Yes. The sheriff links to a resident search portal for the Houlton jail. It lists current inmates with a mugshot, name, the agency they are held for, and an arrest date, which is sometimes blank. You can filter by name or custody date. Enter the legal name, matching the spelling on official ID cards. For release times, charges, or anything the portal does not answer, call the jail for more information at 207-532-7317.

On the Houlton jail portal, one column names the agency. It names who the person is held for. Most entries list a local department, the sheriff, or the State Police. A federal agency or another county may appear when Houlton is housing someone for them. That tells you which office to ask about the case, since the jail only holds the person.

The Houlton jail portal includes photos. The online portal shows mugshots for people in custody. For other copies, the sheriff's office decides whether to release a booking photo, so reporters and others should direct requests there at 207-532-3471. For someone held by immigration authorities, use the ICE Freedom of Information Act request page. Mugshot-style photos of federal prisoners are not public records, apart from limited releases by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Probably not for long. Police from Madawaska, Fort Kent, Caribou, and Presque Isle all bring adults to Houlton, a long drive south for many families. If the portal shows the name, the person is in Houlton. Plan travel around that before heading out for a visit or a release pickup.

The Houlton jail line is 207-532-7317. Start with the full legal name and birth date. Ask three things: is the person there, what is the booking charge, and when is the first court date. Officers at the front desk can also say whether bail has been set. Keep a pen handy, because they will not text or email the details.

Booking at 15 Broadway takes time. Intake covers fingerprints, a photo, a property list, a records check, and a health screening. When several agencies arrive at once from across the county, it can stretch past a few hours. A name may show up on the portal only after intake is done, so wait a little and search again.

For people held on Broadway, the Houlton jail is where bail is paid. Outside court hours, a bail commissioner sets the amount; during court hours a judge does. The commissioner's fee cannot be more than $60 under 15 M.R.S. §1023. Under 15 M.R.S. §1026, judges should try release without cash first. For payment steps and release rules, read our bail page.

Call the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office in Houlton at 207-532-3471; its deputies serve the county's warrants, from Van Buren south to Houlton. Maine offers no warrant search to the public, though case dockets can be checked after a free sign-up explained on the court system's electronic records page. The safest way to clear a warrant is a planned surrender with a lawyer at the Aroostook County Jail, 15 Broadway, Houlton. If it stems from a missed date, phone the court that issued it, such as Houlton District Court at 26 Court St. (207-532-2147) or Presque Isle District Court at 27 Riverside Dr. (207-764-2055), and ask about a new hearing.

An Aroostook case goes to the court nearest the arrest, from Fort Kent down to Houlton. It depends on the town. Northern towns usually go to Fort Kent or Caribou, central towns to Presque Isle, and southern towns to Houlton. Felony jury trials run at the Superior Court sites in Caribou and Houlton. Our court page lists every address and clerk number.

Yes. Releases from Houlton appear in VINE. Look up the person on VINELink and sign up for a text, call, or email. You will get word if the person is released or moved to another facility.

Visiting schedules in Houlton shift, so phone ahead before the long drive. Bring a government photo ID. Our visitation page covers what to expect.

The jail staff can explain which deposit methods work today. Our money page, commissary page, and phone page explain how those accounts usually work.

Address letters with the inmate's full name, then 15 Broadway, Houlton, ME 04730. Add your return address. Keep to plain paper and envelopes. Check our mail page and email page first.

They can. Heavy snow in the County sometimes closes courthouses or delays transport vans from Houlton. If a hearing is called off, the clerk sets a new date, and the person usually stays held until then unless bail is posted. Call the clerk the morning of the hearing if the weather looks bad.

For a Houlton booking, the charge is on the jail portal. The portal and the front desk give the booking charge. The district attorney may file a different or added charge later. For the charge as the court lists it, ask the clerk at the courthouse handling the case. Police reports stay with the agency that made the arrest.

People walk out of the jail at 15 Broadway in Houlton. Ask staff for a rough release time and arrive early. Bring an ID if you plan to carry out any property or cash the person is owed. In winter, bring a warm coat, because people leave in whatever clothes they wore at arrest.

