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 October 9, 2026.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Bernalillo County, has about 560,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Albuquerque comes from a judge of the District Court for Bernalillo County or the Magistrate 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: Albuquerque public records, Bernalillo County warrants, Albuquerque arrest records, Albuquerque inmate search, Albuquerque criminal records, Albuquerque court records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Albuquerque
In New Mexico an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Albuquerque that means the District Court for Bernalillo County, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the Magistrate Court issues its own warrants on the cases before it. A city with a 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 the District Court.
For Bernalillo County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at metro.nmcourts.gov/public-records (page title: Public Records | Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court), phone (505) 841-8151, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Albuquerque
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Albuquerque (filed by the FBI as Albuquerque Police Department) serve warrants in and around Albuquerque.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Bernalillo County: the University of New Mexico's Main Campus (campus police); Albuquerque Fire and Rescue (other agency); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Rio Rancho Police Department and the Edgewood Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Bernalillo County, so their arrests are not broken out for Bernalillo County here.
The agency that serves a warrant from Bernalillo County is whichever one finds the person; an New Mexico warrant is valid across New Mexico.
Together, the two agencies in Bernalillo County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 22,003 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Albuquerque arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Albuquerque 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 Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,480 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at bernco.gov/metropolitan-detention-center/arrest-list, phone (505) 839-8700. The Albuquerque inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Albuquerque on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Albuquerque
Whether a warrant is out from Albuquerque shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of the District Court at (505) 841-8151, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- New Mexico Courts Case Lookup, the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The District Attorney, phone (505) 222-1100, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Bernalillo 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.
The statewide criminal history kept by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety is not open to the public in New Mexico, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Albuquerque
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Albuquerque starts with the Clerk of the District Court at (505) 841-8151: 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 Magistrate Court is handled by that court, not by the District Court for Bernalillo County.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at nmdas.com, phone (505) 222-1100.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Albuquerque?
Not from the Bernalillo County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary'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 the District Court at (505) 841-8151.
Who serves warrants in Albuquerque?
The agency that reports for Albuquerque inside the city and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an New Mexico warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Albuquerque held?
At the county jail, run by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Albuquerque 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 (505) 841-8151.
Is this the official Albuquerque 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.