Search Cobb County Warrants

How to Search Cobb County Warrants

The public cannot run a full Cobb County warrant search online. Cobb County offers a warrant inquiry tool through the Magistrate Court Warrant Division, but the live search at the official Magistrate Warrant Inquiry page requires a login. The login is only given to members of the State Bar of Georgia. A non-attorney who tries to use the tool will not get a result. The system was built so that lawyers can check status for their own clients.

For everyone else, the route is by phone or in person. The Magistrate Warrant Division at 770-528-7979 can help with warrant copies or status questions tied to that office. The Sheriff Warrant Information line at 770-499-4634 handles questions about active service. Public users may also call the main Magistrate Court line at 770-528-8900 for general warrant help. Cobb is not a county where you can just type a name into a public page and see if a warrant is open.

1. Check if you are a member of the State Bar of Georgia. If yes, log in at the Magistrate Warrant Inquiry page or request a new-user account.
2. If you are not a lawyer, call the Sheriff Warrant Section at 770-499-4634 or the Magistrate Warrant Division at 770-528-7979.
3. Have the full legal name, date of birth, and case number if known. Be ready to verify your own identity if you are asking about yourself.
4. If the call confirms a warrant, ask if it is bailable, what the bond amount is, and where bond must be posted.
5. For a written copy, visit the Magistrate Court at 32 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090 during business hours.

Cobb County also runs a public Magistrate Court Records Search portal. That portal lets users filter Magistrate criminal case types, and the filter list does include "warrant," "MCS warrants," and "rejected warrants." That is a case record search, not a live active-warrant search, but it can show whether a warrant case has been filed.

Types of Warrants in Cobb County

Cobb County uses the same warrant types you see across Georgia. A judge or magistrate signs a warrant after a sworn complaint shows probable cause. The warrant tells law enforcement to act. The most common types are listed below. Each one has its own path through the court system.

• Arrest warrant - Issued when a sworn affidavit shows probable cause that a person committed a crime.
• Bench warrant - Signed by a judge when a person fails to appear in court, ignores a court order, or is held in contempt.
• Search warrant - Authorizes law enforcement to search a place, person, or property. These are not public before they are served.
• Fugitive or out-of-county warrant - Used when the wanted person is in another county or state. May involve extradition or a hold.
• Bad check warrant or citation - The Magistrate Bad Check Division handles these. A $20 cash-only application fee applies.
• Capias / failure-to-appear - Issued when a defendant misses a required court date, often after an unpaid fine or skipped hearing.

The Cobb State Court traffic page warns that missing a mandatory court date can lead to a bench warrant and a driver license suspension. That is why a missed ticket is not a small thing in Cobb County. It can roll into a warrant fast.

What a Cobb County Warrant Record Shows

A warrant record is a short legal file. It names the person, the charge, and the judge or magistrate who signed it. In Cobb County, the public can see warrant data once an arrest is made and the booking record posts to the Sheriff inmate inquiry. Before that, the warrant itself is held by Magistrate Court or the Sheriff Warrant Section and is not in the public portal.

The fields below come from a live Sheriff booking detail in Cobb County. The booking page shows the warrant data tied to an arrest. The attorney-only Magistrate Warrant Inquiry may show more fields, but those screens are not public.

Once a person is booked, much of this data also appears on the Sheriff booking detail page tied to the Cobb County inmate search. That tool is the public way to confirm an arrest tied to a warrant.

Cobb County Magistrate Warrant Division

The Magistrate Court is the source of most criminal warrants in Cobb County. Chief Magistrate Brendan F. Murphy leads the court. Anne U. Gordon is the Magistrate Court Clerk. The court sits on Waddell Street in downtown Marietta, near the rest of the Cobb court campus. Warrant applications, first-appearance hearings, bond hearings, and many preliminary criminal steps move through this court before a case is sent up to State Court or Superior Court.

A warrant application costs $20.00, cash only. A bad check application is the same price, also cash only. If a case is dismissed later, the Magistrate fee for a felony dismissal is $135.00 and a misdemeanor dismissal is $108.00. These fees come from the official Magistrate Court Fees and Forms page.

The Magistrate Court also handles small claims, dispossessory, garnishment, and bad check matters. For a broader look at the court, see the Cobb County Magistrate Court page. To check a Magistrate case record, the Magistrate Court Records Search filters include warrant case types.

Magistrate Warrant Inquiry Online Access

The Cobb County Magistrate Warrant Inquiry is the only true warrant lookup tool the county runs online. It is at https://judicial.cobbcounty.org/mc/MagistrateWarrants/Inquiry.aspx. Access is locked to State Bar of Georgia members. A non-lawyer cannot get an account. The page also has some old browser rules. The county notice says the site may only be viewed on Internet Explorer IE11 and Chrome. Users must allow pop-ups, and PDF documents need Adobe Reader.

