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 9, 2026.
Washington County, Maryland, has about 157,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Washington County comes from a judge of the Circuit Court for Washington County or the District Court of Maryland, 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: Washington County public records, Washington County arrest records, Washington County inmate search, Washington County criminal records, Washington County court records, Maryland arrest records and Maryland inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Washington County
In Maryland an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Washington County that means the Circuit Court for Washington County, which hears felonies, civil cases over $30,000, divorces, juvenile matters and appeals from the District Court; the District Court of Maryland, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, landlord-tenant cases and civil claims up to $30,000, 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 Clerk of the Circuit Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.state.md.us/clerks/washington/records (page title: Records | Maryland Courts), phone 301-733-8660, 24 Summit Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21740, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Maryland Judiciary Case Search is the free statewide case search of every Maryland court.
Who Serves Warrants in Washington County
The Washington County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Hagerstown, Boonsboro, Smithsburg and Hancock serve warrants in Washington County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Washington County: Hagerstown Community College (campus police); the Washington County State Police (state police); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Washington County is whichever one finds the person; an Maryland warrant is valid across Maryland.
Together, the five agencies in Washington County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,281 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Washington County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Washington 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office, held about 350 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at news.washeriff.net/divisions/bookings. The Washington County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Washington 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 Washington County
The places to check for a warrant from Washington County:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of the Circuit Court at 301-733-8660, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- Maryland Judiciary Case Search, the free statewide case search of every Maryland court, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The State's Attorney, phone 240-313-2000, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Washington County Sheriff's Office at news.washeriff.net/divisions/bookings, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Washington County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court's, the prosecutor'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.
The statewide criminal history kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System is not open to the public in Maryland, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Washington County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Washington County that means appearing before the Circuit Court for Washington County or the District Court of Maryland, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
A missed date in a case before the District Court of Maryland is handled by that court, not by the Circuit Court for Washington County.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at washco-md.net/states-attorney-office, phone 240-313-2000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Washington County?
Not from the Washington County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. Maryland Judiciary Case Search is the free statewide case search of every Maryland court, 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 the Circuit Court at 301-733-8660.
Who serves warrants in Washington County?
The Washington County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an Maryland warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Washington County held?
At the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Washington 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 Clerk of the Circuit Court at 301-733-8660.
Is this the official Washington 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.