Police across the county bring adults to the San Luis Obispo County Jail, 1585 Kansas Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 (805-781-4600). Lower-security people may be moved to the Honor Farm on the same grounds. The nearby state prison is unrelated to local arrests.

San Luis Obispo County Inmate Search shows people in custody, with their charges and bail. The jail line is 805-781-4600.

Jailed defendants see a judge inside two court days at the Criminal Branch, 1050 Monterey Street, Room 220 (805-706-3600, option 3). South county and north county cases may be heard in Grover Beach or Paso Robles. Read SLO court steps.

The Superior Court's schedule lists bail for each charge. A family can settle it at the Kansas Avenue window or hire a licensed bail agent. At the first hearing, the judge revisits release and must balance both public safety and the person's means. See the SLO bail guide.

The county contracts with a local defense firm (805-541-5715) to handle most appointed cases.

Families schedule visits ahead and bring photo ID. Honor Farm visits run on a separate schedule. See SLO visiting and video visits.

Letters don't go to the Kansas Avenue address. Use the person's name and booking number with 880 Oklahoma Avenue, San Luis Obispo. Guides: mail, money, commissary, phone calls, messages, tablets.

Juvenile hall is at 1065 Kansas Avenue (805-781-5389). Juvenile Services can be reached at 805-781-5352.

A demand for gift cards or wired money to free someone from the SLO jail is always a scam. The Sheriff's main line, 805-781-4550, can confirm the person's status at any time of day.

It often starts after agencies like the ATF and the FBI make an arrest. This county falls under the Western Division (Central District of California), so SLO federal cases go to the Los Angeles courthouse at 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The clerk there takes calls at 213-894-1565. An initial hearing happens quickly with a federal magistrate judge. Expect questions from pretrial services, who reports to the judge. A dollar figure is not the starting point on federal charges. The judge looks at flight risk and danger at a quick hearing per federal bail law.

Until sentencing, the Marshals may keep the inmate in local jails. Search the sheriff's inmate list first; there a federal hold may show. Calling the Marshals on 213-620-7676 will confirm where they're held. Its address is 350 West 1st Street, Suite 3001, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Following a federal sentence, the inmate transfers to BOP custody, often weeks later. Locate the inmate through the BOP locator.

• Jail fingerprints are run through federal records that ICE can see. ICE can then send a detainer.
• This request asks the jail to detain your loved one pending ICE pickup up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). In San Luis Obispo, California's SB 54 keeps the jail's release on the local timeline, and notice or a handoff to ICE is reserved for a judge's warrant or a conviction the statute lists.
• Paying bond won't erase this hold.
• Officers from ICE most often collect them in person while held. If ICE never comes, this means release.
• The next stop is ICE's call.
• To learn where they are, contact ICE's Los Angeles field office: 213-830-7911. Address: 300 North Los Angeles Street, Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
• Transfers between centers happen, so check the Detainee Locator now and then with their A-number and country of birth. Missing the person's A-number? Type in the person's full name, along with birth country and DOB instead.

The state's prison system, the CDCR, houses those sentenced to state time. First, the inmate waits in the San Luis Obispo jail while the CDCR sends for them. Their first CDCR stop is an intake unit. During classification, officers weigh custody level, gang connections, and physical and emotional health. Their end point is the prison that fits their rating.

To locate them, use the CDCR inmate locator. The state prison page covers visits and mail.

Search the San Luis Obispo jail search. The San Luis Obispo list has no mugshots.

Penal Code 13665 is the key law. It is about social media only. It applies to most nonviolent arrests. Agencies may not post those photos there. Photos posted there expire after 14 days. Fugitives and threats are the exceptions. Jail websites are outside this law. Most sheriffs in California skip photos anyway.

For an immigration mugshot, send an ICE FOIA request. ICE must approve it. News outlets seeking a mugshot that isn't public should call sheriff's staff at 805-781-4550. Reporters and the community can't get federal booking photos. The Marshals, who take federal booking photos, put them out only for an escapee, when the community must be protected quickly, or to assist an arrest or warn the community.

• San Luis Obispo Police non-emergency: 805-781-7312
• Paso Robles Police non-emergency: 805-237-6464
• Atascadero Police non-emergency: 805-461-5051
• San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office: 805-781-4550

Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Morro Bay and Pismo Beach also run police departments.

The county jail on Kansas Avenue takes warrant arrests from Pismo Beach, Atascadero and Morro Bay, so that's the place to ask. The Monterey Street court clerk, 805-706-3600, can tell you what the case needs next. The Sheriff's warrants FAQ lays out how name checks work, and deputies there answer local and statewide questions. The court's criminal case information page covers records requests. If a warrant has your name on it, Central Coast counsel can plan a calm surrender on a weekday morning.