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 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Sturgis, South Dakota, in Meade County, has about 7,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Sturgis comes from a judge of the Circuit Court for Meade County, 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: Sturgis public records, Meade County warrants, Sturgis arrest records, Sturgis inmate search, Sturgis criminal records, Sturgis court records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Sturgis
In South Dakota an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Sturgis that means the Circuit Court for Meade County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, with magistrate judges taking misdemeanors, traffic and small claims.
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 Clerk of Courts.
For Meade County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at dakotaathome.sd.gov/search/794ef29f-9e31-544e-adc9-d7313c36c767 (page title: Meade County Clerk of Courts | South Dakota Unified Judicial System | Clerk of Courts), phone 605-347-4411, 1425 Sherman Street, Sturgis, SD 57785, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
Who Serves Warrants in Sturgis
The Meade County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Sturgis (filed by the FBI as Sturgis Police Department) serve warrants in and around Sturgis.
The Box Elder Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Meade County, so its arrests are not broken out for Meade County here.
The agency that serves a warrant from Meade County is whichever one finds the person; an South Dakota warrant is valid across South Dakota.
Together, the three agencies in Meade County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 875 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Sturgis arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Sturgis 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 Meade County Sheriff's Office, held about 37 people on an average day in 2019 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at meadecounty.org/sheriffs-office, phone 605.347.2681. The Sturgis inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Sturgis on a warrant from another county is held at the same jail until that county takes custody.
How to Check for a Warrant in Sturgis
Whether a warrant is out from Sturgis shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of Courts at 605-347-4411, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- UJS Public Access Record Search, the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The State's Attorney, phone 605.347.4491, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
Not one of the Meade 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.
The statewide criminal history kept by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is not open to the public in South Dakota, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Sturgis
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Sturgis that means appearing before the Circuit Court for Meade County, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of Courts.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at meadecounty.org/states-attorney, phone 605.347.4491.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Sturgis?
Not from the Meade County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name, 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 Clerk of Courts at 605-347-4411.
Who serves warrants in Sturgis?
The agency that reports for Sturgis inside the city and the Meade County Sheriff's Office outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; an South Dakota warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Sturgis held?
At the county jail, run by the Meade County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Sturgis 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 Clerk of Courts at 605-347-4411.
Is this the official Sturgis website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.