How Do I Check for a Warrant in
Miami-Dade County?
A warrant generally stays active until the person is arrested, surrenders, or a judge recalls it, and asking the wrong way can lead to an arrest. This guide covers the official places to check, what the results mean, and what to do before anyone is taken into custody.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Checking Is Lawful, Asking in Person Is Risky
Looking up a warrant is legal, and the official tools below are open to the public. A Florida warrant generally stays active until the person is arrested, surrenders, or a judge recalls it, however long that takes.
Walking into a police station or the Sheriff's Office to ask can end in an arrest if a warrant exists. A lawyer can check for you and plan the next step. The first consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation to retain.
Online results can be incomplete or out of date. Confirm any result with the office before you act. This guide is general information, not legal advice about your case.
What to Do If You Think There Is a Warrant
Start with a call, and keep the visit to an office for last.
Your Warrant Checklist
In this order
- Write down the full legal name, the date of birth, and any case number or court date involved
- Run the free State and Clerk searches below, or ask your lawyer to run them
- Keep away from police stations and the Sheriff's Office until your lawyer has checked
- Plan any surrender with your lawyer, with bond arranged in advance where the warrant allows it
After booking, our Miami-Dade Jail Guide explains how release works, and our Diversion Programs guide covers options to ask about early. If you are not a U.S. citizen, read our immigration guide before any surrender, because a federal immigration detainer can affect release.
Which Place Answers Which Question
Each tool covers one piece of the picture. A lawyer can check all of them for you.
Numbers to Know
Every number comes from a County office's own page, except our office line.
The Official Places to Check
Start with the free online tools. A lawyer can check all of them without anyone walking into an office.
State of Florida: Wanted Persons Search
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
- Enter at least the last two characters of the last name
- Add a date of birth or an age, but not both
- FDLE says wanted persons sometimes use false identification, so a result can carry another person's name or birth date
Miami-Dade Clerk: Criminal Justice Online Case Search
Court records for felony and misdemeanor cases
- Search by defendant name, case number, state case number, citation or police number, or jail number
- The First Appearance Calendar and the judge hearing calendars are searchable
- Registering or logging in avoids the captcha and the search limits
Open the Clerk's criminal court page. The Clerk's office is at 20 NW 1st Avenue, Miami, and its phone is 305-275-1155.
Sheriff's Office Warrants Bureau
Part of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
- Address: 9105 NW 25th Street, Doral, FL 33172
- Sheriff's Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sheriff's Office non-emergency line: 305-743-7433, 305-SHERIFF
- Ask the operator for the Warrants Bureau when you call
Read the Warrants Bureau page and the Sheriff's contact page.
Jail: Is the person already in custody?
Miami-Dade Corrections in-custody search
- The County's Inmate In-Custody Search shows location, charges, and bond amount
- The TGK Information Desk, 786-263-5550, helps with location and bond information
Open the County search. See our Miami-Dade Jail Guide for the rest.
Broward County and Federal Warrants
Other counties and federal courts keep their own warrant records.
Broward County
Jails run by the Broward Sheriff's Office
- The Broward Sheriff's Office runs its own arrest search
- Broward courts keep their own case records
Open the Broward Sheriff arrest search. See our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense page.
Federal Warrants
Issued by federal courts
- Federal court records are kept apart from the County and state tools above
- A federal criminal defense lawyer can check federal court records and contact the U.S. Attorney's Office
See our Federal Crimes page.
Warrant, Capias, or Bench Warrant
A warrant that has not been served is also called an active or outstanding warrant. The names for the orders vary, and each one lets law enforcement take a person into custody.
Arrest Warrant
A judge issues it after finding probable cause, under section 901.02. It names the person, describes the offense, and commands the arrest. For offenses with a right to bail, it also sets the bail amount or other conditions of release, under Rule 3.121.
Capias
A court order to arrest a person. A judge must issue one after a charge is filed if the person is not in custody or on bail, under Rule 3.131. The court can also issue one to bring a defendant who is not in custody before it for adjudication or sentencing, under Rule 3.730.
Bench Warrant
Many people use this term for the order a judge issues when someone misses court or breaks a court order. The Florida rules call these orders arrest warrants and capiases, and a missed notice to appear leads to an arrest warrant under Rule 3.125.
Situations People Ask About
Each one starts with a call to a lawyer.
A Missed Court Date
A missed date can lead to a capias or an arrest warrant, and it can change the bond. After a willful, knowing failure to appear that breaches a bond, a defendant who surrenders loses eligibility for a recognizance bond, under Rule 3.131(d). A lawyer can ask the judge to recall the warrant and set a new date.
