Active Warrants in Monroe County
Warrants in Monroe County are issued by a court and enforced by law enforcement. A Supreme, County, City, town, or village court can sign a warrant. The Monroe County Sheriff and the Rochester Police Department, along with town and village police, carry them out. There is no county-run public list of open warrants. State and county officials do not publish a warrant lookup that returns active warrants by name.
That means an open warrant usually becomes public only once it leads somewhere. After an arrest, the matter can appear as a pending criminal case in the state system, and the custody can show on the Monroe County Jail census with a court, judge, and charge. Before that point, the safest way to learn about a warrant is to ask the court or a lawyer, not a website. Third-party warrant sites are not official and should not be trusted.
It helps to picture the warrant's path. A judge signs the order. Law enforcement holds it until the person is found or surrenders. The case file may carry the warrant under seal. Only when an arrest follows does the public record catch up, through the criminal case system or the jail. So a quiet public record does not prove there is no warrant, and a person can carry an open warrant for a long time without it showing online.
Types of Warrants in Monroe County
Not all warrants are the same. Some start a criminal case. Others punish a missed court date. A few are tied to supervision or to another state. Knowing the type helps you understand how serious it is and how to clear it.
- Arrest warrant - issued on probable cause or an accusatory instrument to take a person into custody.
- Bench warrant - issued by a judge when a person fails to appear or violates a court order.
- Search warrant - authorizes a search or seizure and is often sealed while an investigation is active.
- Violation, probation, or parole warrant - a supervision-related hold that can keep a person in custody.
- Fugitive or extradition warrant - an out-of-jurisdiction hold for a case in another state.
Which Courts Issue Monroe County Warrants
The court that issues a warrant depends on the case. Felony matters move through County Court, which sits at the Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard. Misdemeanors, violations, and many local matters run through Rochester City Court or a town or village justice court. A bench warrant comes from whatever court the person was supposed to appear in. So a warrant tied to a Rochester case is a City Court matter, while a warrant from a town case belongs to that town's justice court.
This split matters when you try to clear a warrant. You contact the court that issued it, not a central office. The Monroe County District Attorney prosecutes the underlying crimes through its bureaus, and its Local Courts Bureau alone handles more than 29,000 cases a year across the county's town, village, and city courts. Knowing the right court saves time and trips.
- Bench warrant
- Ordered by a judge after a missed appearance or a broken court condition.
- Arrest warrant
- Authorizes police to take a named person into custody on probable cause.
- Recall or quash
- A court action that cancels or voids a warrant, often sought by counsel.
- Recognizance
- Release on a promise to return, without posting money.
How to Check for a Monroe County Warrant
Because there is no warrant database, you check the systems that show a case once it is active. The state WebCriminal portal lists pending criminal matters by name. The jail census shows custody after an arrest. The court that may have issued the warrant can confirm a court date. Counsel can check on your behalf, which is the safest route if you think a warrant exists.
- Search the defendant's name in WebCriminal to see any pending criminal case and its court.
- If the person was arrested, scan the Monroe County Jail roster and census for custody, charge, and court date.
- Contact the court that likely issued the warrant, or have an attorney contact it.
- Do not rely on third-party warrant lookup sites, which are not official and may be wrong.
For someone already booked, the jail census is the most useful single record. It pulls custody, charge, bail, judge, and court date into one line. Use the inmate records page for help reading it.
WebCriminal Search Fields
WebCriminal is the closest thing to a name-based search for pending matters. It is a free statewide tool. The field set is small, and a name search needs only the first couple of letters. The table below lists the main fields.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Conditional | At least the first two characters |
| Last Name | Text | Conditional | At least the first two characters |
| Corporation Name | Text | Conditional | Alternative to a person name; first five characters |
| Court | Select | Optional | Search all courts or narrow to one |
| Display Results | Radio | Yes | On the page or as a PDF |
WebCriminal shows pending cases, not sealed matters and not the warrant document itself. A hit confirms a case exists and names the court, which is the lead you follow.
What a Warrant-Related Custody Record Shows
Once an arrest happens on a warrant, the jail census carries the useful fields. It does not label a line as a warrant, but the custody type, court, and charge data tell the story. The table below shows the fields to read.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| JID / Name | Identifies the person in custody |
| Court / Judge / Court Date | The court handling the matter and the next date |
| Bail / Bond | Release conditions, if any are set |
| Charge Code / Description | The underlying charge or hold |
| Custody / Arrest Type | May signal a warrant, order, commitment, or parole context |
So the census becomes a stand-in record once a warrant has been served. It will not show a warrant that has not yet led to an arrest.
What to Do If You Have an Outstanding Warrant
If you think there is a warrant in your name, do not guess and do not go off a website. Talk to a lawyer first. Counsel can confirm the warrant, ask the court to recall or quash it, arrange an arraignment, or seek to restore the case to the calendar. If the warrant is for a missed date, fixing the appearance is often the core problem to solve. Pay or post bond only through the official court or jail, never through a private site.
Important: Speak with an attorney before you turn yourself in, so your court date, charges, and release options are handled the right way.
Monroe County has a Public Defender, a Conflict Defender, and an Assigned Counsel Program for people who cannot afford a lawyer. The home page and FAQ point to those offices.
Bail, Bond, and the Monroe County Jail
After an arrest on a warrant, a person is booked into the Monroe County Jail at 130 South Plymouth Avenue in Rochester. Arraignment follows, where a judge addresses charges and release. If bail or bond is set, the census shows the amount beside the case line. From there, the case moves to the court that handles it, County Court for felonies or a local court for lower matters. Bail can be posted at the jail or court through official channels, and a surety bond runs through a licensed bondsman. Never send money to a site that claims it can clear a warrant for a fee.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office
130 South Plymouth Ave.
Rochester, NY 14614
585-753-4178
Fax: 585-753-4524
Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00
Restricted Monroe County Warrant Records
Some warrants are not public at all. Search warrants are commonly sealed while an investigation is open, so the target may not see them until much later. Juvenile matters in Family Court are limited by Family Court Act 166 and related sealing rules. Federal warrants from the Western District of New York follow their own rules and are not part of any county system. A sealed or pending matter will not appear in WebCriminal.
This is also why no honest service can promise a complete warrant list. Active law enforcement records are protected, and a public list of open warrants would tip off the people being sought. So the absence of a public database is by design, not an oversight.
Can a third-party site tell me if I have a warrant? No reliable one can. Those sites scrape old data and often charge for guesses. The only trustworthy answers come from the court, the Sheriff, or an attorney acting for you. Treat any site that promises an instant warrant check with suspicion.