A county jail can hold you for another county for roughly 5 to 30 days when the warrant comes from the same state, and up to 30 days under federal law, sometimes 60 or 90 days under state statutes, when the warrant comes from another state. How many days a jail can hold you for another county depends on your state’s rules, whether the hold is in-state or interstate, and how quickly the requesting jurisdiction sends someone to pick you up.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3182 – Fugitives from State or Territory to State, District, or Territory
What a Hold Does to Your Release
When another jurisdiction has an active warrant, the jail places what’s called a detainer or out-of-county hold. It’s a formal notice from the requesting county telling the arresting jail to keep you in custody until someone can come get you. The underlying warrant might be for a missed court date, a probation violation, or a new charge.
The practical effect is simple. Even if you post bail on the local charges, the detainer keeps you locked up. Resolving the arresting county’s case doesn’t end the hold. That’s why the time limits below matter so much: they’re the only thing standing between you and indefinite custody on someone else’s paperwork.
In-State Hold Time Limits
When both counties are in the same state, state law sets the maximum time you can be held before the requesting county must pick you up. The windows vary. Some states allow as few as 5 calendar days. Others go up to 30. A common approach ties the deadline to distance: nearby counties get a shorter window in calendar days, more distant counties get the same number of court days, which excludes weekends and holidays.
That calendar-versus-court-day distinction matters more than it sounds. Five calendar days can include a weekend. Five court days might stretch to seven or more actual days on the calendar. If you’re being held and the deadline is close, ask your attorney or the jail staff which counting method your state uses.
The clock usually starts when you’re booked into the holding jail or the day after. If the requesting county misses its deadline, the jail is generally required to start release procedures on that hold.
Interstate Extradition Time Limits
When the warrant comes from another state, the timeline runs longer because formal extradition is involved. Extradition is the legal procedure for moving you from the state where you were found (the asylum state) to the state that wants you (the demanding state). The process comes from the U.S. Constitution’s Extradition Clause and is carried out through federal law and the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, which most states have adopted in some form.
The demanding state’s governor must produce a certified copy of an indictment or a sworn affidavit charging you with a crime and deliver it to the governor of the asylum state. The asylum state then holds you until an agent from the demanding state arrives. Under federal law, if no agent shows up within 30 days of your arrest, you can seek release from custody.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3182 – Fugitives from State or Territory to State, District, or Territory Many state extradition statutes allow additional time beyond the federal 30-day mark, sometimes up to 60 or 90 days total, before the hold must be dropped.
The severity of the charge shapes how aggressively a state pursues extradition. States will spend real money transporting someone facing a serious felony. For low-level misdemeanors, some jurisdictions won’t bother, either as official policy or because sending deputies across the country isn’t cost-effective. Distance matters too. A transfer between neighboring states can happen in a day. Extraditing someone from across the country involves flights, overnight stays, and coordination between multiple agencies.
Waiving Extradition to Shorten the Wait
You don’t have to fight extradition. You can waive the process and agree to return voluntarily. To be valid, the waiver must be in writing, signed in the presence of a judge, and the judge must inform you of the rights you’re giving up.2Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. Bench Book – 4.2.2 Uniform Extradition Act Considerations Once you sign, you skip the governor’s warrant, the extradition hearing, and the waiting period. Transport happens much sooner.
Waiving sometimes makes strategic sense. If the charges are serious and you plan to fight them, getting to the demanding state faster means you can start building your defense sooner rather than sitting in a holding jail. An early show of cooperation can also help in plea negotiations. On the other hand, waiving means you lose the right to challenge the extradition at a hearing and give up the ability to file a habeas corpus petition questioning whether the detention is lawful. Once you waive, there’s no taking it back. Talk to a lawyer before signing.
When the Deadline Passes
If the requesting jurisdiction doesn’t pick you up within the legally required window, the holding jail must begin release procedures. The jail notifies the requesting agency that the hold has expired and the detainer is being lifted. You should then be released from custody on that hold.
One thing catches people off guard: release from the hold does not mean the warrant goes away. The underlying warrant remains active. You could be rearrested on it the next day, which restarts the process. What the time limit prevents is being warehoused indefinitely by a jail that has no case against you.
If you believe the hold period has expired and you haven’t been released, the most effective legal remedy is a writ of habeas corpus. This petition asks a court to review whether your continued detention is lawful. Your attorney can file one, and the court must respond. The jail then has to justify holding you or let you go.
If You’re Already Serving Time and Another State Files a Detainer
If you’re serving a sentence in one state when another state files a detainer for untried charges, a different set of deadlines applies under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers. You can trigger the clock yourself by sending written notice to the prosecuting officer in the state that filed the detainer, requesting a final disposition. Once you do, that state must bring you to trial within 180 days. If the other state initiates the transfer instead, trial must begin within 120 days of your arrival there.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC Appendix 2 – Enactment Into Law of Interstate Agreement on Detainers
Miss either deadline and the charges must be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can’t be refiled.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC Appendix 2 – Enactment Into Law of Interstate Agreement on Detainers Courts can extend the deadlines for good cause, but the prisoner or their attorney must be present when the extension is granted. Filing a request for disposition is one of the strongest tools available to force another state’s hand when a detainer is hanging over you.
Credit for Time Spent Waiting
Time you spend in a holding jail waiting for another jurisdiction to pick you up generally counts toward your eventual sentence. If you’re locked up because of a specific case, that time shouldn’t vanish from the calculation when you’re sentenced. Most states require sentencing judges to credit defendants for all pretrial jail time related to the case.
It gets complicated when charges are pending in both jurisdictions at once. The time can typically only be credited toward one case, not both. Your attorney needs to figure out which jurisdiction’s sentence should receive the credit, and the usual move is to apply it toward whichever case is likely to carry the longer sentence. One limitation: if you’re already serving a sentence in one jurisdiction and being held for transfer on new charges elsewhere, you typically won’t get double credit. The time counts toward the sentence you’re actively serving.