How to Check for a Warrant in Clarke County
Start with one question. Which Clarke County court holds the file? The official Clarke County courts page sends highway patrol and sheriff traffic tickets, DUIs, and ordinance cases to Justice Court, which also hears first appearances on felony affidavits. A city citation stays with that town's court. A case filed for trial sits with the Circuit Clerk. Bring the citation number, the court date, and the agency that wrote the ticket, and keep your date of birth private until a clerk asks for it.
- Read the paperwork and name the issuing agency: highway patrol, sheriff, or a town police officer.
- Call that court first. Clarke County Justice Court answers at 601-776-5371 and the Circuit Clerk at 601-776-3111.
- For a city ticket, call the town clerk in Quitman, Enterprise, Stonewall, Shubuta, or Pachuta.
- For a filed circuit case, ask whether the docket is in the Tenth Circuit electronic system and reachable through PAMEC.
- Call the sheriff at 601-776-5252 only to ask who holds a record, then send a written request if the office directs one.
No Clarke County Warrant List Exists
Clarke County does not publish a countywide warrant search, an active warrant list, or a sheriff most wanted page. The sheriff's own link leads to a dead page, and the department index lists no warrant portal either. A check on September 11, 2026 confirmed as much. Still, that silence proves nothing. An active warrant can rest in a Justice Court docket, a town file, a sealed circuit case, or an old paper folder in Clarke County while no page online shows it. So a blank result anywhere is not a clean bill. Call the sheriff or the clerk of the issuing court and ask before you assume no Clarke County warrant exists.
Types of Warrants in Clarke County
Mississippi sorts warrants by what set them moving. Under the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 3.1 ties an arrest warrant to a judge's probable cause finding. A bench warrant follows a court event that went wrong, such as a missed date. A capias stands apart. It carries its own docket label in Clarke County files.
| Warrant Type | How It Arises | Who Issues It |
|---|---|---|
| Arrest warrant | Judge finds probable cause on an affidavit, complaint, or indictment under Rule 3.1 | Justice, municipal, or Circuit Court judge |
| Bench warrant | Missed appearance or a violated court order; Rule 3.1 allows a warrant after a summons fails | The judge whose setting was missed |
| Capias | Court process ordering that a person be brought before the court; shown as Capias Pending on the circuit docket | Circuit Court judge |
| Search warrant | Rule 4.1 process for evidence, contraband, instrumentalities, or a person to be arrested | A Mississippi judge on a sworn application |
The Clarke County Warrant Court Map
Four lanes run through Clarke County. A clerk in one cannot answer for another. Justice Court and the Circuit Clerk both work from the court offices at 101 South Archusa Avenue in Quitman. The sheriff serves process and holds agency records but sets no court date.
| Office | Phone | What It Can Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County Justice Court | 601-776-5371 | County and highway patrol traffic, DUI, ordinance cases, felony first appearance |
| Clarke County Circuit Clerk | 601-776-3111 | Indictments, motions, judgments, process, and circuit docket routing |
| Clarke County Sheriff | 601-776-5252 | Which records the agency holds and how to request them in writing |
| Chancery Clerk | 601-776-2126 | Family, estate, land, and support files, not ordinary criminal warrants |
These Clarke County office lines come from the 2025 Mississippi Secretary of State county directory. None is a confirmed warrant hotline.
What a Clarke County Warrant Record Shows
Rule 3.2 sets what appears on the face of a Mississippi warrant. Related docket events live in separate files. Ask the Clarke County clerk which pieces are releasable.
| Case or Cause Number | The clerk's own identifier, such as 2024-CR-01234; the exact format comes from the issuing court. |
|---|---|
| Issuing Judge | Rule 3.2 requires the signature of the judge who issued the process. |
| Name or Description | A complete name or an identifying description of the person named. |
| Offense | The alleged offense. An allegation, not a finding. |
| Bond Direction | Recognizance, appearance bond, or security bond terms where the matter is bailable. |
| Officer Return | Manner and date of execution with badge detail, returned to the clerk. |
Reading Clarke County Warrant Flags
Clarke County Circuit Court joined Mississippi Electronic Courts on August 17, 2020. The Tenth Circuit court information page posts the docket labels the system uses. Those are system labels only. None speaks plain English about where your case stands.
- Bench Warrant Issued
- The docket records that the judge issued bench process. Ask the clerk whether it is still live.
- Bench Warrant Returned
- An officer filed a return. That is paperwork coming back, not a dismissal.
- Capias Pending
- A separate capias flag. Ask the issuing court what it requires of you.
- Sealed Case
- Access is restricted. A blank screen proves nothing either way.
