Mendocino County bail and bond: the Ukiah jail, the release clock, and the courts
Adults arrested anywhere in Mendocino County are held at the Mendocino County Correctional Facility, 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah. The Sheriff runs it, and the main line is 707-463-4411. Two rules shape the day: nobody is released between 10 p.m. and 8:30 a.m., and personal checks are refused. Search Mendocino County Inmate Search first to see the charge and any bail amount, then call if you still have questions.
Where do I check whether my son was booked?
Type his name into Mendocino County Inmate Search. It should show the charge and the bail line, if one is set. If the page is blank, call the jail at 707-463-4411. Booking can take several hours, depending on how busy the jail is, so a name may be missing for a while.
What time can someone actually walk out?
Not between 10 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. The Sheriff says no releases happen in that window. Inmate money is released from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:15 p.m., Monday to Friday, except holidays. Court-ordered releases usually take two to four hours after the person returns from court, and bail releases can take longer if he was already moved to a housing unit.
What kinds of payment does the jail accept?
According to the Sheriff, the jail takes cash, certified checks, money orders, and bonds, but never personal checks. Make any certified check or money order payable to whichever court has the case, so ask the jail at 707-463-4411 which court name to write. No other forms of bail are accepted, and warrants from other counties follow the same rules.
What is the bail for a serious charge?
Mendocino's Superior Court posts a pre-arraignment schedule. The felony schedule, effective August 6, 2026, lists: first-degree burglary of a home with someone inside, $100,000; burglary of a lived-in home with no one present, $50,000; second-degree robbery, $50,000; assault with a deadly weapon other than a gun, $30,000; domestic violence injury under PC 273.5, $50,000; and murder without special circumstances, $2,000,000.
Many lesser crimes show $0 bail. That means cite and release or book and release, not a free pass for violent cases. A judge sets the final bail at arraignment.
What about a misdemeanor like a fight or a theft?
On the court's misdemeanor schedule, simple battery under PC 243(a) is $7,500, and domestic battery without traumatic injury under PC 243(e) is $20,000. Petty theft is listed for cite and release. The schedule's two dates disagree, so check with the clerk at 707-463-4661 that you have the current copy.
Does a $0 listing mean he goes home right away?
Often, but not always. Mendocino's court keeps anyone already on felony probation, parole, or post-release community supervision locked up until a judge sees him, and so are people with three or more recent missed-court warrants. Serious and violent crimes do not qualify for zero-dollar bail. Someone who is drunk or high waits in custody until sober, even if he qualifies for release on his own promise.
Do I need a bondsman?
Only when the family can't raise the whole sum. California's insurance regulators say a typical premium is 10 percent, at times cut by a rebate, so $50,000 bail runs near $5,000. The Sheriff doesn't refer people to any agent, so get every agent's price, collateral rules, and what happens after a missed hearing written down.
Can we pledge our land in Mendocino County?
The court handles property bonds, so the answer comes from the clerk, not the jail. Call 707-463-4661 before pulling together property records. Find out if land beyond Mendocino or beyond California counts, what share of the value must be owned free and clear, and whether a bond through an agent is easier.
When does a judge see him, and where?
State law, Penal Code 825, sets a 48-hour limit for the first court date, with Sundays and holidays left out. The Sheriff's jail page uses a 72-hour window with weekends and holidays excluded. Ukiah cases are heard at the courthouse at 100 North State Street, where the criminal clerk is in Room 107, 707-463-4661. Public counter hours there are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
What if the arrest was on the coast?
The Superior Court also has the Ten Mile Branch at 700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg. Its counter is open 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Ask the Ukiah clerk, 707-463-4661, which building will hear a coast case. The Sheriff also has a Willits substation at 707-459-6111.
Could the judge let him go without bail?
Yes. Penal Code 1318 allows release on a signed promise to appear, follow conditions, and stay in California. Penal Code 1270.1 means a hearing must come first in serious or violent felonies and in certain family violence, threat, and stalking arrests. Bring papers showing his job, address, and relatives nearby. Under Penal Code 1275, keeping the public safe is the judge's top concern.
