Perform a Free Hennepin County Warrant Search (Resource)

Execute a free Hennepin County warrant search to verify if there’s an open court order against yourself or someone local. Multiple tools, including free online resources, make information about wanted individuals in Minnesota quite accessible.

The Minnesota Data Practices Act establishes the grounds for sharing public records with the general population. It determines, among other things, that public records data should be reasonably available to be revised and copied. Most types of warrants are considered public in this state.

Therefore, anyone concerned about a potential court order in Hennepin County, Minnesota, should feel free to access information about it. This resource also explains how to resolve a warrant if one is issued for you.

A Synopsis of Checking Free Warrant Information in Hennepin County Minnesota

An array of tools is available for interested citizens to run warrant searches in Hennepin County. Online, in person, or by phone, people who believe there might be an active warrant against them (or against someone they care about) should be able to be informed and handle the situation before it escalates.

In Minnesota and, consequently, in Hennepin County, both civil and criminal warrants can be issued. In fact, there are many different kinds of warrants – and, consequently, different strategies to handle them. Sometimes, just by paying a fine or posting bail, the warrant can be taken care of. In other cases, it might be necessary to appear in court or turn themselves in.

Whatever the case, there are resources available in the County (such as the Warrants Department of the Sheriff’s Office) and at the state level (such as the Minnesota Court Records Online System and others) to help.^{1, 2}

This resource will describe each of them and walk any concerned person through the ropes of dealing with a warrant in Hennepin County.

How To Run a Hennepin County Warrant Search: See Whether You or Someone Else Is Wanted

Open or outstanding warrants in Hennepin County are kept and executed by the Sheriff’s Office after they’ve been issued by a judge. The Sheriff’s Office makes itself available to assist concerned citizens regarding those warrants in person or by phone, whatever seems to be more convenient for the searcher.

Before heading to the Sheriff’s Office, it’s important that interested individuals consider the fact that anyone with an open warrant who makes contact with law enforcement is subject to being arrested on the spot. If someone has reason to believe there’s an active warrant against them in Hennepin County, it’s advisable to look at options on how to handle that before contacting the Sheriff’s Office.

In general, all a person needs to be able to start a warrant search with the Sheriff’s Office is the full name and date of birth of the wanted individual. With those, the team will be able to check for warrants and provide valuable information to the searcher.

This is the information that people can use to contact the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office:³

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office 
Public Safety Facility
401 S 4th Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Phone: 612.543.9768

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office makes a list of the most wanted individuals available online.⁴

Although this isn’t a search tool, in terms of allowing people to make inquiries, it’s a good tool to keep them informed and alert.

Another thing to consider is that people may have warrants opened against them outside of the county they live in. An incident may have occurred while they were traveling or visiting someone they know, leading to a court order being issued.

If a search for warrants in Hennepin County isn’t productive, looking at other places in the state may help. Let’s take a look at how to accomplish that.

How Do I View Warrants Issued Throughout Minnesota?

The state of Minnesota Department of Corrections provides a list of active warrants so that citizens can look it up and potentially find valuable information about themselves or people they know.⁵

This list isn’t a search engine, and in order to find a person of interest, users must scroll through the list (which, by the way, is updated regularly, often more than once a day). The list includes the warrant number, the full name of the offender, their date of birth, the date the order was issued, an offense description (the crime that was committed), and the offense level (if it’s a felony or a misdemeanor, for example).

In instances where more support is needed or when the user believes to have information about a wanted person, they can contact the Minnesota Department of Corrections using the following information:⁶

Minnesota Department of Corrections
1450 Energy Park Dr – Suite 200
St. Paul, MN 55108

Phone: 651.361.7200
Fax: 651.642.0223

Another valuable tool to search for information regarding warrants in general or more details about someone on the above-mentioned list is the Minnesota Court Records Online System (MCRO). This tool is free to use and can help uncover relevant details about any court case in the state.

