The county has one adult jail, run as a department of Louisville Metro Government rather than by a jailer or the sheriff. The main building sits at the corner of Sixth and Liberty, 400 South Sixth Street, Louisville, KY 40202, and the general information line is 502-574-8477. People may be housed in more than one building, so always give the full name and date of birth when you call.

Police in a bordering county book people into their own lockup, so a person stopped in Shepherdsville or Shelbyville never reaches Sixth Street. When Metro's roster shows no match, try the Bullitt County Detention Center in Shepherdsville (502-543-7263) for Bullitt County arrests, the Shelby County Detention Center in Shelbyville (502-633-2343) for Shelby and Spencer County arrests, or the Oldham County Detention Center in La Grange (502-222-3500) for Oldham County arrests.

A warrant from one of those counties can also lead to a transfer out of Metro Corrections after the local case is settled.

Use the jail roster first; it lists people in custody with booking details. VINELink also shows custody and the facility, and can text or phone you about a release or move, not just for victims. KYeCourts public case search lists the charges and next court date once a case is filed.

Release usually comes a few hours after bond is paid or a judge orders release, but busy nights can take longer. People leave from the Sixth Street building downtown, so plan a ride. If you are worried about timing, call 502-574-8477 and ask about the release status, giving the person's booking number if you have it.

Bond is paid at the Hall of Justice, 600 West Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202, any hour, any day. Bring a government photo ID; you must be 18 or older. Cash, certified checks and cards are taken, with a fee on cards. For the amount, call the clerk at 502-595-4428 or 502-595-3060. Our bail guide covers bond types and refunds.

Each person in custody gets two free 15-minute calls a day, and other calls are paid from a prepaid account. The jail does not take incoming calls for inmates or pass along messages. To stop calls from someone in custody, call the block line at 502-574-2259. See our phone guide and messaging guide.

Letters are scanned off site and shown to inmates on kiosks or tablets, so don't send originals you want back. Address each letter to Louisville Metro Corrections with the inmate's name and booking number, PO Box 9180, Seminole, FL 33775-9174. Print the name and number clearly. Our mail guide lists what is refused.

First open an online family account with the letter-scanning service; approval can take up to a day. Book at least 24 hours ahead. Free onsite visits happen on video kiosks in the basement of the Hall of Justice, 600 West Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202; bring a valid ID. Remote visits from home cost a fee. See our visitation guide.

Money on an account pays for phone time and commissary items like snacks and hygiene products. Call the accounts office at 502-574-2146 to ask how to put money on the account, send a care package or pick up property. Our money guide and commissary guide explain the options.

If you have urgent news, such as a death in the family, or worries about a medical need, call the classification office at 502-574-2120 with the person's full name and birth date. Staff cannot share medical details, but they can pass on information. A lawyer can also raise health concerns with the judge.

The court asks about money for a lawyer at the first hearing, and appoints the Jefferson County Trial Office of the Department of Public Advocacy, 701 West Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202, 833-934-5953 for anyone who qualifies. Family can call that office with the case number to reach the assigned lawyer. Our court guide explains each step of the case.

Yes, and with so many people moving through the city, a second case is common. The sheriff's office at 502-574-5400 can check warrants from the local courts. For the surrounding counties, search the name statewide on the courts' free guest case search to find open cases anywhere.

A warrant still pending at release can be handled by a surrender at Metro Corrections that a defense attorney arranges, with bond requested then. The circuit clerk's criminal division at 600 W. Jefferson St., Louisville, KY 40202, answers at 502-595-3009.

Youths do not go to the adult jail. A child held on a charge must get a detention hearing within 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays (KRS 610.265). The state Department of Juvenile Justice, 502-573-2738, places detained youths; Louisville's detention center at 720 West Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202, is under renovation, and DJJ decides which regional center takes a detained child.

Look for a mugshot on the jail roster entry first. Members of the news media can ask the sheriff's office for booking photos that are not public. ICE photos must be requested with the ICE records request form. Federal booking photos are generally not shared, though the U.S. Marshals may release one when searching for someone who fled.

