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 September 26, 2026.
Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County, has about 121,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Billings comes from a judge of the Yellowstone County District Court or the Justice 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: Billings public records, Yellowstone County warrants, Billings arrest records, Billings inmate search, Billings criminal records, Billings court records, Montana arrest records and Montana inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Billings
In Montana an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Billings that means the Yellowstone County District Court, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the Justice Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and small claims, issues its own warrants on the cases before it. A city with a city and municipal court of its own issues warrants on the tickets and ordinance cases it tries.
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 District Court.
For Yellowstone County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at yellowstonecountymt.gov/clerk_court/copies.asp (page title: Yellowstone County, Montana), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Montana has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Billings
The Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Billings (filed by the FBI as Billings Police Department) serve warrants in and around Billings.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Yellowstone County: Montana State University at Billings (campus police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
A warrant issued in Yellowstone County is good anywhere in Montana, 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 Yellowstone County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,825 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Billings arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Billings 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 Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, held about 450 people on an average day in 2021 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at yellowstonecountymt.gov/sheriff/detention/dcsearch.asp. The Billings inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Billings on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Billings
Whether a warrant is out from Billings shows in two places:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of District Court, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The County Attorney, phone 406-256-2832, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Yellowstone 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 Billings
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Billings that means appearing before the Yellowstone County District Court or the Justice Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of District Court.
A missed date in a case before the Justice Court is handled by that court, not by the Yellowstone County District Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The County Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at yellowstonecountymt.gov/Coattorney, phone 406-256-2832.
More Official Wanted and Warrant Pages for Yellowstone County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Yellowstone County and Montana. These wanted and warrant pages from its Yellowstone County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Yellowstone County, Montana (yellowstonecountymt.gov)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Billings?
Not from the Yellowstone County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Clerk of District Court.
Who serves warrants in Billings?
The agency that reports for Billings inside the city and the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an Montana warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Billings held?
At the county jail, run by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Billings 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 District Court.
Is this the official Billings 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.