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.
Cortland County, New York, has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Cortland County comes from a judge of the Cortland 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: Cortland County public records, Cortland County arrest records, Cortland County inmate search, Cortland County criminal records, Cortland County court records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Cortland County
In New York an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Cortland County that means the Cortland 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.
For Cortland County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at cortlandcountyny.gov/173/Courts-Supreme-County (page title: Supreme & County Courts | Cortland County, NY), phone 607-753-5021, 46 Greenbush Street, #B5 Cortland, NY 13045, Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026. That page belongs to a lower court, the city, town and village courts, not to the Cortland County Supreme and County Courts.
Statewide, eCourts is the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily).
Who Serves Warrants in Cortland County
The Cortland County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Cortland serve warrants in Cortland County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Cortland County: the Cortland State University of New York Police (campus police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Cortland County is whichever one finds the person; an New York warrant is valid across New York.
Together, the three agencies in Cortland County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,121 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Cortland County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Cortland 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 Cortland County Sheriff's Office, held about 59 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 cortlandcountysheriffny.gov. The Cortland County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Cortland 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 Cortland County
The places to check for a warrant from Cortland County:
- The court file of the case, through the County Clerk at 607-753-5021, 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 607-753-5008, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Cortland County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court's and the prosecutor's) 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 Cortland County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Cortland County starts with the County Clerk at 607-753-5021: 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 city, town and village courts is handled by that court, not by the Cortland County Supreme and County Courts.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at cortlandcountyny.gov, phone 607-753-5008.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Cortland County?
Not from the Cortland 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 607-753-5021.
Who serves warrants in Cortland County?
The Cortland 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 Cortland County held?
At the county jail, run by the Cortland County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Cortland 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 607-753-5021.
Is this the official Cortland 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.