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 30, 2026.
Missoula County, Montana, has about 123,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Missoula County comes from a judge of the Missoula 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Missoula County public records, Missoula County arrest records, Missoula County inmate search, Missoula County police reports, Missoula County property records, Montana arrest records and Montana inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Missoula County
In Montana an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Missoula County that means the Missoula 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.
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 Missoula County
The Missoula County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Missoula serve warrants in Missoula County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Missoula County: the University of Montana (campus police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
A warrant issued in Missoula 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 two agencies in Missoula County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,832 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Missoula County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Missoula 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 Missoula County Sheriff's Office, held about 340 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at webapps.missoulacounty.us/jailroster/CourtSchedule, phone (406) 258-4000. The Missoula County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Missoula 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 Missoula County
The places to check for a warrant from Missoula County:
- The County Attorney, phone (406) 258-4737, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Missoula County Sheriff's Office at webapps.missoulacounty.us, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Missoula County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff'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.
Clearing a Warrant from Missoula County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Missoula County that means appearing before the Missoula 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 Missoula County District Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The County Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at missoulacounty.gov, phone (406) 258-4737.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Missoula County?
Not from the Missoula County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the Clerk of District Court.
Who serves warrants in Missoula County?
The Missoula County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an Montana warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Missoula County held?
At the county jail, run by the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Missoula 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 District Court.
Is this the official Missoula 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.