Des Moines Bench Warrants
Des Moines bench warrants are handled by the Des Moines Municipal Court on 11th Avenue South. The court also runs a set Warrant Quash calendar where people can ask the judge to cancel an open warrant. If you need to find a Des Moines bench warrant, the best path is a name search on the state court tools. The SCORE Jail is also in Des Moines, so the city ties into both King County and regional jail data. You can run a warrant search free of charge.
Des Moines Bench Warrants
Des Moines Municipal Court Warrant Quash
The Des Moines Municipal Court runs a Bench Warrant Quash program. Quash calendars are held every other Friday morning at 10:30 AM by phone or video using Zoom. A person with an open Des Moines bench warrant can ask to be added to the calendar. You can send the request by fax at 206-870-4397, by email to court@desmoineswa.gov, or by first class mail to DMMC Warrant Quash, 21630 11th Ave. South, Ste. C, Des Moines, WA 98198.
The warrant stays active until the judge quashes it. If you get a summons to appear, you must show up. Failure to appear can lead to a new warrant. The program is a fast way to clear the issue without jail, as long as you follow the steps.
The Des Moines court also has a Bench Warrant Request to Quash form and a Motion to Lift or Modify a No Contact Order. These forms are available at the court clerk's window.
Note: A Des Moines bench warrant quash request must include the case number and full name, and the warrant stays active until the judge signs an order.
How to Search Des Moines Bench Warrants
The fastest way to run a Des Moines warrant search is the Washington Courts Data Warehouse. It is free. Type a first and last name and click search. The tool returns case number, court, charge, and warrant status. Des Moines Municipal Court is in the list of courts.
King County District Court also handles many Des Moines area cases. You can search through the King County courts page. For cases that use the Odyssey case system, check the Odyssey portal. These tools all overlap, so if you do not find what you want on one, try another.
Use the state Data Warehouse portal to run a free name based warrant check in Des Moines.
The Data Warehouse covers Des Moines Municipal Court and King County courts and returns active warrant flags on each case.
Des Moines Warrant Law
A Des Moines bench warrant is issued under court rule CrRLJ 2.2. This rule covers courts of limited jurisdiction. A judge can sign a warrant when a person fails to appear or when there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed. You can read the rule on the Washington Courts site. The full state code is at apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw.
The Department of Corrections also runs warrants tied to RCW 9.94A.716. These cover people on community custody who break the rules of their release. The DOC warrant search is separate from the court data. A Des Moines resident may have both a municipal bench warrant and a DOC warrant.
Visit the DOC warrant page to check for active community custody warrants.
The DOC tool lists people with active corrections warrants under RCW 9.94A.716 community custody violations.
Clearing a Des Moines Bench Warrant
Most people clear a Des Moines bench warrant through the court's quash calendar. You can also post bail set by the judge. A third option is to turn yourself in at the Des Moines Police or at SCORE Jail. Each path ends with a new court date.
Talking to a lawyer first is smart on any case that is more serious than a traffic ticket. Legal aid is free for people who qualify. Forms for warrant motions are on the Washington Courts forms page.
More Des Moines Warrant Tools
A Des Moines warrant search does not have to stop at the court data warehouse. The Washington State Patrol runs a tool called WATCH, which stands for Washington Access to Criminal History. WATCH is a name based search of the state criminal record system. It does not show every active bench warrant, but it does show conviction data that can help confirm a person's record. A name only search is free. A full record check has a small fee. You can reach WATCH at fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch.
The WSP criminal history page has more on how the system works and what a record check returns. This is a good second stop after the court data warehouse for a Des Moines bench warrant check. The JIS-Link service is a third option. JIS-Link is a paid tool for people who need deeper court data, like lawyers and research firms. The public Data Warehouse is free and covers most Des Moines needs.
Visit the WSP WATCH portal to run a name based criminal history check that backs up a Des Moines warrant search.
WATCH lets the public run a name search of the Washington State Patrol criminal history system for Des Moines and other cities.
The Washington Courts directory lists every court in the state. Use it to reach the Des Moines Municipal Court and the King County courts by phone. A call to the clerk is often the fastest way to confirm an open Des Moines bench warrant and ask about the next step.
Public Defense and Legal Help in Des Moines
A person with an active Des Moines bench warrant may qualify for a public defender if the case is a criminal matter. Public defense is free for people who meet the income rules. It covers cases where jail time is possible. Traffic tickets and civil cases are not usually covered. The court clerk can tell you if public defense is an option on a given case.
Legal aid groups help low income residents across Washington. Northwest Justice Project runs the statewide CLEAR hotline. Local bar associations run lawyer referral services that connect people with private attorneys at a lower first consultation rate. These calls are free. A short talk with a lawyer can help you pick the right path to clear a Des Moines warrant.
Things to have ready when you call a lawyer about a Des Moines bench warrant:
- Case number from the state court search
- Name of the court that signed the warrant
- Charge listed on the case summary
- Any paperwork the court sent you
Note: Public defense in Washington is free for people who qualify by income, and the court clerk can hand you an application at the window.
King County Bench Warrants
Des Moines is in King County. The county court runs felony cases and holds warrant data for the whole area. Visit the county page for more on the superior and district courts.
Nearby Cities
These cities are close to Des Moines in the south King County area.