Complete a Free Collin County Warrant Search (Record Access)

Conduct a free Collin County warrant search in just minutes using the advice and search tools this resource offers.

The Texas Public Information Act is the primary statute providing the authority to access these records; this law makes many warrant records part of the public record and accessible to anyone.

People are interested in looking up warrant information for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s very personal, and they want to ensure they have no active warrants. For others, they are concerned about someone in their life, or they just want to look up the information out of curiosity.

You can search for warrant details for any reason; however, you must know who maintains these records and the steps citizens must take to access them. This article concisely explains how to effectively and efficiently search for warrant records in Collin County, Texas.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

A Synopsis of Performing a Collin County Warrant Search (Free)

If you plan on conducting a warrant search, you will first want some background information. Without some basic information on warrants, who maintains them and the type of information you need to access them, your search process may be very frustrating.

Government agencies that maintain warrant records must make this information available to the public per the rights provided by Texas’ Public Information Act.¹ While these rights are broad, they are not absolute. This statute has certain exceptions, and you are likely to encounter some more than others.

For instance, an often-cited exemption for warrant information is that it may have a negative impact on an ongoing law enforcement investigation. There are multiple types of warrants (a later section will discuss them in detail), and some are more prone to this exemption. Primarily, search warrants that are not fully executed tend to be exempt so as to not allow someone to interfere with the securing of evidence by law enforcement.

Depending on your preference, you can look up available warrant information in person or by using online databases provided by the record custodians. You can also make a request for warrant information by phone, email or mail.

When you are considering a warrant search, it’s important to understand the type of information you will need to be successful in your endeavors. Most search options will require you to have a complete and accurate spelling of the person’s name that you want to search. You will be able to conduct a search more efficiently if you know the county where the person resides and where the warrant was issued.

If you do not have this information or cannot find the information you are looking for, try providing additional information about the person. This information may include the person’s date of birth or certain physical characteristics. Anything you know about the warrant (e.g., date issued, charges etc.) may be helpful as well.

Each county has its own specific government agencies that are designated record custodians for warrant information. Here in Collin County, the custodian of warrant records is the District Court or County Courts at Law. You may also find information with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office or Constable Precinct.

In certain cities, towns, and boroughs, you may find municipal courts and local police departments that are custodians of warrant records. In Collin County, certain cities have options to access warrant information such as McKinney.

Next, you will take this information and learn how to look up warrant information in Collin County.

Look Up Outstanding Warrants in Collin County Texas

The primary record custodians for warrant information in Collin County are the District Court and the County Courts at Law. The District Court is responsible for felony criminal cases, while the County Courts at Law handles less serious misdemeanor-type cases.

In Collin County, you can perform an active warrant lookup online.² To do so, simply enter the person’s name you want to search for. The search results will provide all matching names, the warrant number, date of birth, age, race and sex.

If you click on the warrant number, you can view the associated criminal cases, charges related to it, and the date it was issued. You can also view information on any bonds associated with the warrant.

You can also conduct a judicial online search for additional warrant information contained in criminal records.³ When using this tool, you can choose to narrow your search to only cases with active warrants or criminal cases that may have older warrant information.

A citizen can use this search tool to access criminal cases with warrant information at both the County Courts at Law or District Court. To avoid unnecessary cases, make sure you only select “criminal” under the case types option.

Once you get to the results page, the information shown depends on what type of records you selected to search for. If you select to search both active warrants and criminal cases, there will be two separate lists of matching records. The active warrants list will have the information that was discussed earlier.

If you choose to conduct a general criminal case search for warrant information, you will see the associated number, caption, filing date, and status. You can then click on the case number to view the complete criminal record. Under the “case events” section, you will be able to view information about when any warrants were issued and other related data.

For additional information provided beyond the online searches, you will have to contact the appropriate court that issued the warrant. You can contact the Collin County District Court by calling them at 972-548-4100 or by going to the address below:⁴

Collin County District Court
2100 Bloomdale Road
McKinney, Texas 75071

To request warrant information from the Collin County Courts at Law, you can call their Clerk’s Office at 972-548-6420.⁵ The Clerk’s Office is located at the address below:

Collin County Clerk’s Office
2100 Bloomdale Road, Ste. 12165
McKinney, Texas 75071

If you are still in need of warrant information, you may want to consider contacting either the Collin County Sheriff’s Office or the Constable Precinct. You can contact the Constable Precinct by email at [email protected] or by phone at 972-881-3070.⁶ You can also go in person to the address below:

Constable Precinct
Sub-Courthouse – Plano
920 East Park Boulevard
Plano, Texas 75074

They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. You may also view their FAQ page or contact the Collin County Sheriff’s Office by phone at 972-547-5100 or by going to the address below:

Collin County Sheriff’s Office
4300 Community Avenue
McKinney, Texas 75071

There are also options to look up warrant information at the city level. For instance, you can conduct a warrant search with the McKinney Police Department.⁷ A citizen can conduct a warrant search by either the person’s name (including filters for race, sex and age) or by location (street and city).

The search results will provide you with the person’s name, charge, address and the agency responsible for the warrant. For further information about people with active warrants, you can contact the McKinney Police Department by phone at 972-547-2700 or by going to the address below:

McKinney Police Department
2200 Taylor Burk Drive
McKinney, Texas 75071

You can also contact the McKinney Municipal Court for warrant information.⁸ You can email them at [email protected] or call 972-547-7676. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (extended to 7:00 PM on Thursday). You can also talk to someone in person at the address below:

McKinney Municipal Court
130 South Chestnut Street
McKinney, Texas 75069

Some state agencies provide a means to access warrant information for all counties at once. This option is not available in Texas, and all warrant information will have to be obtained at the county or city level.

Warrant Types & Their Meanings

If you want to look up warrant information, it is helpful to know the various types issued in Collin County. Understanding the various warrant types can help you in your search as well as when you are reviewing your findings.

Below are the primary warrants you may encounter when conducting a search:

The type most people are familiar with is the arrest warrant. This type of warrant is issued by a judge when presented with enough evidence to establish probable cause of a crime. With this warrant, law enforcement is free to take a person into custody.

A bench warrant gives law enforcement similar authority. However, a bench warrant is issued when a person fails to show up for a court hearing or violates some other type of court order.

If a person violates a term of their probation or parole, they may be issued a blue warrant for their arrest. If someone commits a crime and flees to another jurisdiction, then a Collin County judge may issue a fugitive warrant.

A capias pro fine warrant is issued for failure to properly handle a judgment that was entered against a person.

In contrast with the above, a search warrant is issued when there is probable cause that there is evidence of a crime in a particular location.

Any warrant can be considered “active” if it has not been fully executed or resolved.

How To Get a Warrant Dropped or Resolved in Collin County Texas

If you conduct a search and you find out that you have an active warrant, it’s time to take action. For some warrants, you may have the option for a quick resolution by either paying an overdue fine or requesting a new date for a hearing you accidentally missed.

In some cases, the matter may be more serious, and you may be required to turn yourself into law enforcement. While you may not be able to avoid this fate, you should still seek guidance from a licensed criminal attorney. You will also want to contact a bail bondsman and let your family know.

If you find out there is a warrant for someone you know; an option is to just let them know. Of course, if you do not have a close relationship with them, consider passing along the information through someone you know.

If it’s an arrest warrant for a serious criminal offense, consider just going to law enforcement with anything you may know about the person. You can pass along the information to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office by phone at 972-547-5100 or provide your information to their warrants section at 972-547-5130.⁹

You are now well-prepared to conduct an effective Collin County warrant search; this resource enables you to effectively find details of anyone wanted.