On the sheriff's roster, type a surname, then scroll through the list of people now held at Jordan Road. Note the booking number when an entry gives one. When a name is common, check the age or birthday so you land on the right person.

Prefer a phone? The Sheriff's Office has a free app for the iPhone and one for Android that opens the same roster. If a page will not load, ring the detention line at 256-845-8565 and staff can look the person up. Write the booking number on something you will keep, since it speeds up almost every task that follows, from deposits to visits.

Someone picked up an hour ago may need several hours to appear. Jordan Road booking involves prints, a photo, a background check and logging personal belongings, and the roster only updates once that work is done.

There are a few other reasons a name may not appear. The person might have been given a ticket and let go on the spot. A town officer may still be holding them at a station for a short while. Or they may already be out on bond. Before you panic, call the detention center at 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968, 256-845-8565. If you are unsure which agency made the arrest, the sheriff's dispatchers at 256-845-3801 can check booking for you at any hour.

The Sheriff's Office runs the detention center at 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968. With 235 beds, it ranks among the bigger jails in the northeast corner of Alabama. Nearly every adult arrested in the county passes through its doors, no matter which agency made the stop.

For a question about one inmate, the jail's own line, 256-845-8565, gets the quickest answer. The sheriff's main number, 256-845-3801, is answered 24 hours a day. The sheriff's administrative office keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The sheriff's FAQ answers many family questions, from bond types to deposits, and is worth reading before you drive up the mountain.

Yes. The sheriff's current roster places mugshots beside the names of people held now, sorted with the newest bookings first. A face check like that settles most mix-ups between people sharing a name.

Some photos are handled more tightly. An ICE photo is released only after a FOIA filing with ICE that the agency approves. Federal Marshals photos stay sealed from the public and press, apart from cases where one helps catch a fugitive or escapee or warns of urgent danger. A news outlet seeking a county photo absent from the roster may phone the Sheriff's Office at 256-845-3801.

Yes, that happens a lot with traffic stops and minor charges. Instead of a ride to jail, the person signs a citation and goes home with a court date printed on it. They will not appear on the jail roster in that case.

Tickets from Fort Payne police go to the city court at 100 Alabama Avenue NW, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-6728. Tickets from deputies and troopers usually go to District Court at the Grand Avenue courthouse. Missing that date is a real problem, because the judge can issue a warrant. If you are not sure which court is on the ticket, call the circuit clerk at 256-845-8525 and give the name and date of the stop.

Timing depends on how the arrest happened. A person arrested with no warrant must get a probable cause review within 48 hours, or the lowest bond becomes available. After a warrant arrest, someone left sitting in jail gets a hearing in no more than 72 hours.

Family violence arrests follow their own rule. The law makes the person wait up to a full day before bail is set. Whatever the charge, a judge at that first hearing reads the counts aloud, reviews bond, and may appoint a lawyer if the defendant cannot afford one. To find the date and courtroom, phone the circuit clerk at 300 Grand Avenue South, Suite 200, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-8525, and press 2 for the criminal desk.

The sheriff lists four: a bonding company, a property bond, a cash bond, and release on the person's own signed promise. Amounts usually follow Alabama's bail chart, and Alabama layers its own fee of 3.5% plus $35 over that. Call the jail at 256-845-8565 to learn which type the judge allowed.

A few charges can mean no bail. After a hearing, Aniah's Law permits holding someone without bail on certain violent crimes. A change that began May 19, 2026 added two crimes to the list: attempted murder, and gunfire into a home, car or building with people in it. The circuit clerk keeps the court papers at 300 Grand Avenue South, Suite 200, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-8525. Our bond help page takes each option step by step.

District Court and Circuit Court both sit at the courthouse on Grand Avenue South in Fort Payne. District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic and the start of felony cases. Circuit Court takes felonies after indictment and holds jury trials.

City charges go to the town that wrote them. Fort Payne's court is at 100 Alabama Avenue NW, Fort Payne, AL 35967, with the magistrate at 256-845-6728. Rainsville's sits in City Hall, 70 McCurdy Avenue South, Rainsville, AL 35986, 256-638-6334. Collinsville, Henagar, Fyffe and several other towns run courts of their own. Our criminal court guide explains each stage, from the first hearing through trial and appeal.

