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Saw the expungement clinic in the news? Here is who qualifies in Dorchester and Berkeley County

Criminal defenseBy Jack C. FrostPublished September 16, 2026

Expungement clinics are a genuinely good thing. They are also confusing, because eligibility depends on the exact charge, the exact disposition and the calendar. Check these five things first.

Waiting at the county office
Waiting at the county office

What a clinic can do

A clinic helps you pull your record, confirm eligibility and complete the application that goes to the solicitor's office—the First Circuit for Dorchester and Berkeley counties, the Ninth Circuit for Charleston. The volunteers are usually law students and legal-aid attorneys. What they cannot do is change the law: if your charge is not eligible, or the waiting period has not run, the answer is the same at the clinic as anywhere else.

The five questions that decide eligibility

  1. Was the charge dismissed, nol prossed or found not guilty? Then it is eligible now, at no cost. Many people do not realize a dismissed charge still shows on a background check until it is expunged.
  2. Was it a first-offense misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 30 days or $1,000? Eligible three years after the conviction if you have had no other convictions (S.C. Code § 22-5-910). Third-degree domestic violence, first offense, waits five years.
  3. Was it first-offense simple possession or paraphernalia? Eligible if handled through a conditional discharge (§ 44-53-450) and three years have passed since completion—one of the 2018 changes.
  4. Were you sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act? Many nonviolent YOA sentences are eligible five years after completion with no later convictions (§ 22-5-920).
  5. Is it a DUI, a traffic offense, or a violent crime? Not eligible. No clinic and no attorney can change that.

What changed in 2018

Act 254 of 2018 expanded expungement in three ways people still do not know about: multiple charges resolved on the same sentencing sheet can be treated as one offense; first-offense drug possession became eligible; and expungement now applies to convictions even if the person later moved on to a clean record in a different way. If you were told “no” before 2018, ask again.

Before you go

  • Pull your own record: the clinic will, but knowing your exact charges and dispositions beforehand saves an hour in line.
  • Bring photo identification and the case numbers if you have them.
  • Count the years from the date of conviction (or completion of the program), not the date of arrest.
  • If any charge is pending anywhere, resolve it first; a pending charge blocks expungement.

Clinic announcements run in the Post and Courier, on Live 5 News and on the counties' own pages. If you would rather not wait for the next one, we file expungements year-round for a flat fee; see expungements.

Frost first: if the charge you want cleared was one of several from the same night, ask about the same-sentencing-sheet rule before assuming only one can be expunged.

Jack C. Frost

Written by Jack C. Frost, Attorney at Law · 14 years in Lowcountry law enforcement before law school. Reviewed by Tara L. Frost.

Questions people ask

Are expungement clinics free?

Usually the clinic's help is free; the statutory fees for conviction expungements still apply unless the sponsor covers them. Expunging a dismissed charge is free.

Can I expunge a charge from another county at a Dorchester County clinic?

The application goes to the solicitor for the circuit where the charge was heard, so a Charleston County charge goes to the Ninth Circuit regardless of where you live now.

Sources and further reading

Related pages