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.
Buffalo County, Nebraska, has about 51,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Buffalo County comes from a judge of the Buffalo County District Court or the 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: Buffalo County public records, Buffalo County arrest records, Buffalo County inmate search, Buffalo County criminal records, Buffalo County court records, Nebraska arrest records and Nebraska inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Buffalo County
In Nebraska an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Buffalo County that means the Buffalo County District Court, which hears felonies, the larger civil cases and divorces; the County Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, probate, small claims and juvenile matters, issues its own warrants on the cases before it.
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 the District Court.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at nebraskajudicial.gov/courts/buffalo-county-court (page title: Buffalo County Court | Nebraska Judicial Branch), phone 308-236-1228, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026. That page belongs to a lower court, the County Court, not to the Buffalo County District Court.
Statewide, Nebraska Trial Court Case Search is the Nebraska Judicial Branch's statewide case search, with a fee per search.
Who Serves Warrants in Buffalo County
The Buffalo County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Kearney, Ravenna and Shelton serve warrants in Buffalo County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Buffalo County: the State Patrol in Buffalo County (state police); the University of Nebraska at Kearney (campus police); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Buffalo County is whichever one finds the person; an Nebraska warrant is valid across Nebraska.
Together, the three agencies in Buffalo County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 2,000 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Buffalo County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Buffalo 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 Buffalo County Sheriff's Office, held about 140 people on an average day in 2019 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at buffalocounty.ne.gov/county-offices/sheriff, phone 308.236.8555. The Buffalo County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County
Whether a warrant is out from Buffalo County shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of the District Court at 308-236-1228, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- Nebraska Trial Court Case Search, the Nebraska Judicial Branch's statewide case search, with a fee per search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The County Attorney, phone 308.236.1222, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Buffalo County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court'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 Buffalo County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Buffalo County that means appearing before the Buffalo County District Court or the County Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of the District Court.
A missed date in a case before the County Court is handled by that court, not by the Buffalo County District Court.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The County Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at buffalocounty.ne.gov/county-offices/attorney, phone 308.236.1222.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Buffalo County?
Not from the Buffalo County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. Nebraska Trial Court Case Search is the Nebraska Judicial Branch's statewide case search, with a fee per 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 the District Court at 308-236-1228.
Who serves warrants in Buffalo County?
The Buffalo County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an Nebraska warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Buffalo County held?
At the county jail, run by the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Buffalo 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 the District Court at 308-236-1228.
Is this the official Buffalo 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.