Del Norte County Warrant Records

Del Norte County warrant records are managed by the Sheriff Office in Crescent City and can be searched through an online portal called CitizenRIMS. This small coastal county in the far northwest corner of California has about 28,000 residents and limited law enforcement resources. The Sheriff Office is at 650 Fifth Street in Crescent City and handles all warrant service and jail operations. You can search for warrants online at delnorte.citizenrims.com which is a third party system used by Del Norte County to share booking logs and warrant info. The Superior Court is at 450 H Street, Room 209 in Crescent City and handles all criminal cases. Call the Sheriff at 707-464-4191 or the court at 707-464-8115 to check on a specific warrant or to ask how to clear one.

Check for Warrants Online

Del Norte County uses a system called CitizenRIMS to share law enforcement records with the public. Go to delnorte.citizenrims.com to search for warrants and booking logs. The site lets you search by name or booking number. It shows recent arrests and may show active warrants if they are in the system. Not all warrants appear on CitizenRIMS. Some are sealed or restricted. If you do not find what you are looking for online, call the Sheriff Office.

Call the Sheriff at 707-464-4191. Ask for records or the warrant desk. They can look up your name and tell you if there is an active warrant. You need to give them your full name and date of birth. In most cases they can confirm over the phone. If you have a warrant, they will tell you what it is for, how much bail is set at, and what you need to do next.

You can also go to the Sheriff Office in person at 650 Fifth Street in Crescent City. Bring a photo ID. Tell the front desk you want to do a warrant check. This takes a few minutes. If you have a warrant, be ready for what comes next. Some warrants let you post bail and leave. Others mean you get arrested on the spot. It depends on the charge and the bail amount.

The Superior Court at 450 H Street can also help with bench warrants. Call the court at 707-464-8115 and ask for the criminal clerk. They can tell you if you have a bench warrant from a missed court date. They can also tell you when the next available hearing is to clear the warrant.

CitizenRIMS Portal

CitizenRIMS is a third party system used by Del Norte County and several other small California counties to share jail and warrant data. The company is called CrimeGraphics and they host these portals for law enforcement agencies that do not have their own in house systems. The Del Norte County version is at delnorte.citizenrims.com and it shows booking logs, inmate rosters, and some warrant information.

To search, go to the site and pick the search type. You can search by name, booking number, or case number. Type in the name and hit search. The system will show any matching records. If there is a warrant, it may show up in the results. Click on the record to see more details. You will see the charge, the booking date, the bail amount, and other info.

The portal does not show all warrants. Some warrants are not in the system yet. Some are sealed by court order. If you search and do not find anything, it does not mean you are clear. You still need to call the Sheriff or the court to confirm. The portal is a helpful tool but it is not the official source for warrant checks. The Sheriff Office is the official source.

Note: The CitizenRIMS portal is updated regularly but there may be a delay between when a warrant is issued and when it shows up online.

Del Norte County Sheriff Office

The Sheriff Office is at 650 Fifth Street in Crescent City. This is the main building for the Sheriff department and the county jail. All warrants in Del Norte County are served by the Sheriff. The department is small compared to urban counties but they handle all the same duties. They serve arrest warrants and bench warrants issued by the court. They also run the jail and patrol the county.

When you turn yourself in on a warrant, the Sheriff will book you. That means they take your photo, fingerprints, and personal info. They put you in a cell until you see a judge or post bail. If your bail is low, you may get out the same day. If the bail is high or if the warrant says no bail, you stay in jail until your court date. The jail in Crescent City is a small facility. It can hold a few dozen inmates. Most cases are resolved quickly because the court calendar is not as crowded as in larger counties.

For records and copies of arrest reports, the Sheriff Office charges fees. Ask the records clerk about the cost before you request documents. Most counties in California charge 25 to 50 cents per page for copies. Clearance letters may cost more. If the clerk has to search for files that are archived or old, there may be a research fee of around $15 for searches that take more than 10 minutes.

The Sheriff fax number is 707-464-6527 if you need to send documents. The main phone is 707-464-4191 for general questions. For warrant checks, call the main number and ask to speak with records or the warrant desk.

