Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Kanawha County, West Virginia, has about 174,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Kanawha County comes from a judge of the Kanawha County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court, is served by whichever agency finds the person, and is recorded in the court file of the case it was issued in. This guide says who issues and serves warrants here, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one and how one is cleared.
This guide covers who issues warrants, who serves warrants, after a warrant arrest, checking for a warrant, clearing a warrant and common questions.
Related guides: Kanawha County public records, Kanawha County inmate search, Kanawha County criminal records, Kanawha County court records, Kanawha County police reports, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Kanawha County
In West Virginia an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Kanawha County that means the Kanawha County Circuit Court, which hears felonies, the larger civil cases and juvenile matters; the Magistrate Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000, issues its own warrants on the cases before it. A city with a municipal court of its own issues warrants on the tickets and ordinance cases it tries.
When a defendant misses a court date the judge issues a bench warrant, and either kind of warrant lives in the court file of the case, kept by the Circuit Clerk.
For Kanawha County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at kanawhacounty.westvirginiacourt.us/court-records.html (page title: Kanawha County Court Records | Case Lookup), phone 304-357-0440, 111 Court Street Charleston, WV 25301, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026. That page belongs to a lower court, the Magistrate Court, not to the Kanawha County Circuit Court.
West Virginia has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Kanawha County
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Charleston, South Charleston, St. Albans, Dunbar, Nitro, Marmet and eight more cities serve warrants in Kanawha County.
The FBI's agency list also places two campus police departments, four state agencies, two other agencies and four state police units in Kanawha County; each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Montgomery Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Kanawha County, so its arrests are not broken out for Kanawha County here.
A warrant issued in Kanawha County is good anywhere in West Virginia, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Kanawha County Is Held
A person arrested on a warrant and kept in custody goes to the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the state's inmate search is at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
A person arrested in Kanawha County on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Kanawha County
The places to check for a warrant from Kanawha County:
- The court file of the case, through the Circuit Clerk at 304-357-0440, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The Prosecuting Attorney, phone (304) 357-0300, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Kanawha County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court's and the prosecutor's) is a list of open warrants, so a check means asking the court or the prosecutor about a case by name.
The statewide criminal history kept by the West Virginia State Police is not open to the public in West Virginia, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Kanawha County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Kanawha County that means appearing before the Kanawha County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Circuit Clerk.
A missed date in a case before the Magistrate Court is handled by that court, not by the Kanawha County Circuit Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The Prosecuting Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at kanawha.us/prosecuting-attorney, phone (304) 357-0300.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Kanawha County?
Not from the Kanawha County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Circuit Clerk at 304-357-0440.
Who serves warrants in Kanawha County?
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a West Virginia warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Kanawha County held?
In the regional jail that serves Kanawha County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
How is a warrant from Kanawha County cleared?
By appearing before the court that issued it; the judge recalls the warrant in court. The case is put back on the calendar through the Circuit Clerk at 304-357-0440.
Is this the official Kanawha County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.