- FTA
- Failure to appear, a docket event that can trigger both court process and a license hold.
Who Issues and Serves Clarke County Warrants
A Clarke County judge signs the warrant. An authorized officer carries it out and files a return with the clerk. Mississippi Code section 99-3-1 lists who may make an arrest: sheriffs and deputies, constables, municipal police and marshals, and certain federal officers. The Clarke County Circuit Clerk keeps the filed record. He never signs the warrant.
Clarke County Sheriff's Office
444 West Donald Street
Quitman, MS 39355
601-776-5252
Note: the Clarke County directory entry also lists a fax at 601-776-1025, though no source confirms anyone watches that line around the clock.
Five Towns and Two Courthouse Addresses
Clarke County is rural, yet its civic buildings sit close enough to confuse a visitor. The county lists its courthouse at 100 East Church Street. Its court offices sit at 101 South Archusa Avenue. Quitman City Hall, home of the municipal court, stands at 101 East Church Street. Three doors, one block apart.
Those figures come from the Census Bureau's 2020 incorporated place table.
Each of those five towns keeps its own docket. That is why a Clarke County warrant question so often turns on which town wrote the ticket.
What to Do If You Have a Clarke County Warrant
Call the issuing clerk first. Ask the Clarke County court for the exact docket label, the next scheduled event, and what it requires: a reset, a payment, a bond, a motion, or an appearance. Then ask whether payment alone closes the process or whether the judge must sign a recall. Write down who told you, and when. If the matter is a felony or a capias, speak with a Mississippi attorney before you walk into any office.
Important: No Clarke County source promises a walk-in recall or a no-arrest window, so get legal advice before surrendering and keep every receipt the court gives you.
Inside PAMEC and Its Page Charges
PAMEC is the one named portal for Clarke County court records. Public Access to Mississippi Electronic Courts is a subscription. Registration asks you to pick a user type of attorney, non-attorney, or firm administrator. The non-attorney terms list a ten dollar annual fee and twenty cents per page, including one page charged for a search that finds nothing. The payment screen requires a payment method before access opens.
A mailed check slows activation. The terms also note free electronic access at a Clarke County clerk office during regular hours, which helps when one lookup is all you need.
Public Access to Clarke County Warrant Records
Mississippi starts from a rule of openness. The law then carves out exceptions. Court records add a second layer, since the judiciary sets its own electronic access policy. The Mississippi Ethics Commission keeps the official index of the act, and Clarke County records sit inside both rules.
Key Rules:
Miss. Code § 25-61-1 - Public records are open unless a law says otherwise.
Miss. Code § 25-61-5 - An agency answers within one working day where it has no set procedure, and produces or explains within seven working days.
Miss. Code § 25-61-12 - Incident reports are public with protected parts redacted, while investigative files may be withheld.
Miss. Code § 43-21-255 - Juvenile law enforcement records are confidential, subject to narrow exceptions.
Clearing an FTA Before the License Hold
Miss a traffic date in Clarke County and your driver license can pay the price. The order of steps is fixed. The Driver Service Bureau FAQ explains the sequence: the issuing county court clears its record first, then you pay the state reinstatement fee, and only then does the court's confirmation reach the Department of Public Safety. That final step can take weeks, so keep the court receipt. For the cost, the reinstatement page lists a failure to appear category at one hundred dollars and asks for a cashier's check or money order. Verify the amount before mailing anything. If a ticket started this trouble, the traffic warrant steps cover what to do next.
Why No Statewide Search Box Exists
Mississippi does keep a wants and warrants system. You simply cannot log into it. The Criminal Information Center describes NCIC and NLETS checks run by dispatchers and officers, with the entering agency verifying a hit before anyone acts. No public login exists. The state's other public offering is Mississippi Most Wanted, a curated tip page rather than a database. A missing name there says nothing about a Clarke County warrant file.
Warrant Records by City in Clarke County
Every town court in Clarke County keeps its own docket, clerk, and payment route. A city ordinance case stays in that town's file. So does a ticket written by a town officer, unless a clerk tells you otherwise. No Clarke County town publishes a public warrant list. Start with the place printed on the citation.
Quitman Warrant Records
2,061 residents · County seat with its own municipal court and clerk at City Hall
Stonewall Warrant Records
879 residents · Town officials page names a court clerk and a police chief
Enterprise Warrant Records
496 residents · Municipal court meets monthly in the Town Hall auditorium
Shubuta Warrant Records
406 residents · Municipal clerk and judge reached through the state directory
Pachuta Warrant Records
207 residents · Village clerk is the published starting point for a city citation