Conduct a Free Santa Clara County Warrant Search (California)

Perform a free Santa Clara County warrant search right away using the options outlined in this streamlined resource. Fortunately, most of the records involving warrants are accessible at no cost and are condensed to one or two places to make for a seamless lookup.

Knowing where to search, what details are needed to execute the search, and what type of warrant is being looked up will all help execute the task. This brief article provides all the information necessary to begin searching, along with contact details for official record custodians in Santa Clara County, California.

Reveal Details of Anyone Wanted Locally Through a Santa Clara County Warrant Search (Free)

There are several different types of warrants, and many different situations in which one could be issued. Santa Clara County, like many other counties, does not make it easy to access details on active warrants; while the California Rules of Court Statute 5.203 required many types of public records to be able to be accessed electronically and remotely, warrants were not covered.¹

Unfortunately, most inquiries surrounding warrants – whether looking up if there’s an active one currently out for an individual, or how to resolve one – must be done over the phone or in-person. In order to obtain any information in the first place, the first and last name of the person with the possible warrant, his or her date of birth, and the name of the county who ordered it, must be known.

After this, the process may vary depending on if the inquirer is looking for records on him or herself, or for a third party. The two places to begin searching will be either the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara office, or the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.²

When looking on behalf of someone else, the details surrounding the issuance will become more difficult to access. All searches done, regardless if by phone or in-person, are free.

In California, each local government or municipality is only able to relay details of a warrant that it issued; for example, if the city of San Jose has issued a bench warrant for an individual, the County of Santa Clara (where the city of San Jose is located) would not be able to divulge anything about it.

How To Determine Who Has an Active Warrant in Santa Clara County California

There are a couple different official custodians to use when conducting a search for warrants issued in Santa Clara County: the Santa Clara Superior Court and the county sheriff’s office.^{4, 5}

Superior Court of California – County of Santa Clara: Since authority over all major crimes lies with the superior court, this custodian has a great deal of information available on determining who has an active warrant in the county.

Check out the FAQ page to answer some general questions on ordered writs that have been issued, along with the county’s official protocol on arraignments of arrest warrants.^{6, 7} Also, it’s possible that an individual would be able to find information on an active warrant for a civil case using the Superior Court’s public portal.⁸

If one has been ordered, information such as the date it was issued, along with any associated fines, will be included. Some general information on using the portal for searching civil cases can be found under the Warrants & Corporate Summons portion of the superior court website.¹⁰

The Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County can be contacted by phone, mail, or in-person, as listed under the Locations & Contact Info tab on the website.

The phone number is 408-808-2700, and its operating hours are Monday – Thursday, 8:00am – 3:00pm. There are options for Spanish and Vietnamese, along with English. The physical/mailing address is as follows:

Superior Court of California Courthouse
191 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office: Santa Clara County will send mail correspondence for the vast majority of its ordered writs, with the exceptions of search warrants and when there are felony charges involved. In these situations where there is no correspondence or even just if the mail was missed, there is one main custodian for information related to active warrants, which is the sheriff’s office.

The public can contact the Sheriff’s Office Records Division either in-person (appointment only) or over the phone (408-808-4705).¹¹ The Records Division is located in the lobby of the sheriff’s office in San Jose. There is a window labeled “Public Records.” The address is as follows:

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office
55 W. Younger Ave
San Jose, CA 95110

If a citizen is asking about active warrants out for him or herself, an official form of identification will be needed, such as a state driver’s license or a passport. They may be given information on when the warrant was issued, what it is for, and next steps to take.

If someone is searching for the same information on a third party, a first and last name is required, along with a date of birth. However, because the search is for someone else, only the minimum information will be given, such as confirming that there is an active warrant. Additionally, the name of the citizen asking for the warrant details on the third party will be officially recorded afterwards.

City of San Jose Police Department: The city of San Jose issues and serves its own warrants, and information about these cannot be disclosed by the County of Santa Clara.

