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 2, 2026.
DeKalb County, Tennessee, has about 22,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for DeKalb County comes from a judge of the DeKalb County Circuit and Chancery Courts or the General Sessions Court, 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: DeKalb County public records, DeKalb County arrest records, DeKalb County inmate search, DeKalb County criminal records, DeKalb County court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in DeKalb County
In Tennessee an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For DeKalb County that means the DeKalb County Circuit and Chancery Courts, which hear felonies in the Circuit or Criminal Court, civil cases in either court, and divorces in either; the General Sessions Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings, issues its own warrants on the cases before it. A city with a municipal court of its own issues warrants on the tickets and ordinance cases it tries.
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 Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master.
For DeKalb County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at dekalbtennessee.com/courts-and-dockets.html (page title: Courts and Dockets), phone 615-597-5175, Monday - Friday -- 8:00am - 4:30pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
Tennessee has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
Who Serves Warrants in DeKalb County
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Smithville and Alexandria serve warrants in DeKalb County.
The agency that serves a warrant from DeKalb County is whichever one finds the person; a Tennessee warrant is valid across Tennessee.
Together, the two agencies in DeKalb County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 864 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in DeKalb County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from DeKalb 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 DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, held about 44 people on an average day in 2024 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at dekalbsheriff.com. The DeKalb County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County
Whether a warrant is out from DeKalb County shows in three places:
- The court file of the case, through the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master at 615-597-5175, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- The District Attorney General, which can say whether charges were filed; a warrant on a complaint follows the filing.
- The page of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified at dekalbsheriff.com, which is a warrant or wanted list.
Not one of the DeKalb County pages SearchSystems verified (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 DeKalb County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from DeKalb County that means appearing before the DeKalb County Circuit and Chancery Courts or the General Sessions Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master.
A missed date in a case before the General Sessions Court is handled by that court, not by the DeKalb County Circuit and Chancery Courts.
A lawyer can often arrange the appearance in advance. The District Attorney General's page SearchSystems verified is at dekalbda.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in DeKalb County?
Not from the DeKalb County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master at 615-597-5175.
Who serves warrants in DeKalb County?
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a Tennessee warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in DeKalb County held?
At the county jail, run by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from DeKalb 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 Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master at 615-597-5175.
Is this the official DeKalb 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.