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.
Pennington County, South Dakota, has about 116,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Pennington County comes from a judge of the Circuit Court for Pennington 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: Pennington County public records, Pennington County arrest records, Pennington County inmate search, Pennington County criminal records, Pennington County court records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Pennington County
In South Dakota an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Pennington County that means the Circuit Court for Pennington County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, with magistrate judges taking misdemeanors, traffic and small claims.
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 Clerk of Courts keeps that file.
For Pennington County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at dakotaathome.sd.gov/search/aeeb2f90-ffec-5ff2-9397-81ed6c86f875 (page title: Pennington County Clerk of Courts | South Dakota Unified Judicial System | Clerk of Courts), phone 605-394-2575, 315 St. Joseph Street, Suite 5, Rapid City, SD 57709, 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 Pennington County
The Pennington County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Rapid City and Box Elder serve warrants in Pennington County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Pennington County: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (campus police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Pennington County is whichever one finds the person; an South Dakota warrant is valid across South Dakota.
Together, the three agencies in Pennington County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,741 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Pennington County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Pennington 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 Pennington County Sheriff's Office, held about 630 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at pennco.org/law_public_safety/jail/current_inmates.php. The Pennington County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Pennington 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 Pennington County
The places to check for a warrant from Pennington County:
- The court file of the case, through the Clerk of Courts at 605-394-2575, 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 custody page of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office at pennco.org, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Pennington County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's and the court'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 Pennington County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Pennington County that means appearing before the Circuit Court for Pennington County, with the case put back on the calendar through the Clerk of Courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Pennington County?
Not from the Pennington 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 605-394-2575.
Who serves warrants in Pennington County?
The Pennington County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; an South Dakota warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Pennington County held?
At the county jail, run by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Pennington 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 Clerk of Courts at 605-394-2575.
Is this the official Pennington 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.