Search Yakima County Warrants

Active Warrants in Yakima County

Warrants in Yakima County come from more than one court. Yakima County District Court, the city Municipal Courts, and Yakima County Superior Court can all issue them. District Court issues bench warrants, often after a person fails to appear or fails to comply. The Clerk of Superior Court issues warrants of arrest in felony criminal cases, plus warrants for failure to comply with a court order in civil and domestic matters. So an open warrant could trace back to a ticket, a felony case, or an unpaid court obligation.

Yakima County does not publish one combined public list of all active warrants. The county's official text does not show a countywide active-warrant database. For District Court and the linked Municipal Courts, the official tool is the Warrant Recall Program. For state corrections warrants, the Washington Department of Corrections runs its own search. A warrant stays active until a judge clears it, which is the single most important rule to remember.

The Clerk's role matters here too. When a court issues a warrant, the Clerk of Superior Court sends copies of orders to sheriffs, jails, the Department of Corrections, the Washington State Patrol, prosecutors, and public defenders. That is how an arrest warrant reaches the agencies that act on it. So a warrant is not just a piece of paper in one office. It is shared with the agencies that can serve it, which is why an open warrant can surface at a routine traffic stop.

Types of Warrants in Yakima County

Not all warrants work the same way. The court that issued the order and the reason behind it both matter. Knowing the type helps you find the right office to fix it.

• Bench warrant - issued by a judge, often after a missed court date, a failure to comply, unpaid obligations, or a probation problem. District Court's recall program covers these.
• Arrest warrant - issued in criminal cases. The Clerk of Superior Court issues warrants of arrest for felony matters.
• Failure to comply warrant - issued in civil or domestic cases where a court order is not followed.
• DOC secretary's warrant - issued for people under Department of Corrections supervision, searchable through the state DOC warrant tool.
• Sealed warrant - may not show publicly until it is served or unsealed.
• Juvenile warrant - access is restricted under juvenile rules and statutes.

The Yakima County District Court Warrant Recall Program

This program is the county's main route for clearing a District Court warrant. It applies to defendants with an outstanding bench warrant in Yakima County District Court, Union Gap Municipal Court, or Grandview Municipal Court. Those defendants can file a motion to have the warrant quashed. They can also appear on a walk-in warrant recall calendar to ask a judge to quash the warrant and set a new court date.

Two details make this program friendlier than people expect. If the warrant carries a warrant fee, the person does not have to pay that fee to get the case scheduled on the recall calendar. The person also does not have to post a bail bond to be scheduled. The Clerk calendars the case, but here is the catch: the warrant stays active until the judge grants the request.

You can read the official details on the Yakima County Warrant Recall Program page.

That page is the place to confirm the walk-in calendar location before you go. The table below lays out the recall steps and what each one requires.

Note: Being calendared is not the same as being cleared, since the warrant stays in force until a judge signs the order to quash it.

Superior Court and Felony Warrants

Felony warrants follow a different path. The Clerk of Superior Court issues warrants of arrest in felony criminal cases and sends copies of court orders to sheriffs, jails, the Department of Corrections, the Washington State Patrol, prosecutors, and public defenders. These warrants are tied to the more serious cases, and the District Court recall calendar does not control them.

For a Superior Court felony warrant, the smart move is to contact an attorney or the Clerk or court before acting. Warrant recall rules differ at this level, and the stakes are higher. The full court file behind a felony warrant is searched through the case tools described on the Yakima County court records page.

Washington DOC Secretary's Warrants

Some warrants do not come from a county court at all. The Washington Department of Corrections issues secretary's warrants for people under state supervision. The DOC publishes information about individuals with an outstanding secretary's warrant, and its search can be run by name, DOC number, crime, or county. For Yakima cases, set the county field to Yakima.

You can use the official tool on the Washington DOC warrant search page.

The DOC tool is separate from any county court calendar, and a local court recall will not resolve a DOC custody warrant. The search fields are shown below.

How to Search Yakima County Warrants

There is no one button that returns every Yakima County warrant. The search depends on the issuing court. Court papers usually name the court and case. From there, the state court tools and the recall program point you to the rest.

1. Find the court that issued the warrant using your court papers, the Washington Courts case search, or Find My Court Date.
2. For a District or Municipal Court warrant, open the District Court Warrant Recall Program.
3. For a state supervision warrant, run a name or DOC number search on the Washington DOC warrant tool.
4. For a felony warrant, contact the Clerk of Superior Court, the court, or an attorney.

If you cannot tell which court is involved, calling the court named on your paperwork is the fastest fix. The county does not post a single public warrant roster, so chasing one online wastes time.

How to Resolve an Outstanding Warrant

Clearing a warrant takes a few ordered steps. Acting fast helps, since an open warrant can lead to arrest at any traffic stop or contact with police. Follow the steps in order and confirm each one before you move on.

1. Identify the court that issued the warrant. Use court papers, the Washington Courts case search, Find My Court Date, or a call to the court.
2. If the warrant is from Yakima County District Court, Union Gap Municipal Court, or Grandview Municipal Court, review the District Court Warrant Recall Program.
3. File a motion or appear on the walk-in warrant recall calendar in Yakima or Grandview.
4. Do not assume the warrant is cleared just because you appeared or filed. It stays active until the judge grants the request.
5. Confirm the new court date before you leave, and update your mailing address and contact information with the court.
6. For a Superior Court felony warrant, contact an attorney or the Clerk and court, since recall rules differ.
7. For a DOC secretary's warrant, use the DOC warrant search and contact DOC or community corrections.

Restricted Yakima County Warrant Records

Some warrants are not public. A sealed warrant may not appear in any public system until it is served or a court unseals it. Juvenile warrants carry their own access limits under juvenile rules and statutes, so they are not openly searchable. Federal warrants are not handled by the county at all.

Because the county does not publish a single open-warrant list, the absence of a name in any one tool does not prove there is no warrant. The reliable answer comes from the court of record. When in doubt, ask the issuing court or speak with counsel before relying on a search result.

One more limit is worth knowing. The Washington Courts case search and similar tools point to the official record but may not show every docket, judgment, or document link correctly. The system does not confirm identity, and data can lag. So a clean search is reassuring but not proof. To be sure a warrant is cleared, get confirmation from the issuing court after a judge has acted, not just from an online lookup.

Related Searches

If a person has already been booked, use Yakima County inmate records to confirm custody. For the underlying charges behind a warrant, see arrest records. For the full case file and dispositions, see court records. Many bench warrants start with an unpaid ticket, so the traffic court records page covers how a missed citation can lead to a warrant.