Can't afford a defense? The defendant may request appointed counsel. Here, a judge assigns a private attorney after reading a sworn financial form the defendant signs about wages and bills. That usually happens at the first appearance.

Relatives help most by rounding up pay stubs and bills, and by urging the defendant to request counsel at the very start, well ahead of a plea. Hiring private counsel is always allowed instead. For the steps to request one, call the circuit clerk's criminal desk, option 2 at 256-845-8525. The Office of Indigent Defense Services, 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059, runs Alabama's appointed-lawyer system.

Roster charges reflect booking, and they can shift after the prosecutor files. Felony convictions may mean prison terms beyond a year. Misdemeanors are capped at a year of county jail time. Alabama splits each group into classes, with Class A as the most serious.

To read the actual court papers, you can look at files at the courthouse at no cost: 300 Grand Avenue South, Suite 200, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-8525, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. Alacourt Access sells online searches for $9.99 a name. Booking charges are accusations, not convictions, so try not to read the legal wording as a final verdict.

Call the detention center at 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968, 256-845-8565, and request the supervisor on duty. Share the person's name and booking number, then explain the health problem, the medicine they take with the dose, and the name of their doctor or pharmacy.

Speak calmly and stick to facts, because staff need clear details to act. If the person has diabetes, seizures, a heart condition or a mental health need, say so plainly. Should they have been hurt during the arrest, take dated photos and notes of what you saw and give them to the defense lawyer. Call back later to make sure the message reached the medical team.

Visits here are done by video. You will need to register online first and then wait for jail staff to approve your account, which can take some time, so sign up early.

Each screen visit must be booked at least one day ahead. You can join from home using a phone or a laptop with a camera, so there is no need to drive to Fort Payne. Sign-up asks for the inmate's name, so keep the booking number nearby as well. Our remote visits page walks through the setup, and our visitation guide covers rules about dress, behavior and who may visit. Call the jail at 256-845-8565 if your approval seems stuck.

People held at Jordan Road can dial out, though incoming calls to inmates are impossible. Calls run on prepaid accounts that a family member sets up and funds.

If you choose automatic payments, the fee is capped at three dollars. The commissary may also sell phone cards that the inmate can buy with money on their account. Save talk about the arrest itself for meetings with counsel. For account setup and rates, read our inmate phone page. For a problem with a call account, ask the detention center at 256-845-8565 which company to contact.

The sheriff's FAQ lists several ways to send money that do not require a trip to Fort Payne:

• the online deposit site the sheriff links to
• the deposit phone line, 855-836-3364
• the kiosk in the jail lobby, which charges a fee
• a money order dropped in the box outside the detention center doors

Inmates may not keep cash, so never mail bills or hand them over. The balance pays for commissary items and calls, but it never counts toward a bond. Each money order should show the inmate's name and booking number. Our inmate money page compares the deposit methods. Call 256-845-8565 to ask about lobby kiosk hours.

Letters go straight to the jail, set up like this:

• Inmate's full name and ID number
• DeKalb County Detention Center
• 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968

Use the same address for book or magazine subscriptions. Every envelope should carry the inmate's legal name plus booking number, since mail with only a nickname can go astray. Add your own name and return address so anything sent back finds you. Never mail cash. Our jail mail guide lists what is usually allowed. If a letter bounces back, call the detention center at 256-845-8565 and ask what rule it broke before you try again.

Paying bond starts the clock, but walking out takes longer. Jail staff must check for other holds, process the paperwork and return the person's things. Plan on a wait, and call the detention center at 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968, 256-845-8565, before you drive over, so you are not sitting outside for hours.

The property bag the person came in with is handed back at release, so they leave with their wallet, phone and clothes. Should a relative need to collect belongings during the stay, ask staff what written permission and ID the jail wants first. Money left on the inmate account is handled separately, so ask how a remaining balance gets paid out.