Inquiries for warrant information cannot be done over the phone in San Jose, although calling the department at 408-277-4125 will give some general information related to procedures, or visiting the city’s official police department website.¹²

All individuals must come in-person to the San Jose Police Department, located at:¹³

San Jose Police Department
Mission Street, No. 201 West
San Jose, California 95110

The details of any possible active warrant will only be made available to the subject of the writ or an authorized representative. The first and last name of the subject, along with their date of birth, will be needed. The department is open from Monday to Thursday, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm, and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

Different Kinds of Warrants & What Each Signifies

There are several different types of warrants that can be issued, each useful for different scenarios. When looking for active warrants against oneself or a third party, it is helpful to know what type was ordered.

In California, bench warrants are most commonly ordered; this is typically issued for the arrest of an individual who has already committed a crime and has not appeared in court, fulfilled probation, or paid a fine. A judge has sole discretion when issuing a bench warrant.

Arrest warrants are also common, and in the state are ordered by a judge when a police officer or District Attorney presents evidence of suspecting the person in a crime, or if a grand jury indicts the individual.

A third type of common warrant is a search warrant. A search warrant can be issued by a judge or a magistrate to search and possibly obtain personal property that may need to be presented before a court. In California, in order to issue a search warrant, police must present probable cause, or already have an arrest warrant out for the suspect.

There are still more kinds of warrants that can be issued across the state, although they aren’t ordered nearly as frequently. In California, when a parent falls severely behind on child support payments, it can be considered criminal contempt of court, and can result in a child support warrant for the arrest of the parent. A probation officer can also issue a warrant for arrest when a client has violated his or her parole, known as a parole violation warrant.

Two types of warrants that are similar are Capias and Capias Pro Fine warrants. While these two types of writs have a lot in common, there are important distinctions to make: A Capias warrant is ordered if an individual who has already been charged, judged, and sentenced needs to be brought before the court.

While this is all true of a Capias Pro Fine warrant as well, a Capias Pro Fine warrant also requires a person to have failed to pay a fine or follow through on the conditions of his or her sentence.

Two other types of orders that go hand-in-hand are fugitive warrants and a governor’s warrant.

The former is sent from another state when a suspected criminal is thought to be in that jurisdiction; for example, San Joaquin County could send a fugitive warrant to the county of Santa Clara if it is suspected that an individual that’s committed a crime in San Joaquin County is currently in Santa Clara County.

In response to this, Santa Clara County could issue the latter, which would call for the arrest and extradition of said individual back to San Joaquin County.

How Do You Resolve an Active Warrant in Santa Clara County?

Once it has been identified that someone does have an active warrant out, resolving the order will depend on what it was issued for, but the first step will always be contacting the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Contacting the Records Division (this is the same office utilized when determining if there’s an active warrant out in the first place) via phone at 408-808-4705 is the easiest method, as in-person appointments are by appointment only.

If opting to go in-person, use the same phone number to call and schedule an appointment. The Records Office is open Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm at the following address:

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office
55 W. Younger Ave.
San Jose, CA 95110

The individual with the warrant will be advised on options for courses of action, which could include where to pay a fine, sign up for a court date, or pay bail. Accepted forms of payment are listed on the sheriff’s office website under the Warrant Information tab, and include many options, but debit and credit card are not accepted.

While it is likely that paying a fine or appearing in court could resolve the warrant, depending on the severity it may be necessary to turn oneself in.

On the other hand, citizens who have knowledge of a wanted person’s whereabouts or potential offenses are encouraged to call the city of Santa Clara’s anonymous tip line at 408.615.4847 or – for anywhere in the county – to email the sheriff’s online tips mailbox.^{14, 15} Both can be done without disclosing your own identity.

While it is possible to look up if there’s an active warrant out under a certain name, there aren’t many resources to conduct this search independently.

Anyone interested in conducting a Santa Clara County warrant search – whether for themself or someone else – will need to get in contact with the Sheriff’s Office Records Division to proceed; while this may sound intimidating or overwhelming, the best way to resolve an active warrant is to communicate with the Records Division and heed their advice on the best course of action.