South Carolina

Administering Entity

State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

Arrestees: Yes, from adults only — § 23-3-620(A) excepts juveniles, who provide samples only on court order or upon conviction or adjudication.

Qualifying Crimes: (i) Any felony, or any offense punishable by five or more years of imprisonment; (ii) for adults, also eavesdropping, peeping, and stalking; and (iii) any case where a court orders collection.

Time of Collection: At the jail, the sheriff’s office serving a courtesy summons, the courthouse where a direct-presentment indictment is served, or the detention facility, at booking and processing — or at another location where fingerprinting is required before conviction. An arrestee released before providing a sample must provide one, at a location set by the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the offense, on or before the first court appearance.

Expungement: Runs on notification and/or formal request: the solicitor in the county where the person was charged must notify the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (“SLED”) once the person becomes eligible, which occurs in these situations: if charge was (i) nolle prossed, (ii) dismissed, or (iii) reduced below requirement for inclusion in the database; or if the person has been found not guilty, or conviction reversed, set aside, or vacated

Convicted Offenders: Yes.

Qualifying Crimes: Any felony, or any offense punishable by five or more years of imprisonment, plus the enumerated misdemeanors of eavesdropping, peeping, and stalking.

Time of Collection: Unless already collected at arrest: before release from confinement, or as a condition of parole or probation.

Expungement: Mandatory where the conviction is reversed, set aside, or vacated. The solicitor in the county where the person was charged notifies SLED once the person becomes eligible. Upon receiving this notification, SLED must begin the expungement procedure. SLED must purge DNA and all other information if SLED receives (i) a document certified by a circuit court judge, a prosecuting attorney or a court clerk that must be produced to the requestor within 14 days after the request is made and after the conviction has been reversed, set aside, or vacated, or (ii) a certified copy of the court order reversing, setting aside or vacating the conviction.

Statutes / Case Law

SC Code § 23–3–610. State DNA Database Established; Purpose

§ 23–3–620. When DNA Samples Required

§ 23–3–640. Specifications, Procedures, and Equipment; Use of DNA Profiles; Disposition of Samples

§ 23–3–660. Expungement of DNA Record; Grounds for Requesting

S.C. Code of Regulations R. 73-61. State DNA Database

Legislative History

H 4820 (1994) → Act No. 497 of 1994, ratified R 609, signed June 29, 1994 with certain items vetoed. The DNA database was created not by standalone legislation but as Part II, Section 131A of the General Appropriations Bill for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994. It enacted §§ 23-3-600 through 23-3-700 in their entirety, including § 23-3-610 establishing the State DNA Database within SLED.
H 3120 (2000) → Act No. 396 of 2000, ratified R 449, signed August 18, 2000. Amended § 23-3-620 to expand the list of offenders required to submit samples, adding violent crimes and other enumerated offenses, and amended § 23-3-700 to require SLED to begin collecting samples no later than July 30, 2000.
S 492 (2001) → Act No. 99 of 2001, ratified R 108, signed August 31, 2001. Amended § 23-3-620 to require persons convicted of second-degree burglary to submit a DNA sample.
H 3594 (2004) → Act No. 230 of 2004, ratified R 307, signed May 12, 2004. The categorical expansion — amended § 23-3-620 to require DNA from all persons convicted or adjudicated delinquent for any felony or any offense punishable by five years or more, effective July 1, 2004. Also amended §§ 23-3-630, 23-3-640 and 23-3-650 governing sample-taking authority, storage, and confidentiality.
S 429 (2008) → Act No. 413 of 2008, ratified R 429 on June 25, 2008, vetoed July 2, 2008, veto overridden by the Senate 44–0 on October 20 and the House 86–25 on October 21, 2008. Most provisions effective January 1, 2009; § 17-28-350 effective on the Governor’s signature. The most sweeping act in the chapter’s history, and it did four distinct things: Shifted collection upstream by amending § 23-3-620 to require samples upon lawful custodial arrest, service of a courtesy summons, or direct indictment for a felony, an offense carrying five years or more, or an arrest for eavesdropping, peeping, or stalking — applying to juveniles in specified circumstances, and requiring samples before release on parole, from confinement, or from an agency’s jurisdiction. This portion was styled the “South Carolina Protection from Violence Against Women and Children Act,” and added § 23-3-615 definitions. Built in arrestee safeguards: amended §§ 23-3-660 and 23-3-670 to provide expungement at no cost to the accused when charges are dismissed, nolle prossed, or reduced below the collection threshold; made the state bear initial collection and processing costs with the person tested paying a processing fee only upon conviction, plea of nolo contendere, or bond forfeiture; required SLED and local agencies to coordinate to prevent duplicate collection; and increased the penalty for willfully disclosing or obtaining confidential DNA information. Enacted the “Access to Justice Post-Conviction DNA Testing Act” as Article 1 and the “Preservation of Evidence Act” as Article 3, both in Chapter 28 of Title 17, defining terms, setting post-conviction testing procedures, and delineating the offenses for which physical evidence and biological material must be preserved. Added missing-persons and unidentified-remains provisions: § 23-3-625 allowing family members of a missing person to submit samples to SLED, with entry into CODIS after thirty days, and § 23-3-635 barring disposition of an unidentified body until at least thirty days after its profile has been entered into CODIS. Also amended § 23-3-630 to delete the requirement that collectors be particular health professionals, substituting a requirement that they be appropriately trained, and amended § 23-3-120 on the place and timing of fingerprinting a person under custodial arrest.

Related Legislation

View Full Database

Core Database

SC: Access to Justice Post-Conviction DNA Testing Act (S 429, Act 413, 2008)

October 23, 2008

Shifted South Carolina from conviction-based to arrest-based DNA collection by amending § 23-3-620 to require a saliva or tissue sample…

Core Database

SC: An Act Requiring DNA From All Felony Convictions (H 3594, Act 230, 2004)

May 12, 2004

Major expansion; required DNA from all persons convicted or adjudicated delinquent for any felony or any offense punishable by 5+…

Core Database

SC: An Act Requiring DNA Samples From Second-Degree Burglary Convictions (S 492, Act 99, 2001)

August 31, 2001

Amended § 23-3-620 to add burglary in the second degree (§ 16-11-312(A)) to the enumerated offenses for which a person…

Administering Entity

Pending Legislation or Budget Enhancements

Core DNA Database Laws and Regulations

Rapid DNA

Forensic Genetic Genealogy

Lawfully Owed DNA

Database Hit Tracking

Related Legislation

SC: Access to Justice Post-Conviction DNA Testing Act (S 429, Act 413, 2008)

SC: An Act Requiring DNA From All Felony Convictions (H 3594, Act 230, 2004)

SC: An Act Requiring DNA Samples From Second-Degree Burglary Convictions (S 492, Act 99, 2001)