Arrest Warrant Process (District Attorney)

Guide for Submitting Misdemeanor/Traffic and Felony Arrest Warrants

The District Attorney’s (DA’s) office does NOT file these cases or warrants. They are handled directly through the court.

Action	Details
Submission	Email the signed and notarized arrest warrant and the summons and complaint to the court: $\to$ larimercourts@judicial.state.co.us
Required Docs	Follow the steps on the court’s e-warrant coversheet.
DV Warrants	For Domestic Violence (DV) arrest warrants, write DV ARREST in the subject line. This flags the court to review the warrant within 24 hours.
Filing Forms	A notarized Law Enforcement Affidavit or Felony Filing Form is NOT required.

Misdemeanor cases and warrants are filed in one of three ways:

By summons.
By warrantless arrest on the scene.
By a signed and notarized arrest warrant and complaint filed with the court via their portal.

Business Hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.): Call (970) 498-7282 to reach an attorney.
Urgent After-Hours: Call (970) 214-5500.
Note: Calling the DA's office for screening or questions is an optional service to assist the officer; it is not a required step for filing a misdemeanor or traffic warrant.

Felony warrants MUST be reviewed and filed by the DA's office before submission to the court

Call the Intake Division at (970) 498-7282 or email at da_intake@co.larimer.co.us during business hours.
Intake will schedule a specific time for you to speak with a Deputy District Attorney (DDA) for case screening.

Provide the following documents to Records before your scheduled appointment with the screening DA:

Required Document	Purpose/Note
Completed Felony Filing Form	Mandatory form for screening.
Signed and Notarized Law Enforcement Affidavit	The courts will not accept the case without this document.
Signed and Notarized Arrest Warrant Affidavit	Sworn statement for the judge.
Criminal History	The defendant's history.
Reports	Provide reports (draft or finalized) for the DA to review (Note: These documents will never be provided to defense counsel).
Other Evidence	Any additional reports or digital evidence the officer believes the DA should review.

After review, the filing DA will take one of the following actions:

Request Additional Investigation: Confer with law enforcement and ask for more information.
Accept Charges: File a complaint and information into the District Court, and an arrest warrant will issue.
Decline Charges (No File): Issue a formal "no file" document outlining the reasons for the decision.

DA review is NOT required for urgent warrants before initial court submission

Only mark a warrant as URGENT if one of the following exists:

An ongoing community/victim safety issue.
A specific tactical need exists and law enforcement is ready to act on the warrant immediately upon its approval.

Action	Details
Submission	Email the following to the court: $\to$ 08urgentwarrants@judicial.state.co.us and larimercourts@judicial.state.co.us
Required Docs for Felonies	E-warrant coversheet, arrest affidavit (with a judge’s signature line) and the arrest warrant.
Required Docs for Misdomeanor	E-warrant coversheet, arrest affidavit (with a judge’s signature line) and the summons and complaint
Email Flagging	Indicate URGENT in the subject line AND state why it is urgent in the body of the email.
Notary	Urgent arrest warrants do not need to be notarized. The Judge will call the officer to be sworn in verbally.
Follow-Up	Only with Felonies: Within 3 business days of submitting the urgent warrant, you MUST follow the Standard Felony Arrest Warrant Process (Step 1 above) and call the DA’s office to schedule a case filing.