Free Fort Bend County Warrant Search (Access Case Records)

Conduct a free Fort Bend County warrant search today.

A warrant is an official court order authorizing a police officer to lawfully arrest a person or search property. Knowing if an outstanding warrant exists can mean the difference between a person being arrested or not the next time there is a chance encounter with law enforcement.

This article provides useful information on how to look up warrants using free resources provided by government agencies in Fort Bend County, Texas.

Running a Free Fort Bend County Warrant Search (An Overview)

In the state of Texas, the Public Information Act allows citizens access to public government records.¹ Anyone can search public databases of government agencies to see if there are any outstanding warrants for themselves or anyone else.

Typically, only a name is required to conduct a search, but having additional information like case numbers, citation numbers, driver’s license numbers, and dates of filing may help with the search.

A county-level search is the most effective in terms of cost and efficiency. There are various types of warrants, most of which are a result of some sort of criminal activity. Fort Bend County courts maintain detailed court records where all records of warrants are documented.

Additionally, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, local police departments and municipal courts may also provide warrant information.²

The county-level search tools are free to the public.

How To Determine Who Has an Active Warrant in Fort Bend County Texas

Warrants that originated in Fort Bend County can be searched via the county court records database.

The Fort Bend County public website provides a Free Case Records Search Tool that gives members of the public the ability to look up criminal records that include information on whether or not an active warrant is part of the record.^{3, 4}

To use the search tool, only the last name of the defendant is needed to search the database. Entering a last name and selecting a case type from the list provided are the minimum fields required to initiate the search. Other data fields, including first name, middle name, date of birth, case status, and date filed, will help narrow the search but are not required.

The last field is the “Sort By” selection. The default setting is to sort by filed date.

The database search will retrieve all the criminal records that match the criteria entered into the search fields and present them in a list that includes a case number that is linked to the full case record. The records that have a warrant attached to them are preceded by a “W” highlighted in red.

Following the record link retrieves the full court criminal record that includes orders of the court. This will include the status of any warrant attached to the criminal record.

In-person or phone inquiries regarding criminal court records can be made at the Fort Bend County Clerk’s Office at the following location or phone number:

Fort Bend County Clerk’s Office
301 Jackson St.
Richmond, TX 77469

Phone: 281.341.8685

Attempting to lookup warrants via the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office public website will lead searchers to the same county criminal court search tool that is outlined above.² In-person or phone inquiries to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office regarding warrants can be made at the following location or phone number:

Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office
1840 Richmond Parkway
Richmond, TX 77469

Phone: 281.342.0837

Fort Bend County has a Warrant Division that consists of 4 Constable Precincts.⁷ The constable’s office is the county’s custodial agency charged with serving warrants and arresting fugitives.

The constable’s offices can be contacted via telephone or in person to inquire about outstanding warrants.

The three largest cities in Fort Bend County in terms of population are Sugar Land, Fulshear, and Rosenberg. All three have information pertaining to warrants on their public websites, but none of the three provide online search tools. Instead, they defer to county or state databases to search for outstanding warrants.

Inquiries regarding outstanding warrants can be made to the municipal courts via telephone or in person. The contact and location information for the three municipal courts is as follows:

Types of Warrants & What They Stand For

Within the U.S. judicial system, there exist various types of warrants that are designed specifically to accomplish different law enforcement objectives.

Although different types of warrants serve different purposes, they all have one thing in common – they must be authorized and signed by a judge or magistrate. The status of a warrant can vary from being active, inactive, or executed. The various types of warrants are summarized as follows:

Arrest Warrant: A court order that is issued subsequent to a grand jury indictment or a probable cause declaration by police or prosecutors that authorizes the police to pursue, apprehend, and arrest an individual.

Bench Warrant: Issued at the discretion of a judge when a defendant violates any rules of the court. Bench warrants are typically issued when a defendant fails to appear for a court date. Once issued, its function is similar to that of an arrest warrant.

Probation & Parole Violation Warrants: Issued when an individual who is on parole or probation violates the terms and/or conditions of said parole/probation, commits another criminal offense, or fails to appear for any required meetings or court dates. Once this type of warrant is issued, its function is similar to that of an arrest warrant.

Traffic Warrants: Warrants that result from a failure to resolve traffic citations/tickets, failure to appear for traffic court, or failure to pay fines that result from traffic tickets.

Child Support Warrants: Issued when a non-custodial parent fails to make obligatory child support payments that are based on a court-ordered payment schedule.

Capias & Capias Pro Fine Warrants: Issued when an individual is judged to be guilty via a court appearance, a plea deal, or an arraignment in jail and then fails to comply with the specified conditions or pay the assessed fine within the time period requirement.

Fugitive Warrant: A type of arrest warrant with special accommodations that authorizes law enforcement agencies to pursue, apprehend, and arrest an individual who has fled from one jurisdiction to another in an effort to evade prosecution or punishment.

Search Warrants: A special type of warrant that authorizes law enforcement to search a specific person and their specified premises and/or property for the purpose of acquiring criminal evidence.

How To Resolve a Warrant in Fort Bend County

Warrants issued in Fort Bend County can be resolved in the following manner.

First is by contacting the 4 Constable Precincts. The contact and location information for Constable Precinct 1, Constable Precinct 2, Constable Precinct 3 and Constable Precinct 4 can be found below:

Constable Precinct 1
22333 Grand Corner Drive
Katy, Texas 77494

Phone: 281.238.1430
Email: [email protected]

Constable Precinct 2
303 Texas Parkway, #124
Missouri City, Texas 77459

Phone: 281.403.8010

Constable Precinct 3
12919 Dairy Ashford, Ste 300
Sugar Land, Texas 77478

Phone: 281.242.4014
Email: [email protected]

Constable Precinct 4
1517 Eugene Heimann Circle, Ste. 200
Richmond, TX 77469

Phone: 281.341.4536
Fax: 281.341.4545
Email: [email protected]

Individuals or their attorneys may contact the division by telephone and arrange to resolve the warrants before a chance encounter with a law enforcement officer results in a preventable arrest.

In the city of Sugar Land, options for clearing municipal level warrants.⁸ Fines that result from citations can be paid online at the Search Violations Portal. This webpage will allow users to search citations that may have resulted in a warrant.

It does not search warrants that are not related to a municipal citation. Inquiries about warrants not related to a municipal citation need to be searched at the county level.

The Sugar Land Municipal Court holds walk-in dockets every Tuesday – Friday mornings from 8:00 am to 9:00 am.⁹ Individuals may see a judge or prosecutor to discuss their case and resolve warrants.

In-person inquiries to resolve a warrant will not result in an arrest. Sugar Land offers payment plans and community service as a means to resolve warrants.

Payment plans add an additional $15 to $25 dollars to the existing fine, and require a standard payment plan form to be filled out and submitted.¹⁰

Resolution may involve paying fines, setting and attending court appearances, or surrendering oneself to law enforcement in the case of criminal or fugitive arrest warrants. Individuals may seek the assistance of family, legal advocates, or bondsmen in the process of resolving warrants.

For those who need to perform a Fort Bend County warrant search for themselves or on behalf of someone else, the information in this article will most certainly prove to be useful; it will help save time, money, and peace of mind.