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 September 28, 2026.
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, has about 1.6 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Philadelphia County comes from a judge of the Philadelphia 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: Philadelphia County public records, Philadelphia County arrest records, Philadelphia County inmate search, Philadelphia County criminal records, Philadelphia County court records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Philadelphia County
In Pennsylvania an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Philadelphia County that means the Philadelphia 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.
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 Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.phila.gov (page title: The Philadelphia Courts | First Judicial District of Pennsylvania), phone 215 686-7000, 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 Philadelphia County
The agency that reports for Philadelphia serves warrants in Philadelphia County.
The FBI's agency list also places three campus police departments, one state police unit and three state agencies in Philadelphia County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Philadelphia County is whichever one finds the person; a Pennsylvania warrant is valid across Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia reported 35,097 arrests to the FBI for 2025; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Philadelphia County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Philadelphia 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 held about 4,650 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at incarceratedperson-locator.phila.gov. The Philadelphia County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia County
Whether a warrant is out from Philadelphia 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 at 215 686-7000, 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 (215) 686-8000, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The custody page of the sheriff's office at incarceratedperson-locator.phila.gov, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Philadelphia County that means appearing before the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas or the Magisterial District Courts, with the case put back on the calendar through the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases.
A missed date in a case before the Magisterial District Courts is handled by that court, not by the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at phila.gov, phone (215) 686-8000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Philadelphia County?
Not from the Philadelphia 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 215 686-7000.
Who serves warrants in Philadelphia County?
The police agency that finds the person; a Pennsylvania warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Philadelphia County held?
At the county jail, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Philadelphia 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 215 686-7000.
Is this the official Philadelphia 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.