Reviewed and updated October 9, 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. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Hays, Kansas, in Ellis County, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Hays comes from a judge of the Ellis County District 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, directory links and common questions.
Related guides: Hays public records, Ellis County warrants, Hays arrest records, Hays inmate search, Hays criminal records, Hays court records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Hays
In Kansas an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Hays that means the Ellis County District Court, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case. A city with a municipal court of its own issues warrants on the tickets and ordinance cases it tries.
A bench warrant follows a missed court date in any of those courts. Whichever kind it is, the warrant is part of the file of the case it was issued in, and the Clerk of the District Court keeps that file.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at kscourts.gov/eCourt/District-Court-Records (page title: Search District Court Records | KS Courts), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
Statewide, Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Hays
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Hays (filed by the FBI as Hays Police Department) serve warrants in and around Hays.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Ellis County: Fort Hays State University (campus police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Ellis County is whichever one finds the person; a Kansas warrant is valid across Kansas.
Together, the two agencies in Ellis County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,088 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Hays arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Hays Is Held
A person arrested on a warrant and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, held about 55 people on an average day in 2019 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at ellisco.net/102/Sheriff. The Hays inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Hays on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Hays
The place to check for a warrant from Hays is Kansas District Court Public Access Portal, the Kansas courts' statewide case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
Not one of the Ellis County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's and the records request page) is a list of open warrants, so a check means asking the court or the prosecutor about a case by name.
Clearing a Warrant from Hays
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Hays that means appearing before the Ellis County District Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of the District Court.
More Official Wanted and Warrant Pages for Ellis County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Ellis County and Kansas. These wanted and warrant pages from its Ellis County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Kansas Most Wanted (kbi.ks.gov)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Hays?
Not from the Ellis County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search, and a case whose register of actions shows a warrant is the record of it. The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the Clerk of the District Court.
Who serves warrants in Hays?
The agency that reports for Hays inside the city and the Ellis County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; a Kansas warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Hays held?
At the county jail, run by the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Hays 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 Clerk of the District Court.
Is this the official Hays website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.