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.
Pierce County, Washington, has about 941,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Pierce County comes from a judge of the Pierce County Superior Court or the 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: Pierce County public records, Pierce County arrest records, Pierce County inmate search, Pierce County criminal records, Pierce County court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Pierce County
In Washington an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Pierce County that means the Pierce County Superior Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $100,000, divorces, probate and juvenile matters; the District Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic infractions, small claims and civil cases up to $100,000, 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.
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 County Clerk keeps that file.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at piercecountywa.gov/789/LINX-Online-Case-Information (page title: LINX Online Case Information | Pierce County, WA), 930 Tacoma Ave S, Rm 239 Tacoma WA 98402, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 429), so open it in a browser.
Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
Who Serves Warrants in Pierce County
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, Bonney Lake, Edgewood and 12 more cities serve warrants in Pierce County.
The Auburn Police Department and the Pacific Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Pierce County, so their arrests are not broken out for Pierce County here.
The agency that serves a warrant from Pierce County is whichever one finds the person; a Washington warrant is valid across Washington.
Together, the 18 agencies in Pierce County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 15,004 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Pierce County arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Pierce 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 Pierce County Sheriff's Office, held about 770 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us/linxweb/Booking/GetJailRoster.cfm. The Pierce County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
A person arrested in Pierce 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 Pierce County
The places to check for a warrant from Pierce County:
- Washington Courts Search Case Records, the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
- The custody page of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office at linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us, which shows people already arrested and booked, not open warrants.
The one Pierce County page SearchSystems verified, the sheriff's, is not a list of open warrants.
Clearing a Warrant from Pierce County
Only the judge who issued a warrant can recall it. For a case from Pierce County that means appearing before the Pierce County Superior Court or the District Court, with the case put back on the calendar through the County Clerk.
A missed date in a case before the District Court is handled by that court, not by the Pierce County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Pierce County?
Not from the Pierce County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search, and a case whose register of actions shows a warrant is the record of it. The court that issued it keeps the record; ask the County Clerk.
Who serves warrants in Pierce County?
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office, and the agency that reports for the city where the person is found; a Washington warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Pierce County held?
At the county jail, run by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
How is a warrant from Pierce 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 County Clerk.
Is this the official Pierce 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.