Search for any Jail, Prison, Detention Center or Inmate in America.
“Jail” and “prison” get used as if they mean the same thing, but they don’t, and the difference decides where you search. A jail is a local lockup run by a county sheriff or city police department. It holds people right after arrest, people waiting for trial, and people serving short sentences. A prison is run by a state or the federal government and holds people who have already been convicted and sentenced to longer terms. If someone was arrested in the last few days, they are almost certainly in a jail, not a prison.
Here is the quick way to tell which one to search:
There are about 3,000 local jails in the United States, and no single national roster covers them all. Each jail keeps its own inmate search, so the fastest way to find someone is to go straight to the jail where they were booked. A city police arrest usually means a stop at the city jail before a transfer to the county jail. A sheriff’s or state trooper’s arrest usually goes directly to the county jail.
Most people sitting in a county jail haven’t been convicted of anything. They are waiting for a bail hearing, a trial, or a plea, and that wait can last days or many months. Jails also hold people who have been sentenced to state prison but haven’t been transferred yet, which can take weeks. So even after a conviction, check the county jail first.
Six states (Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont) don’t have separate county jails at all. The state runs both its jails and prisons as one system, so in those states you search the state department of corrections from day one.
Our jail pages give you each facility’s official inmate search link and phone number, plus how to set up phone and video visit accounts, visiting schedules, mailing rules, how to send money for commissary, approved vendors for books and care packages, and whether the jail allows texting or email. To start, click the jail search button below, choose the state, then the county where you think your loved one is being held.
After a conviction and a sentence of more than a year, a person is moved from the county jail into a prison. Which kind depends on who brought the case.
State prisons hold the large majority of people in prison in the United States. Each state’s department of corrections runs its own facilities and its own online inmate locator. Results usually show the person’s inmate number, current facility, and projected release or parole date. Write down that inmate number. You’ll need it to send mail, money, or a visitor application.
Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates more than 100 institutions across the country. One national locator covers everyone in federal custody, searchable by name or federal register number. Federal prisoners can be placed far from home, and there is no parole for federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987, so people serve most of their sentence. While a federal case is still in court, the defendant is often held in a county jail under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, so a person facing federal charges may show up on a local jail roster first.
If you can’t find someone anywhere, they may have been released, transferred, or held under a different spelling of their name. Immigration detention is a separate system with its own locator from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
To search a prison, click either State or Federal below. You’ll find the locator, contact information, and step-by-step instructions for staying in touch with your loved one while they serve their sentence.
Locate the state, then the city or county where you think they are being held.