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 24, 2026.
Alleghany County, Virginia, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Alleghany County comes from a judge of the Alleghany Circuit Court or the General District 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: Alleghany County public records, Alleghany County arrest records, Alleghany County inmate search, Alleghany County criminal records, Alleghany County court records, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Alleghany County
In Virginia an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Alleghany County that means the Alleghany Circuit Court, which hears felonies, divorces, the larger civil cases and appeals from the district courts; the General District Court issues its own warrants on the cases before it.
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.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at co.alleghany.va.us/courts (page title: Courts | Alleghany County, Virginia), phone (540) 965-1720, 9212 Winterberry Avenue Covington, VA 24426, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Alleghany County
The Alleghany County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Clifton Forge serve warrants in Alleghany County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Alleghany County: the Alleghany County State Police (state police); it serves warrants on its own ground.
The agency that serves a warrant from Alleghany County is whichever one finds the person; a Virginia warrant is valid across Virginia.
Together, the two agencies in Alleghany County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 210 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Alleghany County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Alleghany 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 Alleghany County Sheriff's Office, held about 82 people on an average day in 2025 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at alleghanycountysheriff.com/inmate-information, phone 540-965-1770. The Alleghany County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Alleghany 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 Alleghany County
The places to check for a warrant from Alleghany County:
- The court file of the case, through the Circuit Court Clerk at (540) 965-1720, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- Online Case Information System, the Virginia courts' free statewide case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The custody page of the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office at alleghanycountysheriff.com/inmate-information, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
Not one of the Alleghany County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's, the court'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.
The statewide criminal history kept by the Virginia State Police is not open to the public in Virginia, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Alleghany County
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Alleghany County starts with the Circuit Court Clerk at (540) 965-1720: 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 General District Court is handled by that court, not by the Alleghany Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Alleghany County?
Not from the Alleghany County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case 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 Circuit Court Clerk at (540) 965-1720.
Who serves warrants in Alleghany County?
The Alleghany County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a Virginia warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Alleghany County held?
At the county jail, run by the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Alleghany 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 at (540) 965-1720.
Is this the official Alleghany 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.