With the MCRO system, it’s possible, for example, to use the Document Search option and run the warrant number found on the active warrant list.

Running that number will lead to valuable information about the case, generally speaking, but also all the information available about the warrant, more specifically. This is particularly useful when the information on the list isn’t enough for the searcher.

If concerned individuals wish to double-check or perform a deeper search on a particular name, they can use MCRO to run a search by name and see what pops up. The system allows searches to be made by last name plus at least two first letters on the first name (only last name won’t yield results, but a full name isn’t necessary to get started).

It’s also possible to narrow the search by case category (such as criminal, for example) or date range, leading to results that are pertinent to what’s making the searcher concerned. The results will show details about any case in the state, but also (and more importantly) any information available about pending court orders.

Last, but not least, if the county responsible for executing the warrant is known, citizens can contact the local District Court directly for information or guidance. The Minnesota Judicial Branch has a tool that helps people find the contact information of the District Court they need to contact.⁷

What Types of Warrants Are There & What Does Each Mean?

In Minnesota, citizens may have criminal and civil warrants issued against them. Civil warrants don’t usually involve any criminal activity and are issued for family matters, for example. In some cases, it’s possible to have an outstanding warrant due to business problems or pending collections as well.

When it comes to criminal warrants, those are some of the most common ones in Minnesota:

• Bench warrants – are issued when an individual fails to comply with court proceedings. In other words, they’re already on trial for another crime and fail to appear in front of the judge, pay a fine, etc.
• Arrest warrants – are issued when someone allegedly committed a crime and needs to be sent to jail for that. These individuals will still go to trial, where they may be convicted or acquitted. However, one of the initial first steps is to have them arrested and booked.
• Probation or Parole Violation Warrants – when an individual in supervised release fails to comply with the terms of such release, a warrant may be issued against them, so they’re forced to appear in front of the judge. After the warrant is executed, the person may be placed back on supervision or finish their sentence in jail.

It’s important to understand that any type of warrant may be active, open, or outstanding. Those designations merely state that a given warrant still needs to be executed by law enforcement and don’t clarify in any manner the type of warrant they may be.

How To Settle an Active Warrants in Hennepin County

It’s possible to be proactive and take care of a warrant before it becomes a bigger problem. To do so in Hennepin County, concerned individuals must know their warrant number.

When that number is known, it’s possible to call the Hennepin Warrants Office at 612.543.9768 and ask. It’s mandatory to provide the wanted person’s full name and date of birth for the information to be provided.

With the warrant number at hand, it’s time to call the Hennepin Sheriff’s Office at 612.348.2000. The deputy who takes the call will provide guidance and instructions on how to take care of any outstanding warrants against that individual.

It’s possible to post a cash bail or bond at any time. The Hennepin County Public Safety Facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to assist people in that process.⁸ This is their contact information:

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office 
Public Safety Facility
401 S 4th Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415

The Minnesota Judicial Branch – Hennepin Criminal and Traffic Division has a warrant helpline: 612.543.WRNT (or 612.543.9278).⁹ Some warrants may be eligible to be resolved using this resource. That doesn’t include warrants for missing trials, complaint warrants, probation violation, among others. When in doubt, people should always work with a reliable attorney.

Another possibility is to turn themselves in and deal with the warrant in person. If that’s the chosen course of action, a few things can go a long way:

• Individuals should contact family (or friends) and let them know what’s happening;
• They should hire an attorney and have them help them be released as soon as possible;
• They should make arrangements with a bail bondsman and make sure a plan is in place to post bail on their behalf.

Also, before turning themselves in, people should consider hiring an attorney who can provide good advice on how to handle the open warrant. In some cases, just by paying the fine or setting a court date to appear, the warrant can be gone. Instead of trying to figure everything out on their own, people should rely on those who have experience and know-how to support them.

The importance of being able to run a Hennepin County warrant search is that being able to access public records information makes people feel safer and more informed; it also helps them make the best possible decisions, so everyone should search for information anytime they feel the need to.