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 9, 2026.
Adams County, Pennsylvania, has about 108,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Adams County comes from a judge of the Adams County Court of Common Pleas or the Magisterial District 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: Adams County public records, Adams County arrest records, Adams County inmate search, Adams County criminal records, Adams County court records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Adams County
In Pennsylvania an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Adams County that means the Adams County Court of Common Pleas, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, estates and juvenile matters; the Magisterial District Courts 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 Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases keep that file.
For Adams County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at adamscountypa.gov/departments/clerkoforphanscourt/case-search (page title: Adams County | Case Search), phone 724-656-3100, 350 North Street Harrisburg PA 17120, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
Who Serves Warrants in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Gettysburg, Littlestown, Carroll Valley, McSherrystown, Bonneauville, East Berlin and two more cities serve warrants in Adams County.
The FBI's agency list also places two state agencies, three other agencies and one state police unit in Adams County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
A warrant issued in Adams County is good anywhere in Pennsylvania, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Together, the 13 agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 656 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Adams County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Adams 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 Adams County Sheriff's Office, held about 210 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at adamscosheriff.net/portal/Jail?hours=24. The Adams County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Adams 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 Adams County
Whether a warrant is out from Adams County shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases at 724-656-3100, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- UJS Web Portal, the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The District Attorney, phone 717-337-9840, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Adams 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 Adams County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Adams County starts with the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases at 724-656-3100: 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 Magisterial District Courts is handled by that court, not by the Adams County Court of Common Pleas.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at adamscountypa.gov, phone 717-337-9840.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Adams County?
Not from the Adams County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search, 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 Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases at 724-656-3100.
Who serves warrants in Adams County?
The Adams County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a Pennsylvania warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Adams County held?
At the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Adams 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 Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases at 724-656-3100.
Is this the official Adams 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.