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.
Petal, Mississippi, in Forrest County, has about 12,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Petal comes from a judge of the Forrest County Circuit Court or the Justice Court and County 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: Petal public records, Forrest County warrants, Petal arrest records, Petal inmate search, Petal criminal records, Petal court records, Mississippi arrest records and Mississippi inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Petal
In Mississippi an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Petal that means the Forrest County Circuit Court, which hears felonies and the larger civil cases; the Justice Court and County Court issue their own warrants on the cases before them. 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 Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records keep that file.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at forrestcountyms.us/forrest-county-courts (page title: Forrest County Courts), phone (601) 545 6100, 110 Alcorn Ave, Hattiesburg, MS 39403, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026. That page belongs to a lower court, the Justice Court and County Court, not to the Forrest County Circuit Court.
Mississippi has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Petal
The Forrest County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Petal (filed by the FBI as Petal Police Department) serve warrants in and around Petal.
The FBI's agency list also places two campus police departments, two other agencies and two state agencies in Forrest County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
A warrant issued in Forrest County is good anywhere in Mississippi, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Together, the three agencies in Forrest County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,856 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Petal arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Petal 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 Forrest County Sheriff's Office, held about 280 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at forrestcountysheriff.com/inmate-roster. The Petal inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Petal on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Petal
The places to check for a warrant from Petal:
- The court file of the case, through the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records at (601) 545 6100, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The custody page of the Forrest County Sheriff's Office at forrestcountysheriff.com/inmate-roster, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Forrest County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court'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 Mississippi Department of Public Safety Criminal Information Center is not open to the public in Mississippi, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Petal
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Petal starts with the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records at (601) 545 6100: 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 Justice Court and County Court is handled by that court, not by the Forrest County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Petal?
Not from the Forrest County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Circuit Clerk for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records at (601) 545 6100.
Who serves warrants in Petal?
The agency that reports for Petal inside the city and the Forrest County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an Mississippi warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Petal held?
At the county jail, run by the Forrest County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Petal 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 for criminal and civil cases and the Chancery Clerk for divorces, estates and land records at (601) 545 6100.
Is this the official Petal 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.