• Mobile County Metro Jail, 450 St. Emanuel Street, Mobile, AL 36603, 251-574-6412. Run by the sheriff, it held about 1,500 people in 2025, more than it was built for, and it books City of Mobile arrests plus state and federal prisoners.
• Minimum Security Barracks, 328 beds, for lower-risk Mobile inmates; Central Control 251-574-2321.

The sheriff's main office is at 510 South Royal Street, 251-574-2423.

• Mobile County Sheriff's Office: 251-574-2423

Smaller towns such as Chickasaw, Citronelle and Bayou La Batre also have police; the sheriff's office can tell you who handled a stop. Arrestees from all of them land at St. Emanuel Street.

Heads up: the Mobile search page may be down. Try it, then use VINELink (Mobile County) if it won't open.

Open Mobile County Inmate Search and enter a last name. Save the Metro Jail booking number for bond, money and mail.

Metro Jail booking in a crowded downtown jail can take hours: prints, photo, health screening and a warrant run come before the listing. Call 251-574-6412 and give the person's legal name and birth date. Ask Mobile staff whether booking is still going, whether bond already freed them, whether a Mobile hospital has them, was moved to the Barracks, or is held for another county such as Baldwin. A Prichard or Saraland arrest may also sit at that city's station briefly.

Many minor offenses end with a ticket to a city court instead of a jail ride. The ticket names the court and date: - Mobile Municipal Court, 205 Government Street, 2nd Floor, North Tower: 251-208-7055 - Prichard Municipal Court, through City Hall: 251-452-7800 - Saraland Municipal Court: 251-675-5393 - Chickasaw Municipal Court: either 251-452-6453 or 251-452-6450 - Citronelle Municipal Court: 251-866-0221 - Creola Municipal Court: 251-675-8148 - Mount Vernon Municipal Court: 251-829-6633 - Dauphin Island Municipal Court: 251-861-5525 - Bayou La Batre Municipal Court: 251-824-1825

Skipping a Port City court date leads to a warrant.

In Mobile, a judge has 48 hours to rule on cause after a no-warrant arrest, or the lowest bond is ordered. Port City warrant arrests where bond goes unpaid get a hearing inside three days. On domestic violence charges, Mobile bail may pause up to a day until a judge sets it.

Mobile warrants carry an amount from Alabama's statewide bond schedule, and a Government Plaza judge can raise or cut it. If the Metro Jail roster says "no bond," the person waits for a judge, often because of a hold, a probation violation or an Aniah's Law request to deny bail for a violent charge. From May 19, 2026, voter-approved Amendment 1 also allows judges to deny bail on attempted-murder charges plus for firing into an occupied car, house or building.

Mobile takes cash, bonding companies, property pledges or own-recognizance releases. The state's 3.5% court fee and the sheriff's $35 fee are added. Our Mobile bond guide walks through each.

For district criminal cases, pay at Government Plaza, 205 Government Street, Room 338, North Tower, 251-574-8511. Government Plaza staff work 8:00 to 5:00 on weekdays, and the payment window in the Atrium runs 8:00 to 4:30. The court says cash must be exact, personal checks are refused, and cashier's checks or money orders are allowed by mail.

Court records and bond orders come from the circuit clerk, 205 Government Street, Suite 913, 251-574-8806.

After hours, the sheriff's online bonding portal is for approved bond users with an account. Licensed bail agents are the usual nighttime choice; ask the Metro Jail which agents work there. A property bond needs Alabama land; ask the clerk what papers the Mobile judge wants.

District and Circuit Court sit at Government Plaza. The 13th Circuit district attorney is at 205 Government Street, 251-574-8400. City charges stay in the municipal courts listed above. See the Mobile court overview.

Tell the Government Plaza judge the person can't pay. The Mobile County Public Defender's Office, 151 Government Street, 4th Floor, 251-319-6100, takes a case only after a judge appoints it, so the request starts with the court.

Metro Jail calls are recorded, so talk about the facts only with the lawyer.

