How you can find out if you have an arrest warrant
What is an active arrest warrant?
An active arrest warrant is a document that gives law enforcement agencies the right to arrest you at any time. It can be delivered for such benign matters as unpaid speeding tickets, or items as serious as homicide. Arrest warrants are drawn up by a court of law and are generally only provided to law enforcement at the state level. That said, if a police officer recognizes you and has seen the order, you can turn it over to the department that issued the order.
How do I know if I have an arrest warrant?
Most courts do not inform the individual about the arrest warrant. This is usually done to give police officers time to locate you and make the arrest. That said, arrest warrants are a public record and are available to anyone who knows where to look. Below you’ll find a list detailing the various locations, from best to worst, where you can search.
Online databases of public records
This is easily the best option. Websites like SpyFly have access to billions of public records, at a reasonable price. All you need to do to start looking for an active arrest warrant is to type your name and select the state for which you believe the warrant was issued. The results should be relatively easy to reduce after that.
A great advantage of SpyFly is its confidentiality. You can perform a discreet arrest record search online in minutes. No government agency is informed of the search, allowing you to investigate without fear of further police efforts to arrest her. Also, SpyFly is available for use on a smartphone. This allows you to verify an arrest warrant even if you suspect that the police are waiting at your home to arrest you.
Visit an attorney
If you are prepared to pay high consultation fees, an attorney or legal office is a viable option. Almost all attorneys pay for access to some kind of legal database. They are likely to be more extensive than a public record search, but they will be able to provide you with a copy of your arrest warrant very easily.
However, if it is wrong and you do not have an arrest warrant, you are likely to run out of a considerable sum of money to find nothing and have wasted your time.
Visit a local court
Since the order must be issued by a court, the court will surely have a copy of it. Just visit the courthouse that you think drafted the arrest warrant and speak to a county clerk about the matter. They will take your information and respond to your request as soon as they can. However, be aware that many county employees are overloaded with requests and can take days or even weeks to process your inquiry. You will then have to wait several days for it to be mailed to you, at which point you will know if that court had a copy of your arrest warrant.
However, this option, while somewhat reliable, can also be somewhat dangerous. Nothing prevents the county clerk from sending a tip to law enforcement that you’ll need to check your mail soon, at which time any remotely qualified police officer can simply stake out your mailing address and wait for you to check for your arrest warrant. You may be arrested even before you know if you had a court order in the first place.
Visit a sheriff’s department
All you need to do for this is go to the police station and speak to an officer on duty. They will be able to direct you to an administrative job assigned by an officer, who will help you with your search. Any police department with your arrest warrant must have a copy at the station, and it won’t be too difficult to find.
But, you see the problem. If you are right, and the officer helping you finds your court order, they will arrest you. Right there. They may not even tell you that you were right before grabbing their handcuffs. As such, only do this if, for some reason, you really want to be arrested.
SpyFly provides consumers affordable, immediate access to public record information. Federal laws prohibit businesses from using SpyFly’s service to make decisions about employment, insurance, consumer credit, tenant screening, or for any other purpose subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq.
