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 September 25, 2026.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in Forsyth County, has about 256,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Winston-Salem comes from a judge of the Forsyth County Superior Court or the District 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: Winston-Salem public records, Forsyth County warrants, Winston-Salem arrest records, Winston-Salem criminal records, Winston-Salem court records, Winston-Salem police reports, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Winston-Salem
In North Carolina an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Winston-Salem that means the Forsyth County Superior Court, which hears felonies and civil cases over $25,000; the District Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, divorces, child custody, small claims and civil cases up to $25,000, issues its own warrants on the cases before it.
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 Superior Court keeps that file.
For Forsyth County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at nccourts.gov/locations/forsyth-county (page title: Forsyth County | North Carolina Judicial Branch), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Winston-Salem
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Winston-Salem (filed by the FBI as Winston-Salem Police Department) serve warrants in and around Winston-Salem.
The FBI's agency list also places one other agency and three campus police departments in Forsyth County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The King Police Department and the High Point Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Forsyth County, so their arrests are not broken out for Forsyth County here.
A warrant issued in Forsyth County is good anywhere in North Carolina, 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 Forsyth County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,416 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Winston-Salem arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Winston-Salem 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 Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, held about 820 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count.
A person arrested in Winston-Salem on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Winston-Salem
The places to check for a warrant from Winston-Salem:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of Superior Court, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- ECourts Portal, the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
The one Forsyth County page SearchSystems verified, the court's, is not a list of open warrants.
The statewide criminal history kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is not open to the public in North Carolina, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Winston-Salem
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Winston-Salem starts with the Clerk of Superior 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 District Court is handled by that court, not by the Forsyth County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Winston-Salem?
Not from the Forsyth County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search, 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 Superior Court.
Who serves warrants in Winston-Salem?
The agency that reports for Winston-Salem inside the city and the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an North Carolina warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Winston-Salem held?
At the county jail, run by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Winston-Salem 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 Superior Court.
Is this the official Winston-Salem 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.