Complete a Free Maricopa County Warrant Search on Anybody

Perform a free Maricopa County warrant search today to find out if you or someone you know has an active summons.

A warrant is a legal order granting courts and law enforcement agencies the authority to arrest a person or conduct a search. When searching for warrant details, it’s important to know which court or agency issued it.

Generally, information in a warrant can be researched for free through online databases. You can use these tools to learn about outstanding warrants; check out the links and guidance throughout this step-by-step resource to do so efficiently.

Execute a Free Maricopa County Warrant Search (A Synopsis)

Citizens have certain rights with respect to public records. In Arizona, under ARS 39-121, public records are open to inspection by any person during government office hours.¹ Government offices are described as “public bodies”, and they are required to maintain all records created during the course of normal operations.

The state statutes do not provide exemptions to the public records law. However, exemptions have been established through Arizona case law. The Arizona Attorney General Agency Handbook highlights the case laws pertaining to public records.²

The laws exempt public records that involve privacy interests and allow public bodies to restrict access to records based upon the best interests of the state. These are broad, sweeping exemptions, and many government offices may be able to successfully argue that some public records fall within these exemptions. Nonetheless, government offices have a duty to redact any exempted information from a public record and disclose the permitted portions.

Because many warrants involve the arrest of an individual, and the state would have an interest in arresting certain people, some likely fall into an exemption. This is especially true for search warrants, where law enforcement agencies execute them for the purpose of furthering a criminal investigation. If a search warrant were to be made public before it is executed, a suspect may be able to destroy the evidence that is the subject of the search.

This would likely be in the best interest of the state of Arizona and its law enforcement agencies.

On the other hand, if an arrest warrant is made public, it may not violate the open records law. After all, individuals should know if law enforcement or a court is looking to bring them in. Courts may look to bring an individual in for missing a court date or forgetting to pay a fine.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the Superior Court is where you can find this information.

Some municipal courts even post active warrant lists that display the names and cases of individuals who have missed court dates or failed to pay a fine. It is common for law enforcement agencies to post online most wanted lists that show individuals with outstanding arrest warrants for committing crimes.

Regardless of the reason for the warrant, when you are performing a search it is important to know some information first. It is imperative that you know, at a minimum, the full name of the person you are searching and the county where the incident took place. You should also know whether it is a court that issued a warrant or a police agency.

Warrants have different records custodians, so you should know which one to search before you begin. Custodians are on the state, county, and municipal level. Find out how you can perform a warrant search in Maricopa County below.

How To Tell if Someone Has a Warrant in Maricopa County Arizona

When you want to find out if someone has a warrant in Maricopa County, you should start with one of the county record custodians.

The Maricopa County Superior Court is responsible for maintaining felony criminal case records. If a person misses a court appearance, the court issues a bench warrant. This is a type of arrest warrant.

To find out if you or someone you know has a bench warrant out for their arrest from the Maricopa County Superior Court, they may call or email the Criminal Department at 602.506.8575 or [email protected].

Alternatively, interested persons may search the criminal court case information tool.³ This is an online criminal case search that anyone can use at no cost. Users can search by full name, or initials and date of birth, or by case number.

When the search yields results, users can click on a case number to view additional information. Under the ‘Disposition Information’ heading is the charge description. Contact the court for more information concerning bench warrants or criminal case records.

Maricopa County Superior Court
201 West Jefferson St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85003

Phone: 602.506.3204

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is the county-wide law enforcement agency.⁵ They issue their own warrants during the course of law enforcement duties and also provide warrant execution on behalf of the county courts.

The sheriff’s office provides the public with a free online warrant lookup.⁶ If a person has an active warrant in Maricopa County, they will be found in this database. Although the sheriff’s office maintains the database, it includes warrants issued by all of the local agencies with the authority to issue them.

This includes city and town police departments, as well as school police departments, corrections departments, and regional federal agency offices. The warrant lookup is a name-based search tool. Users are required to enter the first and last name of a person for the search to yield results.

The maximum number of results is 50. Results are listed from the most recent warrant issued to the last. The results page will show users the date of the warrant, but to find out the offense, you must click on ‘More Details’. This will display the offense, warrant number, and issuing agency.

Interested persons may also check for Maricopa County’s most wanted fugitives.⁷ Click the picture of a most wanted fugitive to discover the reason for the outstanding warrant and physical descriptions. For more information, contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
550 W. Jackson
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Phone: 602.876.1000

How Do I See Warrants Throughout the Entire State of Arizona?

The Arizona Judicial Branch allows members of the public to look up warrants statewide at no cost.⁸ Interested parties can search by desktop computer or by phone. The Public Access to Court Information platform compiles all court cases into a single database.

You can search by name or by case number. When searching by name you must enter a person’s complete last name for the search to yield results.

After results are generated, click on the case number to view the warrant and charge information. This will be located under ‘Citation’ and ‘Description’.

Contact the Arizona Judicial Branch for more information.

Arizona Judicial Branch
Arizona Supreme Court
1501 West Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Phone: 602.452.3300

What Types of Warrants Are There & What Does Each Mean?

Warrants in Arizona may come in many different names but they all have the same two functions.¹⁰ Warrants are issued to arrest a person or to perform a search of some place, person, or thing. Find out what the different warrants are below and what they mean in Arizona.

Arrest Warrants: A legal order issued by a law enforcement agency for the purpose of arresting a person who is alleged to have violated the Arizona criminal statutes.

Bench Warrants: Issued when a defendant in a criminal case does not appear for their scheduled court hearing without justification.

Probation & Parole Violation Warrants: An order generated by a probation and parole board when a defendant fails to comply with the terms of their release from incarceration or probation.

Traffic Warrants: Citations issued by Arizona law enforcement officers who observe drivers that violate state traffic laws.

Child Support Warrants: Issued by family courts when a parent fails to pay court ordered child support payments. These parents are called child support evaders in Arizona.

Capias & Capias Pro Fine Warrants: Civil warrants issued when a person fails to pay a court ordered fine.

Fugitive Warrants: Issued by law enforcement agencies when an inmate breaks out of prison, or when a suspect evades capture after being charged with committing a crime.

Search Warrants: A legal order issued by law enforcement that grants the authority to search something for evidence linked to a criminal investigation.

How Do I Resolve a Warrant in Maricopa County?

When you want to resolve a warrant in Maricopa County there are several avenues you can take. If someone you know has a warrant, you may elect to inform them or notify a law enforcement tip line.¹¹

Tip lines are available if you have information about a wanted person, especially if they are a fugitive. Always ensure your own safety before speaking to someone who may have a warrant out for their arrest.

If you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you may be able to get it quashed by reaching out to the appropriate court. If a court issued the warrant for a failure to appear, you may be able to get a new court date. If the bench warrant was issued for a minor offense, sometimes you can pay a fine without any further consequence.

For more serious offenses, consider discussing your options with legal counsel. They could help you turn yourself in and secure a bond so you are released from jail pending a resolution of the criminal case.

A Maricopa County warrant search is available to you today when you follow the instructions provided by this resource; a warrant is a serious matter, and if you believe you or someone you know has one in Maricopa County, find out for sure and act accordingly.