An Old Warrant
A Florida warrant generally stays active however many years pass. A lawyer reviews the old case file, the charge, and the options before anyone contacts an agency.
A Warrant From Another County
The State search covers every Florida county, so one search shows warrants reported from any of them. Suppose a warrant from another county is served here. If the person has a right to bail, the officer must say so. On request, the officer must take the person before a local judge who can admit the person to bail, under section 901.07. A lawyer can contact the county that issued it.
When the Warrant Is for a Family Member
Many searches start with a worried relative.
The Tools Are Public
The State search and the Clerk search are open to the public, so a family member can search a name. Gather the full legal name, the date of birth, and any case number first.
Share Results With a Lawyer
Bring any result to a criminal defense lawyer before anyone contacts an agency. The lawyer can confirm the warrant and the bond amount.
Encourage a Planned Surrender
A planned surrender with a lawyer gives a family member more control than an arrest at a traffic stop or at work. After booking, see our Jail Guide and Bail and Bond Guide.
What to Avoid Doing
Each of these mistakes can turn a manageable warrant into an arrest.
Do not walk into a police station or the Sheriff's Office to ask
Asking in person can lead to an arrest if a warrant exists. Use the online tools, or have a lawyer ask for you.
Do not wait for a warrant to expire
A Florida warrant generally stays active until the person is arrested, surrenders, or a judge recalls it.
Do not ignore a missed court date
A missed date can lead to a capias or a bench warrant and can change the bond. Call your lawyer or the court right away.
Do not drive around with a known warrant
A routine traffic stop can end in an arrest. Florida law allows an arrest on a warrant on any day, at any time of day or night, under section 901.04. Plan a surrender instead.
Do not rely on third-party search sites
Third-party sites sit outside the official record. Use the State, the Clerk, and the Sheriff's Office, then confirm any result.
Common Warrant Questions
How do I check for a warrant in Miami-Dade County?
Can I check for a warrant online for free?
Does a clear search mean there is no warrant?
Does a warrant expire in Florida?
What is the difference between an arrest warrant, a capias, and a bench warrant?
Will I be arrested if I call or visit to ask about a warrant?
What if a search shows my name but the warrant may not be mine?
How do I check for a warrant in Broward County, or for a federal warrant?
What happens if I turn myself in on a warrant?
Can a lawyer check for a warrant without me being arrested?
What if the warrant is for a missed court date?
Who serves warrants in Miami-Dade County?
What information helps a lawyer check for a warrant?
Can I check for a warrant for a family member?
I am not a U.S. citizen. Does that change what I should do about a warrant?
Could a case that starts with a warrant end without a conviction?
Where This Comes From
Read the rules and the agency pages yourself.
Statutes, Rules, and Agency Pages
Florida law and the offices that run these tools
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement: Wanted Persons Search
- Miami-Dade Clerk: criminal court records
- Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office: Warrants Bureau
- Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office: contact page
- Miami-Dade Corrections: inmate in-custody search
- Broward Sheriff's Office: arrest search
- Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure (Florida Bar, October 1, 2026 edition)
- Florida Statutes chapter 901, arrest
- Florida Statutes chapter 908, federal immigration enforcement and detainers
Offices and rules change, so confirm current details with the office before you act.
Keep Reading
Miami-Dade Jail Guide
Where people are held, how to find them, and how bond, release, visits, and mail work.
Read the guide →Miami-Dade Bail and Bond Guide
How bail amounts get set in the first 24 hours and what the options are for getting someone out.
Read the guide →First Appearance Hearings in Miami-Dade
What the first hearing covers and why the first 24 hours count.
Read the guide →What to Do If You Are Arrested in Miami-Dade
The booking process and the first hours of a case, from the arrested person's side.
Read the guide →Criminal Case Timeline
What happens after an arrest, stage by stage, from first appearance through resolution.
Read the guide →Miami-Dade Diversion Programs
The programs that can end a case without a conviction, and what each one requires.
Read the guide →Immigration Consequences of a Plea in Florida
How federal immigration law reads a Florida plea, and what to ask before you agree to one.
Read the guide →Criminal Defense
Felony, misdemeanor, DUI, and federal criminal defense throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County.
Learn more →Worried There Is an Open Warrant?
A confidential call comes before any visit to an office. Initial consultations are free and confidential, with no obligation to retain.
See our guide to what to do right after an arrest, our Miami-Dade Jail Guide, or our Bail and Bond Guide. For the bigger picture, see our Criminal Case Timeline and our South Florida Courthouse Directory. If you are not a U.S. citizen, read our immigration guide, and for options after an arrest, our Diversion Programs guide.
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