Superior Court and Bench Warrants

Bench warrants in Del Norte County come from the Superior Court at 450 H Street, Room 209 in Crescent City. A judge issues a bench warrant when you do not show up to court as ordered. This can be for any type of case. Traffic tickets, misdemeanor crimes, or felony charges all can lead to bench warrants if you skip your court date.

California Penal Code section 978.5 covers how bench warrants work. You can read the statute at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov to see the full legal requirements. This law applies to all California counties including Del Norte and it says a judge can issue a bench warrant any time you fail to appear as ordered.

Read through this law if you want to understand your rights and what happens when a bench warrant is issued.

To clear a bench warrant, you go back to the court. Call the criminal clerk first at 707-464-8115. They can tell you what the warrant is for and how to clear it. Some counties have a clear warrant calendar where you show up early in the morning and see the judge without being arrested first. Ask the clerk if Del Norte County has this option. If they do, you show up at the courthouse at the time they tell you. You sign in with the clerk. The judge calls your name later that day and asks why you missed the first date. If you have a good reason, the judge may recall the warrant and set a new court date. If not, the judge may raise your bail or order you to stay in custody.

For traffic warrants, you may be able to pay a fine to clear the warrant. Call the court and ask if your case is eligible. If you pay the fine in full, the court will recall the warrant and notify the DMV if your license was suspended. You can also show up at the courthouse and pay at the clerk window. Bring cash, money order, or check. Some courts take credit cards but there may be a processing fee.

Court fees for certified copies are around $40 plus 50 cents per page. If the clerk has to search records for more than 10 minutes, there may be a $15 research fee. Ask about fees before you request documents.

California Warrant Laws

Warrants in California are governed by state law. Penal Code sections 813 through 829 cover arrest warrants. These laws spell out what an arrest warrant must include and how police get one from a judge. An officer writes up facts that show a crime took place. A judge reads it and signs the warrant if there is enough proof. The warrant lists your name, the charge, and the bail amount. Read the full text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov if you want to understand the process.

Bench warrants are in Penal Code section 978.5 as noted above. Traffic warrants fall under Vehicle Code section 40508 at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov which makes it a misdemeanor to willfully fail to appear in court on a traffic ticket. If you sign a promise to appear and then you do not show up, you break that promise and the court can issue a warrant.

The court must give you notice before they issue a warrant for a traffic case. Vehicle Code section 40515 says the court has to wait 20 days after you miss your court date. You should get a notice in the mail telling you that a warrant will be issued if you do not deal with the case. If you get that notice, act fast. Call the court and set a new date before the warrant goes out.

California Public Records Act rules are in Government Code sections 7920 through 7931. Criminal records and warrants are generally not public under the Public Records Act. Penal Code section 11105 restricts access to criminal history info. Only law enforcement and certain agencies can see the full files. You can request your own record but you cannot get someone else's record without their consent or a court order.

Note: These laws apply statewide including in Del Norte County and all other California counties.

Nearby Counties

Del Norte County is in the far northwest corner of California on the Oregon border. Several counties are nearby and each has its own warrant system.

Humboldt County is to the south. Humboldt County Sheriff has an online warrant portal at hcso.citizenrims.com and they also post a full warrant list at humboldtgov.org/2215/Warrants where you can see all adult warrants issued in the county.

Siskiyou County is to the east. Siskiyou County Sheriff is in Yreka and they also use a CitizenRIMS portal at siskiyousheriff.citizenrims.com for warrant and booking info.

Trinity County is to the southeast. Trinity County Sheriff is in Weaverville. Call them at 530-623-2611 for warrant checks.

Oregon is directly to the north. If you cross the state line, California warrants still apply. Oregon law enforcement can see California warrants in their systems. If you get stopped in Oregon with a California warrant, you may be arrested and extradited back to Del Norte County.

If you are not sure which county has a warrant for you, check all the counties where you have lived or had legal issues. Warrants do not go away on their own. They stay active until you deal with them in court.