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 26, 2026.
Reno, Nevada, in Washoe County, has about 282,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Reno comes from a judge of the District Court for Washoe County 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: Reno public records, Washoe County warrants, Reno arrest records, Reno inmate search, Reno criminal records, Reno court records, Nevada arrest records and Nevada inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Reno
In Nevada an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Reno that means the District Court for Washoe County, which hears felonies, civil cases over $15,000, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the Justice Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, evictions and civil cases up to $15,000, 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 County Clerk.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at washoecounty.gov/sjc/CaseSearch.php (page title: Case Search | Washoe County), 1001 E 9th St, Reno, NV 89512, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Nevada has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in Reno
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Reno (filed by the FBI as Reno Police Department) serve warrants in and around Reno.
The FBI's agency list also places four other agencies, two state agencies and one campus police department in Washoe County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Washoe County is whichever one finds the person; an Nevada warrant is valid across Nevada.
Together, the two agencies in Washoe County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 15,846 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Reno arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Reno 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 Washoe County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,110 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at washoecounty.gov/defender/faq/gen12.php, phone 775-328-3062. The Reno inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Reno on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Reno
Whether a warrant is out from Reno shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the County Clerk, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The District Attorney, phone 775.789.7100, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office at washoecounty.gov/defender/faq/gen12.php, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Washoe 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 Nevada Department of Public Safety Records, Communications and Compliance Division is not open to the public in Nevada, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Reno
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Reno that means appearing before the District Court for Washoe County or the Justice Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the County Clerk.
A missed date in a case before the Justice Court is handled by that court, not by the District Court for Washoe County.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at washoecounty.gov/da, phone 775.789.7100.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Reno?
Not from the Washoe County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the County Clerk.
Who serves warrants in Reno?
The agency that reports for Reno inside the city and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an Nevada warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Reno held?
At the county jail, run by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Reno 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 County Clerk.
Is this the official Reno 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.