Search Horry County Traffic Court Records
The statewide South Carolina traffic ticket search is the first online route for many Horry County traffic tickets. The SC.gov payment instructions tell users to visit the Judicial Department public index path, select Horry County, accept terms, complete Captcha, enter a ticket number, name, or driver's license number, search, and pay with a credit card when payment is available.
That tool does not mean every city ticket is solved in one place. Horry traffic records can sit with Central Traffic Court, a county magistrate court, or a municipal court. If the citation came from Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Atlantic Beach, Aynor, Loris, or Briarcliffe Acres, the city court may be the best place to confirm payment rules, court appearance needs, continuance limits, and appeal steps.
- Read the citation first and identify the issuing agency, ticket number, hearing location, and court name.
- Search the SCCourts traffic ticket tool with the citation number, driver's license number, or name path.
- If the ticket is tied to a city court, check that municipal court's payment and appearance rules before paying.
- Use Central Traffic Court or the listed magistrate court for county and magistrate traffic matters.
- Save the payment receipt or court notice and verify the court record if the ticket still appears open.
Horry County Traffic Search Fields
The official traffic search allows more than one search path. A citation number is usually the cleanest field because it points to the ticket. Name searches can be useful when the ticket number is missing, but they can return multiple people or miss a record if the name does not match the ticket format.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation / Ticket Number | Text | One search path | Use when the ticket number is known. |
| Driver's License Number | Text | One search path | Used for license-based ticket lookup. |
| First Name | Text | Name path | Used with last name for name search. |
| Last Name | Text | Name path | Spelling must match the citation closely. |
| County / Court | Dropdown/filter | Varies by path | Select Horry County or the relevant court when prompted. |
| Search | Button | n/a | Runs the citation search. |
| Reset / Clear | Button | n/a | Clears the current criteria. |
The SC.gov traffic ticket payment page gives the state payment route for citations that are eligible online.
State payment guidance is useful, but it should be matched to the court listed on the Horry County ticket.
Horry County Traffic Courts
Horry County traffic cases are not all in one courtroom. Central Traffic Court handles county and magistrate traffic matters from Conway. Other magistrate locations serve areas such as Myrtle Beach, Little River, Surfside Beach, Aynor, Loris, and Green Sea or Mt. Olive. Municipal Courts handle ordinance and qualifying traffic or criminal matters inside city limits, and they do not have civil jurisdiction.
| Court | Traffic Cases Handled | Address / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Central Traffic / Conway Magistrate | County and magistrate traffic matters | 1201 Third Avenue, Conway, SC 29526; 843-915-5070 |
| Myrtle Beach Municipal Court | City traffic, ordinance, and qualifying criminal matters | 1101 North Oak Street, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577; 843-918-1356 |
| North Myrtle Beach Municipal Court | City traffic and municipal matters | 1015 2nd Avenue South, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582; 843-280-5520 |
| Surfside Beach Municipal Court | City traffic and municipal matters | 210 U.S. Highway 17 South, Surfside Beach, SC 29575; 843-913-6338 |
| Conway Municipal Court | City traffic and municipal matters | 229 Main Street, Conway, SC 29523; 843-248-1765 |
The South Carolina Judicial Branch keeps a statewide municipal court directory that includes Horry County municipalities.
The directory is a backup path when a citation names a city court that is not obvious from the statewide traffic search.
Horry County Traffic Record Fields
A court traffic record is the court's file for the ticket. It is not the same as the South Carolina driver record. The court record is useful for paying, contesting, checking court dates, verifying disposition, and proving that a specific citation was resolved. Final points, suspensions, and license-history data belong with SCDMV driver records.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Citation Number | The ticket identifier used by the issuing agency and court. |
| Driver / Defendant Name | The person cited or charged in the traffic matter. |
| Charge / Statute | The alleged traffic offense, ordinance, or motor vehicle law section. |
| Court Date | The scheduled appearance or hearing date when shown. |
| Disposition | The court outcome, such as paid, dismissed, guilty, or other result when entered. |
| Fine / Payment | Financial information, fines, costs, payments, or unpaid balances when available. |
| Court Agency | The magistrate, Central Traffic, or municipal court tied to the ticket. |
Pay or Contest Horry Traffic Tickets
Payment rules depend on the court. For eligible tickets, the state route allows online credit-card payment after the ticket is found. Myrtle Beach Municipal Court says payments may be made online, by phone, or at the Clerk of Court window. North Myrtle Beach's payment page links users to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit online payment site for tickets and fines.
