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.
Centre County, Pennsylvania, has about 160,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Centre County comes from a judge of the Centre 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: Centre County public records, Centre County arrest records, Centre County inmate search, Centre County criminal records, Centre County court records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Centre County
In Pennsylvania an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Centre County that means the Centre 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 Centre County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at civil.centrecountypa.gov/courts.civil.portal/CaseSearch (page title: Case Search | County Suite Portal), 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 Centre County
The Centre County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for State College and Bellefonte serve warrants in Centre County.
The FBI's agency list also places one campus police department, four state agencies and one state police unit in Centre County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
A warrant issued in Centre 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 four agencies in Centre County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 518 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Centre County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Centre 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 Centre County Sheriff's Office, held about 190 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at centrecountypa.gov/232/Inmate-Listing. The Centre County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Centre 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 Centre County
Whether a warrant is out from Centre County shows in four places:
- The court file of the case, through the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases, 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 (814) 355-6735, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the Centre County Sheriff's Office at centrecountypa.gov/232/Inmate-Listing, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Centre 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 Centre County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Centre County starts with the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases: 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 Centre County Court of Common Pleas.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at centrecountypa.gov/366/District-Attorney, phone (814) 355-6735.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Centre County?
Not from the Centre 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.
Who serves warrants in Centre County?
The Centre 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 Centre County held?
At the county jail, run by the Centre County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Centre 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.
Is this the official Centre 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.