charleston Division depending on the debtor's address and case type.
Register of Deeds and Property Records in Horry County
The Horry County Register of Deeds, an appointed office at 1301 Second Avenue in Conway, records and indexes all land-related documents including deeds, mortgages, satisfaction of mortgage filings, plats, UCC financing statements, and DD-214 military discharge documents. The office can be reached at (843) 915-5390. Online access to these records is provided through the horryrecords.us portal.
The Horry County Register of Deeds online portal at https://horryrecords.us/ allows land records searches by owner name, property address, or TMS (Tax Map Sheet) number. The image below shows the Horry County Register of Deeds site, which indexes deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, UCC filings, and DD-214 records for the county.
The horryrecords.us portal shown above provides searchable online access to recorded property documents in Horry County, which is essential for bankruptcy researchers who need to identify real estate holdings, mortgage liens, or judgment records attached to a debtor's property.
State tax liens in South Carolina no longer appear in county deed records. Since November 1, 2019, all state tax liens have been redirected to the SC Department of Revenue Lien Registry at https://dor.sc.gov/LienRegistry. Federal tax liens and civil judgment liens from state courts continue to be recorded through the Register of Deeds office. The SC Land Records portal at https://www.sclandrecords.com/ may also index Horry County property documents.
Note: Horry County land records date to 1803, and early records from 1803 to 1939 are additionally available through FamilySearch for genealogical and historical property research.
Horry County Government and Public Records Access
The Horry County government website at https://www.horrycounty.org/ serves as a central hub for county department information, including links to records offices, assessor data, and community resources. Researchers who need property tax records, assessment history, or GIS mapping tools to support a bankruptcy property investigation can find these through the county government portal. The image below shows the official Horry County government site, which provides access to department directories and public information resources.
The county government portal shown above connects researchers to the full range of Horry County public services, including offices whose records can bear directly on a bankruptcy case involving Horry County real estate or business assets.
South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act, found at S.C. Code Title 30, Chapter 4, governs public access to county government records. Under this law, agencies must acknowledge FOIA requests within 10 business days and fulfill them within 30 days. Court records that are part of the public record and not sealed or expunged are accessible upon request through the appropriate office.
Historical and Archived Records for Horry County
Horry County records date to 1803, giving researchers more than two centuries of historical land and court data. For records that have been transferred to state custody or are too old to be maintained at the county level, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History at https://scdah.sc.gov/ holds a wide range of county records including older deed books and court documents. SCDAH staff can advise on what materials are available for Horry County research and how to access them.
Federal bankruptcy cases that were closed long ago and purged from PACER may be retrieved through the National Archives and Records Administration's Atlanta facility at https://www.archives.gov/atlanta. NARA Atlanta is the regional repository for archived federal court records from South Carolina and handles retrieval requests for cases no longer accessible through the PACER system. Researchers should contact NARA directly to determine whether a specific old case is held there and to request retrieval.
Legal Assistance for Horry County Bankruptcy Matters
Horry County residents facing bankruptcy proceedings or needing help interpreting records have access to statewide legal resources. SC Legal Services at https://sclegal.org/ provides free civil legal assistance to income-qualifying residents across South Carolina; the intake number is 1-888-346-5592. The South Carolina Bar Lawyer Referral Service at https://www.scbar.com/ connects callers with a licensed bankruptcy attorney; call 803-799-7100 or 1-800-868-2284 for a referral, with a 30-minute consultation typically available for $50.
South Carolina bankruptcy filings increased 12% from 2024 to 2025, a trend that affects coastal markets like Horry County where both seasonal employment cycles and tourism-related business activity can create financial stress. Whether a Chapter 7 liquidation or a Chapter 13 repayment plan is the right approach depends on individual circumstances and is best evaluated with a licensed bankruptcy attorney familiar with the 15th Judicial Circuit. The SC Bankruptcy Court FAQ at https://www.scb.uscourts.gov/court-info/faq provides procedural background that helps individuals prepare for an attorney consultation.
Cities in Horry County
Horry County's major communities are served by the same federal bankruptcy court and Horry County Clerk of Court regardless of which city a resident or business operates from.
Nearby Counties with Bankruptcy Records
Counties bordering Horry share access to the same federal bankruptcy court and similar state court record systems throughout the coastal and Pee Dee regions of South Carolina.