Contesting a ticket means following the issuing court's procedure. Myrtle Beach says continuance requests should be made at least 24 hours before court and are considered case by case. It also says appeals from Municipal Court must be filed within 10 days after the court date to the Court of Common Pleas in Conway. Jury trial requests are available for criminal matters.
| Issue | Payment / Copy Caveat |
|---|---|
| Online payment | Available only for eligible tickets found through the state or city payment route. |
| Phone or window payment | Published by Myrtle Beach Municipal Court for its tickets. |
| Certified court copy | Request from the court that handled the ticket; no universal Horry traffic copy fee was located. |
| FOIA copy route | County administrative FOIA fees include $0.15 per standard page and $25 per hour staff time, but court case copies should start with the court custodian. |
Note: Paying a ticket can close the court matter, but it may also affect the separate driver record depending on the offense and state reporting rules.
Myrtle Beach Traffic Court Details
Myrtle Beach Municipal Court is a major local example because it publishes detailed traffic and court rules. Its court sessions are Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center, 1101 North Oak Street. The court requires appropriate attire and says food, drink, and weapons are prohibited, with no storage available for prohibited items.
The city's required-appearance list is Myrtle Beach specific. It includes DUI, criminal domestic violence, failure to stop for blue light, driving under suspension second or later, leaving the scene with personal injury, driving under the influence of drugs, reckless homicide, passing a stopped school bus, operating uninsured second or later, habitual offender, simple possession of marijuana, and other matters the court marks for appearance.
The Myrtle Beach Municipal Court page is the official source for those city-specific rules.
Those rules should not be applied countywide; Central Traffic Court and other Horry municipal courts may use different procedures.
Traffic Court vs Driver Record
The court record and the driver record answer different questions. A court traffic record shows whether the ticket exists in a court, what the charge was, whether it was paid or contested, and what the court entered. A driver record is maintained by SCDMV and is used for license status, convictions, points, suspensions, and driver-history review.
| Topic | Court Traffic Record | SCDMV Driver Record |
|---|---|---|
| Holder | The court that processed the ticket | South Carolina DMV |
| Search Path | SCCourts traffic ticket search, Public Index, or municipal court | SCDMV driver services |
| Shows | Citation, charge, court date, disposition, fine, and payment data | License status, convictions, points, and suspensions |
| Use | Pay, contest, verify, or request court case information | Insurance, employment, license-history, or point review |
| Error Correction | Start with the court that entered the ticket result | Start with SCDMV if the licensing record is wrong |
Horry County Traffic Access Laws
Traffic records are court records when they are created by the court that handles the ticket. South Carolina's public records law supports inspection and copying of nonexempt public records, while court rules, privacy laws, sealed orders, and juvenile rules can limit what appears online. Public Index privacy changes also matter because home addresses are no longer displayed for new and existing cases beginning January 1, 2026.
Key authorities: S.C. Code Section 30-4-30 supports access to nonexempt public records, and S.C. Code Section 30-2-330 addresses personal identifying information in public records.
The South Carolina motor vehicle statutes are relevant to traffic offenses and driver-record context.
Statutory motor-vehicle rules explain the charge, while the court record explains how Horry County or a municipal court handled that charge.
DUI CDL and Failure to Appear
DUI is often more than a payable traffic ticket. The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Magistrate Court Division handles first-offense DUI matters in Horry and Georgetown Magistrate Court when jury-trial conditions apply. In Horry County, DUI cases from South Carolina Department of Public Safety and Horry County Police route to that division when a defendant requests a jury trial; otherwise many can be handled through Traffic Court. Full criminal case tracking belongs with Horry County criminal court records.
Commercial driver issues should be checked with the court and SCDMV because a court ticket record and a driver-history record are separate files. Failure to appear can lead to a bench warrant or other court consequences. A missing online result is not proof that the ticket, court date, or warrant risk is gone, so the listed issuing court should be contacted when dates or balances are unclear.
North Myrtle Beach Traffic Payments
North Myrtle Beach Municipal Court is another important city route. The court is located at 1015 2nd Avenue South, and the published court phone is 843-280-5520. Its payment page points users to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit online payment path for tickets and fines, which helps explain why a city ticket may still send a user through a circuit-wide payment system.
The North Myrtle Beach payment page is the source for that city-specific payment routing.
City payment pages are useful when the statewide traffic search does not answer a local ticket question.
Municipal Traffic Jurisdiction
South Carolina Municipal Courts handle ordinance violations and qualifying criminal or traffic matters within a municipality. They do not handle civil cases. In Horry County, municipal traffic access matters because coastal and inland city tickets may not follow the same path as a county magistrate ticket.
The South Carolina Judicial Branch Municipal Court jurisdiction page explains the statewide role of city courts.
That jurisdiction source supports the split between city ticket records and county Central Traffic Court records in Horry County.