(a) Records to Be Kept; Penalties . Subject to the approval of the Supreme Court, the Office of Court Administration shall establish procedures for creating, maintaining, removing, and destroying all records and other court documents by the clerks of court, probate courts, municipal courts, magistrate's courts, court administrators, and other officers and employees of the courts, and for the furnishing of information and statistical data relative to the work of the courts and to the expenditure of public moneys for their maintenance and operation. Failure to comply with the requirements of this rule, or any procedures established pursuant hereto, shall subject the party so failing to penalties as for contempt of court.
Rule 78.Clerks of court; Records, abstracts, books
Group X: Courts and Clerks · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 78 puts the Office of Court Administration, subject to Supreme Court approval, in charge of establishing procedures for creating, keeping, and destroying court records, requires the clerk to enter and index abstracts of civil judgments and orders affecting property, and requires the clerk to keep other required books and records available on request.
Full Text of Rule 78
(b) Abstracts of Civil Judgments and Orders . The clerk shall enter an abstract of every final judgment or order affecting title to or lien upon real or personal property, and any other order which the court may direct to be entered in the "Abstracts of Judgments" book. Suitable indices of every such civil judgment or order shall be kept by the clerk.
(c) Other Books and Records of the Clerk . The clerk shall also keep such other books and records as may be required, and shall produce the Code of Laws, the rules, the calendars and the file book upon request of the court.
Notes
Note: This Rule 78(a) is present new (1983) Circuit Court Rule 84. Rules 78(b) and (c) conform to present State statutes and practice.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 78 addresses recordkeeping across the court system rather than any single case. Subsection (a) delegates responsibility for setting the procedures that clerks of court, probate courts, municipal courts, magistrate's courts, court administrators, and other court personnel must follow when creating, maintaining, removing, and destroying records, and for reporting statistical and financial information about court operations, to the Office of Court Administration, subject to Supreme Court approval. Failing to follow those procedures can be treated as contempt of court.
Subsection (b) focuses on a narrower and more concrete duty: the clerk must enter an abstract of every final judgment or order that affects title to, or a lien on, real or personal property, along with any other order the court directs to be entered, in an "Abstracts of Judgments" book, and must keep suitable indices of these entries. This is what allows title examiners and creditors to search for judgment liens against a particular property or person.
Subsection (c) is a catch-all requiring the clerk to keep whatever other books and records are required, and to produce the Code of Laws, the court rules, the calendars, and the file book when the court asks for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sets the procedures for how long court records are kept?
The Office of Court Administration establishes those procedures, subject to Supreme Court approval. They apply to clerks of court, probate courts, municipal courts, magistrate's courts, and other court personnel.
What happens if a clerk does not follow the recordkeeping procedures?
Rule 78 subjects a party who fails to comply with these requirements to penalties as for contempt of court.
How does a judgment lien on real property show up in the court's records?
The clerk enters an abstract of any final judgment or order affecting title to, or a lien on, real or personal property in the Abstracts of Judgments book and keeps indices of those entries.
What other records must the clerk maintain?
Whatever other books and records are required by law or procedure, and the clerk must produce the Code of Laws, the rules, the calendars, and the file book when the court asks for them.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: abstract of judgment south carolinacourt records retention ruleclerk of court recordkeepingjudgment lien real property index