Deputies at 2801 Jordan Road SW, Fort Payne, AL 35968 take warrant calls at 256-845-3801, and the sheriff's FAQ adds a warrant line, 256-845-8560. Anyone can browse the sheriff's wanted page. For people sought elsewhere in Alabama, check ALEA's wanted list. Court files are on Alacourt Access at $9.99 per name. Surrender with a lawyer by your side, and with bail sorted beforehand, is the smoothest route. Copies of warrant paperwork come from the circuit clerk, 300 Grand Avenue South, Suite 200, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-8525.

Federal agents such as the ATF, the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals sometimes make arrests here. Those cases go to the federal court in Anniston, 1100 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-741-1533. Cases from this county moved there from Gadsden in December 2024. Clerk staff are not in Anniston every day, so the Birmingham clerk at 205-278-1700 is often the better call.

A magistrate judge holds a first hearing soon after booking, and pretrial services interviews the person. There is no bail chart; the judge sets conditions under the Bail Reform Act. Until sentencing, the Marshals may house the person in a nearby contract jail, and the county roster may list the Marshals as the holding agency. Reach the Marshals at 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611. Once a prison term is imposed, the BOP locator tracks which federal prison they land in.

• Fingerprints taken at booking are shared, and ICE may then file a detainer.
• Paying the county bail does not lift it. The 48-hour hold only starts after the local case would let the person go.
• The 48 hours run straight through, counted from the release time.
• ICE officers usually come in person within that window. If they do not, the jail is supposed to release the person on the local case.
• Questions go to the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360.
• ICE alone picks the next facility, and plans can shift.
• ICE's detainee locator finds people from an A-number together with the birth country, or by full name, birth date and home country.

Once a sentence tops twelve months, the state takes over rather than the county. Until the Alabama Department of Corrections has a bed, the person often waits at Jordan Road, sometimes for weeks.

When the move happens, they go first to a reception unit for intake. Intake staff weigh physical and mental health care, set a custody level and screen for gang ties. Placement follows at a prison suited to that review. The ADOC inmate search accepts a name or AIS number, and youthful offender cases do not show there. Our Alabama prison directory has a page for each state prison once you know where they landed.

Kids younger than 18 usually appear before the juvenile court inside the Fort Payne courthouse. Youth files stay sealed, and minors never land on the adult list.

A child the judge orders held stays in Anniston, at Coosa Valley Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4625 McClellan Boulevard, Anniston, AL 36204, 256-237-2881, and sees a judge within three days. There is no money bail for children. Some 16- and 17-year-olds accused of major felonies go to adult court instead and can be held at Jordan Road. For the child's whereabouts and the next juvenile hearing, call the circuit clerk at 300 Grand Avenue South, Suite 200, Fort Payne, AL 35967, 256-845-8525, and ask for the juvenile desk.

Be careful. Scammers sometimes call families after an arrest, already knowing the name and the charge, and demand payment by gift card, payment app or barcode. The jail and the courts never take bond that way, so a demand like that is a scam every time.

Hang up and check the facts yourself. Look the person up on the roster, then call the Jordan Road detention desk at 256-845-8565 to confirm any bond amount. Then tell sheriff's dispatchers about the fake call at 256-845-3801. Never give a caller your bank or card numbers. If you already sent money, call your bank at once and keep the caller's number and any messages.

The arresting agency decides where the person goes first. Fort Payne police work from their station on Gault Avenue South downtown, non-emergency 256-845-1414. Rainsville police answer at 256-638-2157. Henagar, Collinsville, Crossville, Ider, Geraldine, Fyffe, Sylvania and Valley Head have smaller forces or lean on deputies. State troopers cover Interstate 59 and Highway 35. Town officers may hold someone at a station briefly, but adults go on to Jordan Road for booking.

For arrests close to a county border, try these neighboring jails as well:

• Cherokee County Detention Center, 110 Cedar Bluff Road, Centre, AL 35960, 256-927-6435
• Jackson County Jail, 545 Parks Avenue, Scottsboro, AL 35768, 256-574-1884
• Etowah County Detention Center, 827 Forrest Avenue, Gadsden, AL 35901, 256-549-5408
• Marshall County Detention Center, 423 Blount Avenue, Guntersville, AL 35976, 256-582-2034