Search Rochester Warrant Records

Rochester warrant records are held by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and local courts across the county. The Rochester Police Department works with the Sheriff's Office to track active warrants in the city. With a force of 850 sworn and non-sworn staff, the RPD patrols 37.1 square miles and handles most warrant enforcement within city limits. You can check for open arrest warrants, bench warrants, and search warrants by reaching out to Monroe County agencies or searching state court tools. Start with the Sheriff's Office or the county court clerk for the most up-to-date warrant data.

Where to Find Rochester Warrants

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is the main agency for warrant records in Rochester. Located at 130 S. Plymouth Ave., Rochester, NY 14614, the Sheriff's Office can be reached at 585-753-4178. Sheriff Todd K. Baxter leads the office, which has held law enforcement accreditation since 1992. The Sheriff's Office handles patrol, investigations, corrections, and civil process for all of Monroe County. If you want to check on an active warrant, call the office or visit in person with a valid photo ID.

Rochester falls under Monroe County for all warrant matters. The county court system processes felony and misdemeanor cases that may produce arrest or bench warrants. The Rochester Police Department at its main office also fields warrant questions. The RPD was founded in 1819 and has been accredited by the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Program since 1990. It was re-accredited in January 2020 under 133 NYSLEAP standards.

The Rochester Police Department is split into three bureaus: Operations, Special Operations, and Administration. The Operations Bureau includes the Patrol Division, divided into four sections: Lake, Genesee, Goodman, and Clinton. Warrant enforcement falls under these patrol sections and the investigative units that work alongside them.

The RPD site lists contact info for each bureau along with details on the department's mission of crime reduction, customer service, and professionalism.

Rochester Court and Clerk Records

The Monroe County Clerk's Office sits at 39 W. Main St, Room 101, Rochester, NY 14614. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. The Clerk is the Clerk of Supreme and County Courts and keeps court files for both civil and criminal matters. Only felony convictions are filed with the County Clerk. You can call at (585) 753-1600 for questions. Email is the preferred way to reach them.

A search fee of $5 is charged for every two years searched when the index number is not known. Copies of records cost 65 cents per page with a $1.30 minimum charge. Certified copies run $5 for documents up to four pages, plus $1.25 per page after that. Criminal Certificates of Disposition can be obtained by sending a request form with case identifiers to the Clerk's Office. Mail requests go to 39 W. Main Street, Room 105, Rochester, NY 14614. Faxed requests can be sent to 585-753-1650.

Federal, city, and town proceedings are not filed with the County Clerk. Those records must be requested from the courts that handled them.

Rochester City Government Records

The Rochester City Clerk's Office prepares agendas for City Council meetings, records proceedings, and prints minutes. The office also handles licensing for businesses, marriages, dogs, passport applications, and alarm permits. While the City Clerk does not directly handle warrant records, the office can point you toward the right court or agency for your request.

The City Clerk's site shows all the licensing and records services that Rochester offers to the public and to other city departments.

The Rochester Law Department handles claims, debt collection, motions, and Freedom of Information applications. The office reviews FOIL requests for city records. Hours run Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. If your warrant records request involves city-held data, this is the department that processes the FOIL paperwork.

Rochester Municipal Records Center

The city runs a Municipal Archives and Records Center at 414 Andrews St. It holds more than 15,000 cubic feet of government records and archival materials. Walk-in visits are not accepted. You need to fill out an online Records Access Application to get materials. For genealogical records, call the Municipal Archives at (585) 428-7331 to book a time.

Copies cost 25 cents per page. Historical photographs have a charge that depends on the size and type of the picture. The archival collections hold the history of Rochester's government going back to 1817. These include minutes from the Village of Rochester trustees, the Common Council records from 1834, and files from mayors and department heads on topics like housing, transit, and urban renewal.

The main Rochester city website provides links to all departments, services, and records access tools for residents and the public.

Types of Warrants in Rochester

Three types of warrants come through the Rochester court system. Arrest warrants are issued under CPL 120.10 when a judge finds probable cause that a crime took place. A bench warrant falls under CPL 530.70 and gets issued when a person fails to show for a court date. Search warrants are governed by CPL Article 690 and must be backed by probable cause and a sworn statement.

Arrest warrants have no end date. They stay active until the person is found or a judge pulls the warrant back. Search warrants must be used within ten days or they expire on their own. Bench warrants stay open until the person shows up at court or gets picked up by police. Under CPL 120.80, arrest warrants can be served at any time on any day.

• Arrest warrants can be served any day, at any hour
• Bench warrants stay active until the person appears in court
• Search warrants expire after ten days if not executed
• Family court warrants deal with custody or support cases
• The Monroe County Sheriff at 585-753-4178 handles warrant questions

FOIL Requests for Rochester Records

New York's Freedom of Information Law gives the public the right to request government records. The Committee on Open Government oversees FOIL compliance for all state and local agencies. For Rochester, FOIL requests can go to the city's Law Department, the Monroe County Clerk, or the Sheriff's Office depending on which agency holds the records you want.

Active warrants that have not been served are usually held back. Disclosure could let a wanted person flee or put officers at risk. But once a warrant gets executed, that data often goes into the public court file. The Division of Criminal Justice Services keeps fingerprint-based criminal history records. These are not public and can not be obtained through FOIL. You must submit your own prints to get your own record. Contact DCJS at 518-457-9847 or email RecordReview@dcjs.ny.gov.

Under CPL 160.50, records of arrests that do not lead to a conviction may be sealed. The Clean Slate Act, which took effect November 16, 2024, gives the Office of Court Administration up to three years to set up processes that automatically seal eligible conviction records.

Nearby Cities with Warrant Records

Several other cities near Rochester also have warrant records pages. Check these if you need records from a nearby area.