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 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Ontario County, New York, has about 113,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Ontario County comes from a judge of the Ontario 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: Ontario County public records, Ontario County arrest records, Ontario County inmate search, Ontario County police reports, Ontario County property records, New York arrest records and New York inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Ontario County
In New York an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Ontario County that means the Ontario 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.
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.
Statewide, eCourts is the Unified Court System's free online case search (WebCivil, WebCrims and WebFamily).
Who Serves Warrants in Ontario County
The Ontario County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Geneva, Canandaigua, Clifton Springs and Phelps serve warrants in Ontario County.
A warrant issued in Ontario County is good anywhere in New York, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Together, the four agencies in Ontario County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,165 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Ontario County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Ontario 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 Ontario County Sheriff's Office, held about 92 people on an average day so far in 2026 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at ontariocountyny.gov/1910/Incarcerated-Individual-Locator. The Ontario County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Ontario 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 Ontario County
Whether a warrant is out from Ontario County shows in three places:
- 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 585-396-4010, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Ontario County Sheriff's Office at ontariocountyny.gov, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Ontario County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff'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 Ontario County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Ontario County that means appearing before the Ontario 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 Ontario County Supreme and County Courts.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at ontariocountyny.gov/110/District-Attorney, phone 585-396-4010.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Ontario County?
Not from the Ontario 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 that issued it keeps the record; ask the County Clerk.
Who serves warrants in Ontario County?
The Ontario 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 Ontario County held?
At the county jail, run by the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Ontario 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 Ontario 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.