Rule 6.Family court records
Section II. Provisions Applicable to All Actions in Family Courts · Last verified September 4, 2026
Full Text of Rule 6
Plain-English Summary
Rule 6 is the recordkeeping rule, and it has more bite than a recordkeeping rule usually does.
Two file books, never one
Each county's clerk keeps a File Book for domestic relations actions and a separate one for juvenile actions, in which every proceeding of that nature is entered and cross-indexed. And the rule says it twice, once for each: only one file book of each kind per county.
The file number
When a summons and complaint or a juvenile petition is filed, the action receives a number under the case-numbering system Court Administration develops, and thereafter all papers are similarly numbered and kept together in a file bearing that number.
Nothing is heard until it is entered
Subsection (c) is the operative one. No domestic relations or juvenile action shall be heard by the court — whether for interlocutory action or final disposition — until it has been entered in the appropriate file book and all pleadings filed with the clerk. A hearing cannot outrun the file.
And entries may be made only by a judge, the clerk, or the clerk's deputy.
The motion calendar
Each clerk also maintains a family court motion calendar in the form Court Administration prescribes. Attorneys must advise the clerk to note on it all requests for appearance on preliminary motions and other matters requiring a summary hearing. The calendar records the case number, date of request, name of the action, attorneys involved and the nature of the motion.
Nothing is closed informally either
An action listed in a file book that is settled or otherwise disposed of may not be dismissed, marked ended, or stricken unless and until one of three things happens: the plaintiff files and serves a notice or stipulation of dismissal under Rule 41(a), SCRCP; counsel files an order signed by the judge and consented to in writing by all interested parties showing the case has ended; or the court orders dismissal.
A case does not leave the book because everyone stopped working on it. The clerk keeps the books current as necessary.
Contempt
Failure to comply subjects the person to penalties as for contempt of court, enforceable on the motion of any aggrieved party or by the court on its own motion. That reaches attorneys and clerks alike, and it is unusual for a filing rule to carry it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a hearing go ahead before the case is entered in the file book?
No. Rule 6(c) provides that no domestic relations or juvenile action, whether for interlocutory action or final disposition, shall be heard until the action has been entered in the appropriate file book and all pleadings filed with the clerk of court.
Are juvenile and domestic cases kept in the same book?
No. Rule 6(a)(1) and (2) require a File Book for domestic relations actions and a separate one for juvenile actions, and each says the clerk shall maintain only one file book of that kind.
How is a settled case closed out?
Rule 6(f) requires one of three things: a notice or stipulation of dismissal under Rule 41(a), SCRCP; an order signed by the judge with the written consent of all interested parties showing the action has ended; or dismissal ordered by the court.
Who can write in the file book?
Rule 6(d) allows entries to be made only by a judge of the court or by the clerk of court or the clerk's deputy.
What is the family court motion calendar?
Rule 6(e) requires each clerk to maintain one in the form prescribed by Court Administration, containing the case number, date of request, name of the action, attorneys involved and the nature of the motion, and requires attorneys to have their motion requests noted on it.
What happens if the rule is not followed?
Rule 6(g) subjects the person failing to comply to penalties as for contempt of court, enforced on motion of any aggrieved party or by the court on its own motion.