Melbourne Bench Warrant Lookup
Melbourne bench warrants are handled through the Brevard County court system in the 18th Judicial Circuit. Judges issue bench warrants when people in Melbourne fail to appear for court or violate a court order. The Brevard County Clerk of Court keeps all warrant records on file, and the Melbourne Police Department along with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office serve them. You can search for active bench warrants from Melbourne cases through the clerk's online system or the FDLE statewide database. Both are public record tools that anyone can use. This page explains how bench warrants work in Melbourne and what you need to know if one has been issued in your name.
Melbourne Quick Facts
Brevard Clerk and Melbourne Cases
All bench warrants from Melbourne go through the Brevard County Clerk of Court. The clerk's main office is at 2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940. Viera is the county government center, located about 15 miles north of Melbourne. Call (321) 637-5413 for court records and criminal records questions. You can also email PublicRecordsRequests@BrevardClerk.us for public records requests. The Brevard County Clerk website has online search tools, forms, and case information. Staff can look up any Melbourne case by name or case number and tell you if a bench warrant is on file.
Under Florida Statute 901.02, a judge must have probable cause to issue a bench warrant. Once it is signed, it enters the clerk's records system and becomes a public document. The Brevard County Clerk keeps paper records and electronic records for Melbourne cases going back many years. Certified copies are available in person, by mail, or through the clerk's online portal.
Search Melbourne Bench Warrants Online
The Brevard County Clerk's website at brevardclerk.us has a court records search that covers all Melbourne cases. You can search by name or case number. Results show case type, charges, filing date, and warrant status. The tool is free and runs around the clock. Every case in the 18th Judicial Circuit shows up here, so all Melbourne bench warrants are searchable. This is the fastest way to check if a bench warrant exists without calling the clerk or driving to Viera.
The Florida statutes page below shows the law that governs bench warrant issuance statewide, including for Melbourne cases.
The statute requires a judge to find probable cause and sign the warrant before it takes effect in Melbourne or any other Florida city.
The FDLE database at fdle.state.fl.us is another way to check. It pulls warrant data from all 67 Florida counties and updates daily. You can search by name or date of birth. The database covers bench warrants, arrest warrants, capias warrants, probation violation warrants, and fugitive warrants. FDLE warns the data is not real-time proof a Melbourne warrant is active. Use it as a first step and then verify with the Brevard County Clerk for the most up-to-date status on your Melbourne case.
Melbourne Police and Sheriff Warrants
The Melbourne Police Department is at 650 S. Apollo Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901. Phone is (321) 608-6731. Melbourne officers serve bench warrants within city limits. They can arrest you on an active bench warrant during any type of law enforcement contact. A traffic stop is the most common way people with Melbourne bench warrants get picked up. But it can also happen during a call for service, a welfare check, or any other encounter where the officer runs your name.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office also serves bench warrants in Melbourne and across the county. The sheriff's main office is at 700 Park Ave, Titusville, FL 32796. Phone is (321) 264-5214. Email Records@BCSO.us for records requests. The sheriff's office handles case reports, arrest reports, background checks, warrants, and 911 dispatch for areas outside Melbourne city limits in Brevard County. Under Florida Statute 901.04, any sheriff in the state can serve a Melbourne bench warrant. It is valid everywhere in Florida, not just Brevard County.
Note: Melbourne bench warrants are entered into the Florida Crime Information Center system and the national NCIC database, making them visible to law enforcement across the country.
Penalties for Melbourne Bench Warrants
Skipping court in Melbourne creates a new criminal charge on top of whatever you were originally facing. Florida Statute 843.15 makes it clear. If your original charge was a felony and you fail to appear, that FTA is a third-degree felony. Up to five years in prison. If the original charge was a misdemeanor, the FTA is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail. The bench warrant from Melbourne is a separate legal problem that gets added to your existing case.
Bench warrants in Melbourne do not expire. A warrant from any time in the past is still active right now unless a judge recalled it or the person was arrested. Search warrants are different. They expire after 10 days under Florida Statute 933.05. People in Melbourne sometimes confuse the two, but bench warrants have no expiration date. They sit in the system indefinitely. You could have a bench warrant from years ago that is just as enforceable today as when the judge signed it.
The risk of an old bench warrant in Melbourne is real. It will show up every time law enforcement runs your name. A routine traffic stop turns into a trip to the Brevard County jail. It can happen when you least expect it and at the worst possible time.
Resolving Melbourne Bench Warrants
Talk to a criminal defense attorney before doing anything. A lawyer can pull up your Brevard County case, check the bench warrant details, and tell you the best way to handle the situation. Filing a motion to quash the warrant is common when the warrant is old or the original charge was not serious. Some lawyers in the 18th Judicial Circuit have relationships with judges that help move these motions through faster. Voluntary surrender at the Brevard County jail is often a better outcome than getting arrested by Melbourne police at a random traffic stop.
Ways to resolve a Melbourne bench warrant:
- Hire an attorney to file a motion to quash or recall the warrant
- Turn yourself in at the Brevard County jail
- Call the clerk at (321) 637-5413 for case status
- Email PublicRecordsRequests@BrevardClerk.us for records
- Contact Melbourne Police at (321) 608-6731 with questions
Watch out for scam calls targeting Melbourne residents with bench warrants. No real officer from Melbourne PD or the Brevard Sheriff will call you and ask for money to make a warrant go away. Gift cards, wire transfers, and cash apps are never how courts collect money. If someone calls with that kind of demand, hang up and report it. Bench warrant records in Melbourne are public under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. The Sunshine Law lets anyone look them up. The eWarrants system used in Florida connects clerks, police, and sheriffs across all 67 counties, including Brevard.
Melbourne Warrant Records Access
Florida's Sunshine Law makes bench warrants in Melbourne public records. Anyone can access them. You do not need to be the person named on the warrant. Exceptions exist for juvenile cases and sealed records, but most adult bench warrants from Melbourne are fully open. Contact the Brevard County Clerk by phone at (321) 637-5413, by email at PublicRecordsRequests@BrevardClerk.us, or visit the office in Viera to request copies. Certified copies cost more but carry official weight for legal matters.
Under Rule 3.730 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the clerk or state attorney can prepare a direct capias to bring someone before the Brevard County court for sentencing. Under Florida Statute 88.3051, the court can issue a bench warrant or writ of bodily attachment when someone fails to appear after proper notice. The Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers association connects all 67 county clerk offices and helps share bench warrant data across the state, including Melbourne cases filed in Brevard County.
Brevard County Bench Warrants
Melbourne is in Brevard County. All bench warrants go through the 18th Judicial Circuit. Titusville is the county seat, but the government center is in Viera. For the full Brevard County page with clerk details, sheriff info, and all related resources, visit the link below.
Nearby Cities
These cities are near Melbourne on Florida's Space Coast and Treasure Coast. Each has bench warrant information for its area.