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 23, 2026.
Albany County, New York, has about 320,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Albany County comes from a judge of the Albany County Supreme and County Courts or the city, town and village courts, 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: Albany County public records, Albany County arrest records, Albany County inmate search, Albany County criminal records, Albany County court records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Albany County
In New York an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Albany County that means the Albany County Supreme and County Courts, which hear divorces and major civil cases in the Supreme Court, felonies in the County Court; the city, town and village courts, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases and small claims, issue their own warrants on the cases before them.
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.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at albanycountyny.gov/clerk-recordssearch (page title: Online Records Search | Albany County, NY), phone (518) 487-5100, 16 Eagle Street Albany, NY 12207-1077, Monday - Friday: 8:30am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, eCourts is the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily).
Who Serves Warrants in Albany County
The Albany County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Albany, Cohoes, Watervliet, Colonie, Menands, Green Island and one more cities serve warrants in Albany County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Albany County: the Albany State University of New York Police and the State University of New York at Albany (Plaza) (campus police); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Albany County is whichever one finds the person; an New York warrant is valid across New York.
Together, the nine agencies in Albany County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,780 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Albany County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Albany 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 Albany County Sheriff's Office, held about 570 people on an average day so far in 2026 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at albanycountyny.gov/sheriff. The Albany County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Albany 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 Albany County
Whether a warrant is out from Albany County shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the County Clerk at (518) 487-5100, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- ECourts, the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily), for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The District Attorney, phone (518) 487-5460, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Albany 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 Albany County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Albany County that means appearing before the Albany County Supreme and County Courts or the city, town and village courts, with the case put back on the calendar through the County Clerk.
A missed date in a case before the city, town and village courts is handled by that court, not by the Albany County Supreme and County Courts.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at albanycountyny.gov/da, phone (518) 487-5460.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Albany County?
Not from the Albany County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. eCourts is the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily), 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 County Clerk at (518) 487-5100.
Who serves warrants in Albany County?
The Albany County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an New York warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Albany County held?
At the county jail, run by the Albany County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Albany 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 at (518) 487-5100.
Is this the official Albany 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.