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.
Carter County, Kentucky, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Carter County comes from a judge of the Carter Circuit Court or the 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Carter County public records, Carter County arrest records, Carter County criminal records, Carter County court records, Carter County police reports, Kentucky arrest records and Kentucky inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Carter County
In Kentucky an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Carter County that means the Carter Circuit Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $5,000, divorces and appeals from the district court; the District Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims, probate and juvenile matters, issues its own warrants on the cases before it.
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 Court Clerk.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at kycourts.gov/Courts/County-Information/Pages/Carter.aspx (page title: Carter | Kentucky Court of Justice), phone 606-474-5191, 100 E. Main St. Grayson, KY 41143, Monday 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Kentucky has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Carter County
The Carter County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Grayson and Olive Hill serve warrants in Carter County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Carter County: the Carter County School District (other agency); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Carter County is whichever one finds the person; a Kentucky warrant is valid across Kentucky.
Together, the three agencies in Carter County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 626 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Carter County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Carter County 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 Carter County Sheriff's Office, held about 150 people on an average day so far in 2026 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count.
A person arrested in Carter 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 Carter County
The place to check for a warrant from Carter County is the court file of the case, through the Circuit Court Clerk at 606-474-5191, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
The one Carter County page SearchSystems verified, the court's, is not a list of open warrants.
Clearing a Warrant from Carter County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Carter County starts with the Circuit Court Clerk at 606-474-5191: the case goes back on the calendar and the judge recalls the warrant when the person appears.
A missed date in a case before the District Court is handled by that court, not by the Carter Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Carter County?
Not from the Carter County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Circuit Court Clerk at 606-474-5191.
Who serves warrants in Carter County?
The Carter County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a Kentucky warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Carter County held?
At the county jail, run by the Carter County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Carter 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 Court Clerk at 606-474-5191.
Is this the official Carter 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.