Local resources: courts, jail, police, DMV, and ADSAP
Every office a DUI case in Beaufort, Beaufort County, or Jasper County passes through, with the address and the number from each office's own website. Confirm hours by phone before you go.
How a Beaufort County DUI case moves
- Arrest and booking. Beaufort Police, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, town police, and the Highway Patrol book at the Beaufort County Detention Center, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort.
- Bond hearing. State law requires a bond hearing within 24 hours of arrest (S.C. Code § 22-5-510). Beaufort County says bond hearings are held at the detention center twice a day and that bonds must be posted there. You can post bond yourself or through a bail bondsman, who charges a non-refundable fee of up to 15% of the bond.
- DMV notice. If you refused the test or blew 0.15 or higher, the 30-day clock to request a hearing with the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings is already running.
- First court date. Printed on your ticket. Which court depends on where you were arrested, the arresting agency, and your record. Jasper County arrests stay in Jasper County's courts; see the lists below.
- Resolution. Dismissal, a plea, or trial. DUI charges are not eligible for pretrial intervention (S.C. Code § 17-22-50). First offenses are tried in magistrate or municipal court, before a six-person jury if you request one. The Beaufort County DUI guide walks through each step.
- After a conviction. ADSAP enrollment, the ignition interlock program, SR-22 insurance, and license reinstatement through the DMV, in roughly that order.
Courts
Which court hears your case depends on who arrested you, where it happened, and whether you have prior offenses. Beaufort County's magistrates sit in two places, Beaufort and Bluffton. When in doubt, call the number for the court on your ticket.
Beaufort Municipal Court
Beaufort Municipal Complex, 1901 Boundary Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
City of Beaufort arrests. Court sessions are Mondays and Thursdays at 3 p.m.; jury trials are normally scheduled quarterly. Enter on the side of the building facing the corner of Boundary Street and Ribaut Road.
Beaufort County Magistrate Court – Beaufort (Central Court North)
104 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
Sheriff's and Highway Patrol cases in northern Beaufort County. Office hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; the court says it cannot accept payments or filings outside those hours.
Beaufort County Magistrate Court – Bluffton (Central Court South)
4819 Bluffton Parkway, 2nd Floor, Bluffton, SC 29910
Southern Beaufort County, including Hilton Head Island; the county says Hilton Head municipal court payments are taken here. Office hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Port Royal Municipal Court
700 Paris Avenue, Port Royal, SC 29935
Town of Port Royal arrests. Court is held every other week on Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m.
Bluffton Municipal Court
20 Bridge Street, Bluffton, SC 29910
Town of Bluffton arrests.
Beaufort County Clerk of Court – General Sessions
Beaufort County Courthouse, 102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208, Beaufort, SC 29902
Second and later offenses, felony DUI, and cases moved up from a lower court. Public defender applications are filed here; second number (843) 255-5056. The clerk says it does not schedule General Sessions court dates; ask the Solicitor's Office or your lawyer.
Law enforcement and the detention center
Beaufort Police Department
1901 Boundary Street, Suite 102, Beaufort, SC 29902
City police. The number is non-emergency dispatch; administration is 843-322-7900 during business hours. Enter on the Palmetto Street side of the Municipal Building.
Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
2001 Duke Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
Open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Hilton Head Island office: 70 Shelter Cove Lane, 843-255-3300. Non-emergency dispatch after hours: 843-524-2777.
Beaufort County Detention Center (county jail)
100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
The county jail, where bond hearings are held twice a day. The county's website has an inmate inquiry system.
S.C. Highway Patrol – Troop Six, Post C (Ridgeland)
407 Live Oak Drive, Ridgeland, SC 29936
State troopers covering Beaufort and Jasper counties. Troop Six headquarters is in North Charleston, 843-953-6000.
Jasper County: courts, jail, and DMV
Hardeeville, Ridgeland, and the I-95 and U.S. 278 corridor west of Bluffton are in Jasper County. Arrests there go through Jasper County's courts and jail, not Beaufort County's. Jasper County is in the same Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, so the solicitor and public defender listed below cover it too. Addresses and numbers are from Jasper County, S.C. Judicial Branch, and SCDMV pages, checked October 28, 2026.
Jasper County Central Traffic Court
967 West Adams Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936
Traffic cases from county magistrate districts.
Jasper County Magistrate – Ridgeland
967 West Adams Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936
Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Jasper County Magistrate – Hardeeville
21 Martin Street, Hardeeville, SC 29927
Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Jasper County Courthouse – General Sessions and Clerk of Court
265 Russell Street, Ridgeland, SC 29936
Second and later offenses, felony DUI, and cases moved up from a lower court. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; parking is limited.