No. The portal shows only who is held in Houlton right now. A full Maine criminal history comes from the State Bureau of Identification, part of the Maine State Police. Court case details are on re:SearchMaine or from whichever courthouse clerk holds the file.

Aroostook's public defender office is in Caribou at 207-493-4100. At the first appearance, a person who cannot pay may ask for counsel. The judge can assign a lawyer through the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, which has a public defender office at 14 Access Highway in Caribou: 207-493-4100. Relatives can share what they know with that lawyer but cannot make decisions for the defendant.

No. Juveniles who are detained go to the Long Creek Youth Development Center, 675 Westbrook St., South Portland, ME 04106; 207-822-2600. It is at the far southern end of the state, so ask staff about video visits.

Long Aroostook sentences are served away from Houlton. Search the Maine Department of Corrections list by name. Our Maine state prisons page gives each facility's address and phone.

The Houlton jail sometimes houses federal prisoners. Before sentencing, federal defendants are in U.S. Marshals Service custody and may sit in a county jail. The Marshals' Bangor office covers northern Maine: 202 Harlow St., Suite 321, Bangor, ME 04401; 207-945-0416. The main office is at 156 Federal St., Suite 124, Portland; 207-780-3355. Federal cases are filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine; reach the clerk in Bangor at 207-945-0575 or in Portland at 207-780-3356. After sentencing, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Aroostook shares a long line with Canada, so some arrests involve U.S. Border Patrol or federal charges. If the holding agency on the portal is federal, ask the U.S. Marshals rather than the jail about the case. On those cases a magistrate at the federal court rules on release; a county commissioner has no say.

The Houlton jail can receive ICE requests. ICE may file Form I-247A, which asks for the person to be held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, citing 8 CFR 287.7(d). Maine law in 5 M.R.S. §4763 and §4764 stops Houlton from keeping someone just for that form and requires that the person receive a copy. Check the ICE detainee locator if you lose track of the person.

Up here that happens a lot on minor matters, since the nearest jail can be hours away. The officer hands over paper, and the person drives home. Houlton never sees them, so the portal stays empty.

The Houlton jail at 207-532-7317 can tell you what bail really is. Treat it as fraud until proven otherwise. Nobody official collects bail through gift cards, crypto, or a stranger's account. Phone the Broadway jail and ask what is really owed.

The paperwork names it. Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou, and Fort Kent all hold court, and each clerk can confirm; see our court guide.

The Houlton jail has medical staff. Nurses review prescriptions after intake. Calls about a health worry are welcome, though privacy rules keep details sealed unless the inmate signs a release. Bring pills only if asked, in the labeled pharmacy bottle.

Hand it to the bail commissioner at the Broadway jail, or to the clerk during court hours once a judge has ruled. Cash in the exact amount plus ID is safest; our bail guide covers the rest.

The Houlton jail is a long trip from most of the county, so call 207-532-7317 first. Because a release, a transfer, or a lockdown can happen while you are on Route 1. One quick call confirms custody and whether anyone can help at that hour.

• Penobscot County: Penobscot County Jail, 85 Hammond St., Bangor, ME 04401; 207-947-4585
• Piscataquis County: Piscataquis County Jail, 52 Court St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426; 207-564-3304
• Somerset County: Somerset County Jail, 131 E. Madison Rd., Madison, ME 04950; 207-474-7409
• Washington County: Washington County Jail, 83 Court St., Machias, ME 04654; 207-255-3434

• Presque Isle Police Department: 207-764-4476
• Alternative number: Presque Isle, 207-764-2532
• Caribou Police Department: 207-493-3301
• Houlton Police Department: 207-532-2287
• Fort Kent Police Department: 207-834-5678
• Fort Fairfield Police Department: 207-472-3808
• Madawaska Police Department: 207-728-6356
• Ashland Police Department: 207-435-6626
• Aroostook County Sheriff's Office, 25 School St., Suite 216, Houlton: 207-532-3471
• Van Buren: the town's police department has closed; call the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office at 207-532-3471

Limestone and Washburn have disbanded their departments, and Van Buren no longer has its own police department, so it is served by the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office at 207-532-3471. These towns and every other town and plantation in the county rely on sheriff's deputies and the Maine State Police. The State Police communications center in Houlton answers around the clock: 207-532-5400.

Dial 911 for an emergency.