As of January 1, 2026, South Carolina removed all birth dates from online criminal court records. This includes all county court websites, SLED's CATCH system, and public online search tools.
Physical court records still show birth dates, however, they are only available in person, requiring local researchers to visit courthouses and check paper or microfilm files by hand.
Why Did This Happen?
South Carolina says this limits identity theft and protects personal information. Other states have done the same thing. After the All of Us or None v. Hamrick case, California courts removed birth dates from online indexes. Michigan's Supreme Court did the same with Court Rule 1.109.
The privacy intent is legitimate. The operational impact on screening is real. As KRESS CEO Chandra Kill explains: "It's a good cause, that also changes the way of how we process searches and identify records."
For employers, these may require manual verification which could add two to five additional business days per South Carolina check.
What's the Impact on Employment Screening?
Removing birth dates from online records causes problems for both background check companies and employers.
Name Matches Multiply
Without a date of birth to filter results, a search for a Michael Johnson returns every Michael Johnson in the county or state. For screening companies that don’t verify whether a record belongs to an applicant, it will make it harder for the HR people viewing those reports to make hiring decisions.
Accuracy Takes Time
Manual courthouse research takes time. Those are known variables that KRESS has builds into our workflow. For others, you may expect South Carolina checks to take and additional two to five business days. In high-volume counties like Charleston, Greenville, and Richland, local demand can increase costs by ten to twenty percent. Together, these policies signal a shift toward stronger privacy protection on public data.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Risks
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires background screening companies to follow "reasonable procedures" to ensure maximum possible accuracy. That obligation becomes more complex when only names remain in an online search.
Under FCRA Section 613, screening companies can follow one of two paths before reporting public record data:
- Section 613(a): Send automatic notices to candidates when a record might affect employment.
- Section 613(b): Verify the record manually before reporting it.
Many providers follow the 613(a) path. When identifying data disappears, that path produces more notices, more disputes, and more burden on the candidate to correct the record.
Chandra explains what happens with 613(a) vendors when identifiers disappear: "When identifying data disappears, 613(a) vendors keep reporting the close-match records and sending corresponding notices to candidates, even as the number of those matches grows dramatically. The burden shifts to the candidate to stand up for what is correct on their report. It also increases the chance of a non-hire for false reasons, and puts more burden on the HR or hiring manager to sort through the noise and identify what is actually accurate."
The result is not a cleaner process. It is more notices, more disputes, more follow-up, and a higher risk that a candidate loses a job opportunity over a record that was never theirs.
KRESS follows the stricter 613(b) method. Every public record is verified by a trained researcher before it appears in your report. If the team cannot confirm the match, it is left out entirely. This protects you from false positives and keeps candidates from being unfairly flagged. For more background, see the article Why KRESS Doesn't Use Automatic 613 Notices.
For more background, see the article Why KRESS Doesn't Use Automatic 613 Notices.
How KRESS Adapts Under Section 613(b)
At KRESS, we confirm each potential record using:
- Local researchers who physically review court records.
- The SLED CATCH portal for cross-checking
- Federal court data from the U.S. District Court for South Carolina
As Chandra describes the KRESS approach: "We don't stop until we are sure, because that's part of the 613b way. It's all about having procedures that ensure accuracy, and we modify our processes to keep the accuracy high." For additional reading on this approach, refer to The Importance of Human Verification in Background Checks.
Side-by-Side Comparison: 613(a) vs. 613(b)
| Practice | 613(a) Companies | KRESS Model |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting | Sends possible matches automatically | Verifies each record before reporting |
| Candidate Impact | Frequent disputes and confusion | Candidates see only confirmed results |
| Employer Value | Unverified data and inconsistent quality | Clear, accurate, and compliant reports |
| Cost | Similar Costs | Similar Costs |
| Risk Level | High | Low |
Our 613 Notices: Who Pays the Price? expands on how weak verification affects both employers and candidates. Investing in manual accuracy reduces these risks while keeping your process compliant.
Manual verification delays results slightly, but it removes the uncertainty of automated systems. You get fewer candidate disputes, cleaner reports, and stronger compliance defense if questioned by regulators. Applicants can view more guidance in What to Do If You Get a 613 Notice.
The Broader Privacy Trend
South Carolina is not alone. Several states are moving in the same direction. Pennsylvania's Clean Slate law expands which criminal records can be sealed, and in some cases, it happens automatically. Select felony convictions are eligible to be sealed after 10 years, most misdemeanor convictions are eligible after 7 years. The categories of felony (10 years) and misdemeanor (7 years) offenses eligible for sealing include drug crimes, theft offenses (including retail theft and receiving stolen property), trespass, forgery and fraud crimes, and criminal mischief. Most misdemeanors are also eligible, including DUI, simple assault, disorderly conduct, harassment, and resisting arrest.
Why Choose KRESS
- KRESS court runners verify records directly from courthouse files, if a record cannot be confirmed to your applicant, it does not appear in your report.
- KRESS follows Section 613(b): every public record is verified by a trained researcher before it reaches your report. Unconfirmed records are excluded, not flagged and forwarded.
- Our customer service team is based in Houston. You reach a named person, not a ticket queue.
Ready to see how KRESS handles South Carolina's new requirements? Talk to our team today.