Can bail be denied altogether?
In limited cases. A Mendocino judge may refuse bail in a capital case, or in some violent or sex felonies, if letting the person out would seriously endanger others, as the state constitution allows. The court's schedule also lists murder with special circumstances as not eligible for release before arraignment. A probation, parole, or other-county hold can also keep a person in.
If money is short, who represents him in Ukiah?
Raise it with the judge at the first appearance. The county's Public Defender has a main office and a coast office, and takes people who are financially unable to hire a lawyer. If it has a conflict, the Alternate Defender at 776 South State Street, Suite 101, Ukiah, takes the case. Call 707-234-6990, or ask the clerk at 707-463-4661 for the Public Defender's number.
Where is a teenager taken?
To the Mendocino County Juvenile Hall, 585 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, near the adult jail. It holds up to 40 youth waiting for a hearing, serving short commitments, or waiting for placement. Intake answers at 707-234-6682.
He missed his Ukiah court date. Now what?
Missing court can bring a warrant and put the bond at risk. Under Penal Code 1305 he has 180 days, or 185 when the notice comes by mail, to return before the bail is lost for good. Call the clerk at 707-463-4661 right away and tell any bondsman.
Can a Mendocino judge set bail we could never raise?
The judge shouldn't. California's Supreme Court ruled in 2026 that the amount should normally be payable, unless the strict state rules for denying bail apply. In Ukiah, the public defender can ask for a review if the amount is beyond the family.
Where are Mendocino County's courthouses?
Mendocino's main courthouse is in Ukiah, and a branch serves Fort Bragg on the coast:
- Ukiah courthouse: 100 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 · 707-463-4664
- Ten Mile branch: 700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
How is a federal arrest in Mendocino County handled?
Federal cases from Mendocino, such as large marijuana grows on forest land, go to the Northern District of California. The Ukiah bail chart has no part in it:
- The first hearing is before a magistrate judge at San Francisco federal courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102; some north coast cases start in McKinleyville.
- Pretrial Services reviews his background.
- Prosecutors may want three extra days before the detention hearing, and the defense can have five.
- A Ukiah defendant is either released on federal terms or kept in Marshals custody.
Marshals office: U.S. Marshals Service, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 20th floor, San Francisco, 415-436-7677.
Can ICE hold someone at the Mendocino jail?
Under SB 54, Mendocino deputies release people when they're due, detainer or not. ICE only gets advance word of a release when a person's past includes a California serious or violent felony. ICE interviews in jail require a TRUTH Act form first.
Mendocino falls under San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800. Detainees are typically moved to:
- Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
- Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
- California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505
How can we find a Mendocino arrestee online?
- Mendocino County Inmate Search: enter the last and first name. Look for bail, charge and next date in Ukiah or Fort Bragg.
- VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): choose California, then search. Shows where he's held.
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name. If pretrial, phone 415-436-7677.
- CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): CDCR number or name.
- ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): alien registration number, or else his name and native country. Nothing yet? 415-365-8800.
Where can we call in Ukiah to check bail?
The Mendocino court at 707-463-4664. Ask whether the bail on the booking sheet still holds after any hearing.
Mendocino County bail contacts
- County jail: Mendocino County Correctional Facility, 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482; 707-463-4411
- Bail basics for Mendocino: Jail bail and bond guide
- Custody lookup: Mendocino County Inmate Search
- Willits: Sheriff's Willits substation, 707-459-6111
- Superior Court: Criminal clerk, 100 North State Street, Room 107, Ukiah, CA 95482; 707-463-4661; Ten Mile Branch, 700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
- Defense lawyers: Alternate Defender, 776 South State Street, Suite 101, Ukiah; 707-234-6990
- Juvenile Hall: 585 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482; intake 707-234-6682
Mendocino's phone numbers, office hours, and bail figures may be revised, and a judge can set any amount. Phone the Low Gap Road jail or the Ukiah clerk for today's number before money goes anywhere. A licensed attorney is the one to advise on his own charges.