The Metro Jail or the Government Plaza clerk can read you each Mobile charge and its case number. Mobile felony convictions can bring state prison time, while Mobile misdemeanors top out at one year locally. Government Plaza public terminals show Mobile files for free, and Alacourt sells online access.

Call 251-574-6412 and ask for medical. Give the person's medicines, doctor and pharmacy. Jail medical staff choose treatment, and serious emergencies go to a Mobile hospital. Any worry about suicide should be reported to the shift right away.

One prepaid provider carries both phone calls and video visits for the Metro Jail. Schedules change, so look online or ring 251-574-6412 for current Mobile visit times; video visits may be done from home or from on-site screens. Store purchases come out of a different account from the phone balance.

Mobile guides: Metro Jail visitation, screen visits, calling, e-messages, tablets, deposits, jail store.

Every Metro Jail letter needs the booking number and the person's full name. Never send cash or contraband. See our Mobile County mail guide. Property comes back at release; ask Metro Jail staff whether family may pick up keys early.

The court has to accept the bond, then the jail processes the release. Because the Metro Jail is big and often crowded, waits can be long; ask 251-574-6412 what time to expect them.

Prison sentences longer than a year are carried out by ADOC. For now, they stay in the county jail while ADOC sends for them. The first state stop is a reception prison for processing. Workers there review them based on any gang ties, security risk and health care needs, including mental health. The last move is a prison that matches them.

To follow the move, open the state inmate search. Our Alabama state prison guide covers visits and mail.

Mobile County's sheriff answers at 251-574-2423; try the Mobile, Prichard or Saraland police for a city warrant. Surrendering with a lawyer, with bond ready, often shortens the Metro Jail stay.

Minors go to the Mobile County Youth Detention Center, 2315 Costarides Street, Mobile, AL 36617, 251-574-1450, with offices open weekdays 8:00 to 5:00. Mobile juvenile court sits at the same address. Youth records are private and won't appear on the adult search. Prosecutors in Mobile may ask to transfer an older teen with a grave charge into adult court.

A federal case often begins when agencies like the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA make an arrest. Its federal trial court is the Southern District of Alabama, Southern Division, sitting in Mobile (155 Saint Joseph Street, Mobile, AL 36602, 251-690-2371). Usually the next court day, they face a magistrate judge who reads the charges. A pretrial services officer talks with them and reports to the court. U.S. court does not use a bail chart. A magistrate judge weighs if they stay in custody at the detention hearing, using the Bail Reform Act of 1984.

Search Mobile County Inmate Search, where the hold can be listed. Most federal prisoners stay in a county jail paid for by the Marshals before trial. Then try the Southern District's Marshals Service at 251-499-6620 (155 St. Joseph Street, Suite 201, Mobile, AL 36602). Any federal prison term leads to a move to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The BOP locator lists their prison.

• Booking prints get run against national databases that ICE can see. ICE can then place a detainer.
• This request asks the jailers to detain them a maximum of 48 hours after when they'd be freed. Once the 48 hours are up, the detainer has run its course.
• Posting bail does not clear it. It only starts the clock.
• ICE agents may take custody during the hold. If ICE misses the deadline, the jail must free them on the local case.
• ICE's detainee locator finds people by the A-number plus birth country. Missing the A-number? Type in the exact name, date of birth, and birth country instead.
• This state is served by the New Orleans enforcement office, at 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360.
• Where they are sent depends on ICE and may change.

Immigration officials release mugshots only through ICE's online FOIA request, if approved. The sheriff's office at 251-574-2423 handles media requests for mugshots not posted online. U.S. booking photos are kept private, even for reporters. The office that photographs prisoners, the U.S. Marshals Service, makes one public only to find a wanted fugitive, to help the search or alert people or if it's required immediately for community safety.

Pay only through the sheriff's portal, the Government Plaza clerk or a licensed agent you chose. The Mobile County Sheriff's Office won't take bond money through a text, and callers wanting gift cards, a cash app or a wire are frauds. Hang up, then call 251-574-6412 yourself.

Ring the Metro Jail at 251-574-6412 to confirm the person is there, the bond and whether any hold exists, then the circuit clerk at 251-574-8806 for payment rules.