The login form is short. The field table below shows what bar members see when they reach the inquiry page.

The official page also lists a help number. If a bar member has trouble pulling a warrant, the page says to call 770-528-7979 to troubleshoot or to obtain a copy of the warrant. There is no public version of this tool. The Cobb County warrant lookup for the public is by phone or in person.

Calling the Sheriff or Walking In

The Cobb County Sheriff serves warrants once they are signed. The Sheriff Warrant Section is part of Uniform Field Operations. The Sheriff field-operations page says warrant service is one of the most challenging and hazardous duties the office handles, because offenders often know charges are pending. Deputies make the arrests in the field, at homes, at workplaces, or at traffic stops. The Sheriff also helps the public with warrant questions over the phone.

Members of the public who want to ask about a warrant can call Sheriff Warrant Information at 770-499-4634. The Sheriff main number is 770-499-4600. Warrant staff will not always give out full details over the phone, but they can confirm if a warrant exists, tell you the bond amount, and tell you where to go to turn yourself in. Some people prefer to walk in. Bringing a lawyer is the safer path if a felony is on the line.

The Sheriff also runs the jail inmate inquiry. That tool can confirm if a wanted person has already been booked into the Adult Detention Center. The page does not show booking photos. Cobb stopped posting mug shots under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19. For more on the jail itself, see the Cobb County inmate records page.

What to Do If You Have an Outstanding Warrant

An open warrant does not go away on its own. It stays on file until the court clears it. Police can act on it during any traffic stop, job background check, or contact with another agency. A person with a Cobb County warrant has options, but every option works better with a clear plan.

1. Do not rely only on unofficial search sites. Their data is often stale.
2. Call a Georgia criminal defense lawyer before you walk in. A lawyer can use the attorney-only Magistrate Warrant Inquiry to confirm the warrant and the bond.
3. Call Sheriff Warrant Information at 770-499-4634 or the Magistrate Warrant Division at 770-528-7979 to confirm the warrant is live.
4. Ask if the warrant is bailable. If yes, ask what the bond amount is and where it must be posted.
5. Line up a bondsman if needed. Confirm what payment they take.
6. Plan the turn-in. Bring a photo ID. Go during normal business hours when court staff and bond staff are available.
7. After release, follow every court date that gets set. Missing one will start the cycle over and may add a bench warrant.
8. Check the court case and warrant status a few days later. Online portals often update at night or after a clerk processes the file.

Public vs Restricted Warrant Information

Not all warrant data is public. Georgia treats some warrants and some warrant data as sealed or limited. The basic rule is that an unserved search warrant is not public. A judge can also seal a warrant if releasing it would harm an active probe. Once a person is arrested and booked, much of the data tied to the warrant moves into the public record through court case files and Sheriff booking details.

Juvenile warrants get extra protection under Georgia law. Records tied to a juvenile case are not open to the public the same way adult warrants are. Federal warrants are not in the Cobb County system at all. Those are handled by the U.S. Marshals Service and federal court. A name on the Cobb County warrant list will not show federal cases. The reverse is also true.

Cobb County warrant case filings, once docketed, can show up in the public Magistrate Court Records Search. The filter list on that portal includes warrant, MCS warrants, and rejected warrants. That is a case record search and is not the same as live warrant status. For court case history more broadly, see the Cobb County court records page and the Clerk of Superior Court page.

How a Warrant Becomes a Case

A Cobb County warrant does not stand alone. It is the start of a case that moves through more than one court. Knowing the flow helps a person follow the case after an arrest.

The path is short to describe. A sworn complaint goes to a Cobb Magistrate. The Magistrate signs the warrant if probable cause is shown. The Sheriff serves the warrant and books the person at the Adult Detention Center on County Services Parkway. The first appearance and bond hearing happen at Magistrate Court. The case is then sent to State Court for misdemeanors and traffic, or to Superior Court for felonies. From there the case follows the normal docket. Statutes for warrants and arrests are in Georgia Code Title 17, Chapter 4. The general statute pages for arrest and warrants are on the Georgia Courts site and through the state code at the Georgia General Assembly.

For a felony, the District Attorney takes over once the case is bound over to Superior Court. For a misdemeanor or traffic warrant, the Solicitor General prosecutes in State Court. The clerk of the right court holds the records from that point on. To see how arrest records tie back to warrant records, see the Cobb County arrest records page. For misdemeanor and traffic flow, the State Court Clerk runs the search system used by attorneys and the public.

Note: Online portals refresh on nightly cycles, so warrant and case status may take a day to show after a court action.