Jasper County Detention Center (county jail)
12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd, Ridgeland, SC 29936
Off I-95 at Exit 22, run by the Jasper County Sheriff's Office. The same number handles booking.
SCDMV – Ridgeland
407 Live Oak Drive, Ridgeland, SC 29936
Branch office for licenses and reinstatement paperwork.
Prosecutor, public defender, DMV, and state offices
Offices most Beaufort County DUI cases touch. Addresses and phone numbers are from each office's own website, checked October 27, 2026.
Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office
Beaufort County Courthouse, 102 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
Prosecutes criminal cases in Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties. Beaufort office hours 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; headquarters is at 108 Traders Cross, Okatie.
Fourteenth Circuit Public Defender (Beaufort County)
1905 Duke Street, Suite 210, Beaufort, SC 29902
Represents people the court finds unable to afford a lawyer, in General Sessions and both magistrate courts. Apply at the Clerk of Court's office, 102 Ribaut Road, Suite 208, before your court date; there is a $40 application fee.
SCDMV – Beaufort
28 Munch Drive, Beaufort, SC 29906
Branch office for licenses, reinstatement paperwork, and the temporary alcohol license. Bluffton branch: 15 Sheridan Park, 843-815-6981.
S.C. Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings
Edgar A. Brown Building, 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 325, Columbia, SC 29201
Hears contested-case hearings on DMV suspensions. The $200 filing fee cannot be waived.
S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles
10311 Wilson Boulevard, Building C, Blythewood, SC 29016
Headquarters. Suspension questions go to the number above; licenses are issued at branch offices.
S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services – Ignition Interlock Program
293 Greystone Boulevard, Columbia, SC 29210
Runs the ignition interlock program and certifies devices and installers. Call the agency to confirm the right contact for your case.
Interstate ADSAP Office (Dorchester Alcohol and Drug Commission)
320 Midland Parkway, Suite C, Summerville, SC 29486
For people convicted in South Carolina who live, or move, out of state. The state's ADSAP brochure says to contact this office before completing services in another state.
S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Enforces boating laws on Beaufort County's rivers, sounds, and creeks and other state waters, including boating under the influence, and handles boating-privilege suspensions.
The DMV hearing and your license
Administrative suspensions are handled by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and contested at the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings, part of the S.C. Administrative Law Court in Columbia. The hearing request must be filed with that office within 30 days of the Notice of Suspension, with its $200 filing fee; the temporary alcohol license from the DMV is a separate $100. An attorney can file the request for you. Step by step: the DMV hearing guide.
For license paperwork in person, Beaufort County has two SCDMV branch offices, on Munch Drive in Beaufort and at Sheridan Park in Bluffton. The Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings itself is in Columbia; call it at the number above if your hearing notice leaves any question about where or how the hearing will be held.
The ignition interlock program is run by the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, which certifies installers. Interlock providers serving Beaufort are listed in the directory.
ADSAP: the required alcohol and drug program
Nexus Care of Beaufort County (ADSAP)
Human Services Building, 1905 Duke Street, Suite 270, Beaufort, SC 29902
Beaufort County's ADSAP provider, part of county government. Required after any DUI conviction and after a DMV suspension that stands. Bluffton office: 4819 Bluffton Parkway, Suite 303, 843-255-6020.
New Life Center (Jasper County ADSAP)
651 Grays Hwy., Ridgeland, SC 29936
Listed by the state as Jasper County's certified ADSAP office.
The S.C. Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities lists one certified ADSAP office per county; you may enroll with any certified provider in the state. Private counselors are listed under counseling in the directory.
Bail and bond in Beaufort County
South Carolina law starts from release on your own recognizance (no money up front) unless the judge decides more is needed to make sure you come back to court or to protect the public (S.C. Code § 17-15-10). In Beaufort County, bond hearings are held at the detention center twice a day, and the county says bonds must be posted there. For someone being held, money for a bond or fine is deposited into that person's inmate account. If a cash or surety bond is set and you cannot pay it, a licensed bail bondsman can post it in exchange for a premium that state law caps at 15 percent of the bond (S.C. Code § 38-53-170). More in the bail guide. Bondsmen are listed in the directory as they are added.
SR-22 insurance
After a DUI conviction, the DMV requires proof of financial responsibility, usually an SR-22 certificate filed by your insurer, before it reinstates your license, and the filing can be released three years from the date it was first required (S.C. Code §§ 56-9-500, 56-9-620). An administrative suspension alone (refusal or 0.15) does not require one (§ 56-5-2951(M)). See the SR-22 guide. Agencies that write SR-22 policies in Beaufort County are under insurance in the directory.