How Long Does An Arrest Warrant Last For? Does It Ever Expire?

An arrest warrant will catch you sooner or later

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If you think that the long arm of the law can stretch no more and that outstanding arrest warrant had expired because it was issued years ago then you should think again. It could have been in another state long ago but it’s still there. The police haven’t arrested you yet but don’t think for a minute that the warrant has been dropped. How long does an arrest warrant last for? – A very long time if you don’t deal with it.

Arrest warrants last until you die

Your warrants will not expire. They don’t have a time limit on them. A warrant for your arrest remains active until you either get arrested or you go and turn yourself in. It’s very simple and if you haven’t yet been arrested then you have just been lucky. Give it some more time and sooner or later it is sure to catch you out.

If your warrant is for a serious crime or felony then you should be expecting the police to be actively looking for you and you are highly likely to be caught quickly unless you are hiding out. If you have a warrant for a minor offence or misdemeanor like you might get when you fail to attend court or you don’t pay a fine then it’s unlikely that anyone will be actively chasing you. The police have better things to do.

A warrant will not disappear unless you make it go away

If you have a warrant for some minor offence that happened years ago and you have not yet been arrested, don’t start believing that you won’t be arrested at some time in the future. A warrant lasts forever unless you turn yourself in or you die or you get arrested. Warrants do not go away by themselves.

When you are stopped on the road for any reason the police officers will often take the opportunity to run a check on you to find out if you have any outstanding warrants that they can arrest you on. They can do the check right from the computer in their vehicle. It’s easy for them and if they find something then they can arrest you and then notch up a few more arrest points on their career record. It’s easy pickings for them.

Police officers are measured by how many arrests they make so they have a big incentive to find something that they can arrest you for. If you have an active warrant then you are an easy target.

Make your arrest warrants go away by dealing with them

You are very likely reading this article because you either know that there is a warrant for arrest for you or you think that there might be. You should be concerned enough to do something about it before your luck finally runs out and you get arrested.

If the police arrest you then you will be taken to jail and released only after you bail has been set. It starts to get expensive at this point so you should make every effort to avoid getting arrested.

A lawyer will guide you and make sure that you hand yourself in the right way. Your lawyer will help you to deal with whatever the warrant is about and hopefully reduce the pain that you have to endure.

What is your warrant about?

Before handing yourself in you want to find out whether you actualy have a warrant or not and what the warrant is for. You can ask for details of the warrant from the courthouse where it was raised. Call them and ask or go there in person. If you don’t know which court issued it then you can consult an online public records web site. Arrest warrants are public records so your’s is likely to be in the online database.

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