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 on September 24, 2026.
Yellowstone County, Montana, has about 172,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Yellowstone County 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: Yellowstone County public records, Yellowstone County arrest records, Yellowstone County inmate search, Yellowstone County criminal records, Yellowstone County court records, Montana arrest records and Montana inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Yellowstone County
In Montana an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Yellowstone County 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.
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 District Court keeps that file.
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 Yellowstone County
The Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Billings and Laurel serve warrants in Yellowstone County.
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.
The agency that serves a warrant from Yellowstone County is whichever one finds the person; an Montana warrant is valid across Montana.
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 Yellowstone County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Yellowstone 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 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 Yellowstone County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County
Whether a warrant is out from Yellowstone County 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 Yellowstone County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Yellowstone County starts with the Clerk of District Court: 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 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 Yellowstone County?
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 Yellowstone County?
The Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone County held?
At the county jail, run by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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.