West Palm Beach Bench Warrants

Bench warrants in West Palm Beach are issued by judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit when a person fails to show up for a court date or does not follow a court order. West Palm Beach is the county seat of Palm Beach County, and the main courthouse is right in the city. The Palm Beach County Clerk of Court and the Sheriff's Office both keep records of active bench warrants. You can search for these warrants through the clerk's online case search, the sheriff's office, or the FDLE statewide database. This page covers how to find, check, and resolve bench warrants in West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County Clerk of Court

The Palm Beach County Clerk of Court handles all court records for West Palm Beach. The clerk's main office is at 205 N. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. You can call (561) 355-2994 for general questions about bench warrants or court cases. The Palm Beach County Clerk website gives you access to case search tools, court forms, and public records requests. If you need to ask about a specific bench warrant in West Palm Beach, the clerk staff can look it up by name or case number at the front counter.

West Palm Beach is the county seat, so the main courthouse sits right in the city. This is where judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit issue bench warrants for people who miss court dates or violate court orders. Once a judge signs the warrant, it goes into the clerk's system. Under Florida Statute 901.02, a judge must find probable cause before issuing any arrest warrant, and that includes bench warrants. The clerk records the warrant and it stays active in the system until the person is brought before the court.

The West Palm Beach Police Department is at 600 Banyan Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. You can reach them at (561) 822-1900. The police department page is shown below.

Local police in West Palm Beach can serve bench warrants within the city, but the Palm Beach County Sheriff handles most warrant service across the county. Both agencies have access to the same warrant databases.

Search West Palm Beach Bench Warrants Online

You can search for bench warrants in West Palm Beach from home. The Palm Beach County Clerk has an online case search tool on their website. Go to mypalmbeachclerk.com and use the court records search. You can look up cases by name, case number, or date. Results show the case type, charges, and warrant status. This is a free tool for the public.

Search results give you key details about any bench warrant in West Palm Beach. You can see the charge, the date the warrant was issued, and if it is still active. Not all new warrants show up right away. The system gets updated on a regular schedule, so a warrant from today might take a day or two to appear in the search. For the most current info, call the clerk at (561) 355-2994 or check with the sheriff's office.

The FDLE statewide database is another way to check for bench warrants in West Palm Beach. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs a wanted persons search that pulls data from all 67 counties. It gets updated every 24 hours. You can search by first name, last name, or date of birth. Keep in mind that FDLE warns the data should not be used as confirmation that a warrant is active. Always verify through the local clerk or sheriff in West Palm Beach.

Note: The FDLE database includes bench warrants, arrest warrants, capias warrants, and violation of probation warrants from across Florida.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Warrants

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is at 3228 Gun Club Rd., West Palm Beach, FL 33406. You can call them at (561) 688-3000. The sheriff's office is the main agency that serves bench warrants in West Palm Beach and all of Palm Beach County. Under Florida Statute 901.04, any sheriff in the state can serve a bench warrant. That means a warrant from West Palm Beach can be served in any other Florida county, and an officer can act on it any day at any time.

If you think you have an active bench warrant in West Palm Beach, the best step is to talk to a lawyer first. A criminal defense attorney can check the details of your case and tell you what to expect. They can sometimes file a motion to quash the warrant, which asks the judge to cancel it. This works best for older cases or minor charges. Voluntary surrender is usually better than getting picked up on the street. You can turn yourself in at the Palm Beach County Jail at any time.

Bench Warrant Penalties in West Palm Beach

Missing court in West Palm Beach has real consequences. Under Florida Statute 843.15, failure to appear on a felony charge is a third-degree felony. That can mean up to five years in prison. Failure to appear on a misdemeanor is a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail. These are new charges on top of the original case. The bench warrant is separate from whatever you were in court for in the first place.

Bench warrants in West Palm Beach do not expire. They stay active until the person is arrested, the judge recalls the warrant, or the person is deceased. This is different from search warrants, which expire after 10 days under Florida Statute 933.05. A bench warrant from years ago in West Palm Beach is still active today. It will show up if you get pulled over, try to get certain licenses, or have any contact with law enforcement anywhere in Florida.

Note: Under Florida Statute 88.3051, a court can issue a bench warrant, capias, or writ of bodily attachment when someone does not appear after proper notice in West Palm Beach.

Resolving West Palm Beach Bench Warrants

To clear a bench warrant in West Palm Beach, you have a few options. The first and best step is to hire a lawyer. A criminal defense attorney who works in Palm Beach County can review your case and figure out the best path forward. They may file a motion to quash or recall the warrant, which brings you back before the judge without an arrest. This is common for old warrants or cases where the original charge was minor.

If you want to resolve a bench warrant in West Palm Beach, you can:

• Hire an attorney to file a motion to quash or recall the warrant
• Turn yourself in at the Palm Beach County Jail
• Contact the sheriff's office at (561) 688-3000 for guidance
• Call the clerk's office at (561) 355-2994 for case status

Watch out for scam calls. Real law enforcement in West Palm Beach will never ask you to pay over the phone to clear a bench warrant. No gift cards, no wire transfers, no prepaid cards. If someone calls and demands payment to clear a warrant, hang up. Call the clerk or the sheriff's non-emergency line to verify. Bench warrant records in West Palm Beach are public under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, which is the Sunshine Law. Anyone can look them up without being a party to the case.

West Palm Beach Warrant Records

All bench warrants in West Palm Beach are public records. Florida's Sunshine Law, Chapter 119, makes court records open to the public. Once a warrant is filed with the clerk, anyone can request to see it. You do not need to be part of the case. There are some limits for juvenile cases and sealed records, but most bench warrants in West Palm Beach are open for public search. The Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers association connects all 67 county clerk offices and helps share warrant data across the state.

The eWarrants system links police, state attorneys, clerks, judges, and sheriffs in Palm Beach County and across Florida. A bench warrant issued in West Palm Beach shows up in databases used by law enforcement all over the state. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.730, the clerk or the state attorney can prepare a direct capias to bring a person before the court for sentencing or adjudication. This is another type of warrant that works much like a bench warrant in West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County Bench Warrants

West Palm Beach is in Palm Beach County, and all bench warrants go through the 15th Judicial Circuit Court. Palm Beach County is one of the largest in Florida with over 1.5 million residents. For more on the county court system, warrant search tools, and other resources, visit the Palm Beach County bench warrants page.

View Palm Beach County Bench Warrants

Nearby Cities

These cities are near West Palm Beach. Each has its own page with local bench warrant search info and courthouse details.