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.
Washoe County, Nevada, has about 507,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Washoe County 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: Washoe County public records, Washoe County arrest records, Washoe County inmate search, Washoe County criminal records, Washoe County court records, Nevada arrest records and Nevada inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Washoe County
In Nevada an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Washoe County 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.
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 County Clerk keeps that file.
For Washoe County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county 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 Washoe County
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Reno and Sparks serve warrants in Washoe County.
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.
A warrant issued in Washoe County is good anywhere in Nevada, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
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 Washoe County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Washoe 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 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 Washoe County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Washoe 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 Washoe County
Whether a warrant is out from Washoe County 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 Washoe County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Washoe County 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 Washoe County?
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 Washoe County?
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an Nevada warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Washoe County held?
At the county jail, run by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Washoe 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 County Clerk.
Is this the official Washoe 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.