Search Yakima Bench Warrants

Yakima bench warrants are court orders signed by a judge when a person fails to appear in Yakima Municipal Court or skips a step in a Yakima County criminal case. The city is the seat of Yakima County in central Washington. Most local cases are handled by the Yakima Municipal Court and the Yakima County Superior Court. You can search for an active bench warrant or outstanding warrant in Yakima by name through the state data warehouse, the Yakima County courts page, and the Yakima city portals. Most lookups are free and open to the public.

Yakima Municipal Court Bench Warrants

Yakima Municipal Court hears most local misdemeanor, traffic, and code cases for the City of Yakima. The court works alongside Yakima County District Court for many case types. When a defendant misses a hearing the judge can issue a bench warrant under CrRLJ 2.2. The warrant stays active until the person is arrested, posts bail, or asks the court to quash it.

You can find the city court info through the Washington Courts directory. The directory lists every court in Yakima County with phone, address, and clerk hours.

Visit the state data warehouse to start a free name based Yakima bench warrant lookup.

The portal pulls Yakima Municipal Court and Yakima County district court case data into one search.

Yakima County Superior Court Warrants

The Yakima County Superior Court hears felony cases and larger civil matters for the county. Felony bench warrants live in the superior court file. The county clerk feeds case data into the state portals so a name search will pick up most felony warrants.

The county courts page at yakimacounty.us/410/Yakima-County-Courts links to the superior court, district court, and other county court tools. You can also visit the Yakima County bench warrants page for the county side of the search.

Note: Yakima Municipal Court warrants are valid only within city limits, but a Yakima County superior court warrant is valid statewide and beyond.

The county court system also feeds into the Odyssey portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov. The portal is another route into Yakima area court records.

Quashing a Yakima Bench Warrant

If a Yakima bench warrant comes back in your name, take action soon. Most warrants can be cleared. The first step is to call a lawyer or the Yakima County Bar lawyer referral. Then file a motion to quash the warrant with the court that issued it.

The motion asks the judge to recall the warrant and reset the case. The judge may set bail or just give you a new court date. The state forms page has the standard motion you can use.

You can grab the standard quash motion from the Washington Courts forms page.

The forms page holds the motion to quash and other Yakima bench warrant filings.

Bring photo ID when you turn yourself in or visit the clerk in Yakima.

DOC Warrants for Yakima Area

Some Yakima warrants are run by the Washington Department of Corrections. The DOC handles people on community custody who broke the rules of their release. These warrants are tied to RCW 9.94A.716, which you can read on apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw.

Start at the DOC warrant search or check the wanted and absconder list. Both tools update on a set schedule and are free.

The DOC wanted list shows current Yakima area absconders with photos.

The DOC wanted page lists Yakima area people with active community custody warrants.

Note: Always call 911 or Yakima police if you spot a wanted person; never try to detain or confront them on your own.

WATCH and Yakima Records

For deeper criminal history you can use the Washington State Patrol WATCH tool at fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch. WATCH covers conviction data for Yakima and the rest of the state. The tool does not show every bench warrant, but it can confirm a person's record.

The WSP also runs a criminal history page with more on how the system works and how to read the results. There is a small fee for a full record check.

Public Access in Yakima

Most Yakima court records are public under GR 31 and the Public Records Act in RCW 42.56. Bench warrant data is part of the case file, so most of it is open. Sealed cases and juvenile warrants do not show in the public tools. The clerk can tell you if a file is sealed.

You do not need to give a reason or show ID for a basic warrant lookup. For the full text of the law you can visit apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw.

For court contact info you can use the Washington State Courts main site, which links to the case search, court forms, and the JIS Link program.