Yellowstone County, Montana Warrant Search

Yes. Yellowstone County residents and visitors may access certain warrant-related records under the Montana Constitution’s Right-To-Know provision and the Montana Public Records Act. This is because these laws ensure that every person can examine and obtain copies of public information, including warrant records, from custodian agencies.

Warrant access is also affected by Montana’s Criminal Justice Information Act. Mont. Code Ann. § 44-5-301 states that there are no restrictions on dissemination of public criminal justice information, and that public criminal justice information is available from the Department of Justice or the source agency authorized to maintain the original documents. However, confidential criminal justice information, ongoing investigations, sealed court records, juvenile matters, and records protected by privacy or safety concerns may be restricted.

Agency/Resource	Purpose	Search Methods	Notes
Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office	Handles county law-enforcement services, warrant service, records, detention, detective services, and offender registry functions.	Phone, in person, sheriff records request, or agency inquiry.	The county department list states that the Sheriff provides law enforcement in Yellowstone County and manages the County Detention Center. Location: 2323 2nd Ave. N., Billings, MT 59101. Phone: (406) 256-2929
Yellowstone County Justice Court - Outstanding Warrants	Provides official county Justice Court warrant information.	Online outstanding-warrant page or court contact.	The Justice Court page is titled Justice Court Outstanding Warrants and provides contact information for the criminal clerks at JCcrimclerks@yellowstonecountymt.gov. It also states that Justice Court is divided into criminal, civil, and small claims divisions.
Yellowstone County Justice Court Criminal Division	Handles Justice Court criminal matters where warrants, failures to appear, or misdemeanor-related warrant entries may arise.	Online warrant page, phone, email, or in-person court inquiry.	The City of Billings warrant page lists Yellowstone County Justice Court Warrants and gives the phone number (406) 256-2899, with email preferred.
Yellowstone County District Court/Clerk of District Court	Maintains District Court records where felony, civil, domestic, and other court-related warrant entries may appear.	Montana District Court Public Access Portal, phone, email, or in-person records request.	The county District Court page says the District Court is responsible for maintaining accurate court records and processing legal documents. The City of Billings warrant page lists Yellowstone County District Court warrant contact at (406) 256-2851.
Yellowstone County Clerk of District Court - Search and Copy Requests	Provides searches and copies of District Court records.	Records search request, copy request, phone, mail, or in person.	The Clerk of District Court page lists search and copy fees, including a statutory search fee of $2 per name per year for the first 7 years and $1 per name for each additional year, with Yellowstone County charging for searches from 1994 onward.
Yellowstone County Detention Facility/Inmate Search	Helps confirm whether a person has been booked or is currently held after an arrest on a warrant.	Online inmate search by inmate name or booking date.	The county detention search page states that users may search for individuals currently held at the detention center by inmate name or booking date. It is an inmate-custody tool, not a complete warrant-confirmation system.
Billings Municipal Court/Billings Police Department Warrants	Handles city-level municipal warrants and provides guidance for confirming active Billings Municipal Court warrants.	Phone, Montana Public Access Portal, or court/police inquiry.	The City of Billings warrant page states that users should call Billings Municipal Court at (406) 657-8490 or Billings Police Department at (406) 657-8460 to confirm an active warrant. It also directs users to the Montana Public Access Portal and to select Billings Municipal Court in the court dropdown.
Montana Public Access Portals	Provide online access to certain public court records for Montana District Courts and Courts of Limited Jurisdiction.	Online search through the District Court Public Access Portal or Courts of Limited Jurisdiction Public Access Portal.	Montana Courts states that as courts transition to a centralized case-management system, certain public records will become available through the District Court and Limited Jurisdiction Court public portals. It also notes that the portal is a courtesy, not a required statutory service.
Montana Department of Justice - Criminal Records and Identification Services	Provides state-level public criminal history background checks.	Online or official background-check request process.	The Montana DOJ background-check page states that the Criminal Records and Identification Services Section charges between $10 and $30 for a public criminal records background check. This is not the same as a Yellowstone County active-warrant search.
Montana Department of Justice - Public Records Requests	Provides a public-records request route for Montana DOJ-held records.	Online public records request form through a Montana.gov account.	Montana DOJ states that requesters must submit a new public records request form that includes the required fields. This applies to DOJ-held records, not necessarily county court or sheriff records.
Montana Public Records Act/Records Custodian	Provides the general route for requesting non-exempt public information from the agency that maintains it.	Public-information request to the sheriff, court clerk, DOJ, police department, or other custodian.	Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-1006 states that a person may request public information from a public agency and that a public agency must make the means of requesting public information accessible.
Montana Criminal Justice Information Act	Governs access to public and confidential criminal justice information.	Legal reference and records request to the source agency.	Mont. Code Ann. § 44-5-301 says public criminal justice information may be disseminated without restriction and is available from the source agency authorized to maintain the original documents, subject to statutory restrictions.