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 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Gloucester, Massachusetts, in Essex County, has about 30,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Gloucester comes from a judge of the Essex County Superior Court or the District Court and Boston Municipal 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: Gloucester public records, Essex County warrants, Gloucester arrest records, Gloucester inmate search, Gloucester criminal records, Gloucester court records, Massachusetts arrest records and Massachusetts inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Gloucester
In Massachusetts an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Gloucester that means the Essex County Superior Court, which hears felonies and civil cases over $50,000; the District Court and Boston Municipal Court, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and civil cases up to $50,000, issue their own warrants on the cases before them.
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 Courts keeps that file.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at mass.gov/locations/essex-county-superior-court (page title: Essex County Superior Court), phone (978) 744-5500, 56 Federal St., Salem, MA 01970, Monday - Friday: 8:00 am-4:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Gloucester
The Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA and the agency that reports for Gloucester (filed by the FBI as Gloucester Police Department) serve warrants in and around Gloucester.
The FBI's agency list also places one state police unit, six campus police departments and one state agency in Essex County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Essex County is whichever one finds the person; an Massachusetts warrant is valid across Massachusetts.
Together, the 32 agencies in Essex County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,140 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Gloucester arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Gloucester 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 Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA, held about 900 people on an average day in 2025 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at essexsheriffma.org. The Gloucester inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Gloucester on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Gloucester
The places to check for a warrant from Gloucester:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of Courts at (978) 744-5500, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- Masscourts.org, the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The District Attorney, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Essex 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.
Clearing a Warrant from Gloucester
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Gloucester that means appearing before the Essex County Superior Court or the District Court and Boston Municipal Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of Courts.
A missed date in a case before the District Court and Boston Municipal Court is handled by that court, not by the Essex County Superior Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at essexcountyda.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Gloucester?
Not from the Essex County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. masscourts.org is the Massachusetts Trial Court's free online case search, and a case whose register of actions shows a warrant is the record of it. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Clerk of Courts at (978) 744-5500.
Who serves warrants in Gloucester?
The agency that reports for Gloucester inside the city and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an Massachusetts warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Gloucester held?
At the county jail, run by the Essex County Sheriff’s Department | Essex County, MA, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Gloucester 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 Courts at (978) 744-5500.
Is this the official Gloucester 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.