Metro Corrections (502-574-8477) houses many federal detainees; reach the Marshals Service downtown at 502-588-8000. Federal cases from this county are filed at the U.S. Courthouse, 601 West Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202, 502-625-3500. At the first appearance, a magistrate judge decides whether to hold a detention hearing, usually within three to five days, on whether the person stays locked up. Before that hearing, the person is held for the U.S. Marshals, whose Western District office on West Broadway takes questions about where a federal prisoner is housed at 502-588-8000. Marshals often place people in local jails, so the Metro roster may still list them. Questions about filings, hearing dates or copies of the docket go to the U.S. District Court clerk's office in the same federal courthouse, 502-625-3500. After sentencing, the person moves to Bureau of Prisons custody; use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Booking staff at Metro Corrections (502-574-8477) see detainers as they arrive; the ICE field office here is 502-625-6202.

1. ICE sends the jail a Form I-247A detainer asking it to hold the person.
2. Once the person is due for release on the local charge, ICE may ask Metro Corrections staff to hold a Jefferson prisoner up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, per 8 CFR 287.7(d).
3. ICE officers pick the person up within that time, or the hold ends and they are released.
4. Detainees are often moved to immigration centers outside Kentucky.
5. Find them with the ICE Online Detainee Locator by alien registration number, or by name plus birth country.

After a prison sentence, the person goes first to a reception center, where they are classified, and then to a prison that matches their security level. Some short sentences are served in county jails. Look the person up in the Kentucky DOC offender search (KOOL), and read our Kentucky state prisons guide for each prison's rules.

Staff can answer much faster with the person's full legal name, date of birth and booking number. The booking number appears on the roster entry and stays the same for the whole stay, so write it down the first time you find it. Nicknames and misspelled last names are the most common reason a search comes back empty; spell the name the way it reads on the person's ID.

The roster shows the charge as police filed it at booking, which can change. The Commonwealth's Attorney may add, drop or reduce counts, and only a grand jury can indict on a felony count. For the charge as it stands now, look the case up in KYeCourts public case search by name or case number. A case number starting with M is a misdemeanor in District Court; one with CR has reached Circuit Court.

Once a grand jury returns an indictment, the file moves to the Circuit Criminal section of the Circuit Court Clerk, reached at 502-595-3009. Circuit Court Support in Suite 2008 of the Hall of Justice answers general questions at 502-595-3088. Clerks can give hearing dates and case status, but they cannot give legal advice or say how a judge will rule.

Be careful. As the Jefferson County bail guide explains, bond in this county is paid only to the clerk at the Hall of Justice or through official court channels, never by gift card, wire app or cash handed to a stranger. Kentucky does not allow paid bail bondsmen, so anyone offering to post bond for a fee is not legitimate. If a caller claims a relative is in jail and needs money right away, hang up and check the roster yourself.

Search the roster again or check VINELink; once the person leaves, the entry drops off or shows a release. Releases are processed in batches, so a bond paid in the evening may not mean a release before morning. If the person is not out within several hours, call the general line, 502-574-8477, and ask whether a hold from another county or agency is keeping them in.

Most arrests come from the Louisville Metro Police Department, 601 West Chestnut Street, Louisville, KY 40203, non-emergency 502-574-7111, headquarters 502-574-7060. The sheriff's office is at 502-574-5400, and troopers work from Kentucky State Police Post 4, 954 Cameron Ponder Drive, Elizabethtown, KY 42701, 270-766-5078. Several small cities patrol their own streets with their own departments, including Anchorage (502-244-0562), Audubon Park (502-637-5066), Bancroft (502-991-9997), Forest Hills (502-261-0348), Graymoor-Devondale (502-429-0834), Heritage Creek (502-417-1120), Hollow Creek (502-239-7112), Hurstbourne Acres (502-548-1729), Indian Hills (502-893-1375), Jeffersontown (502-267-0503), Lincolnshire (502-895-9834), Lynnview (502-966-4086), Meadow Vale (502-298-0506), Middletown (502-245-2762), Northfield (502-296-6401), Plantation (502-425-4449), Prospect (502-228-1150), Rolling Fields (502-537-0718), Shively (502-488-6181), St. Matthews (502-899-2526), Strathmoor Manor (502-432-8900), Strathmoor Village (502-821-6655), West Buechel (502-459-4400), Windy Hills (502-356-9623) and Woodlawn Park (502-650-2230). Brownsboro Farm contracts with the Meadow Vale Police Department, whose on-duty officer answers at 502-548-2599 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; after hours, call LMPD non-emergency dispatch at 502-574-2111.