The Sheriff's Office keeps this lookup. Any phone or computer can open it:

1. Go to the lookup page.
2. Fill in the last name. The page will not search without it.
3. If you get too many names, add the first name, a booking date or a gender.
4. Press search and scan the results.
5. Look at the refresh time near the top. A booking from this hour could be missing.

The page reminds you that facts change quickly and that fingerprints are the only proof of identity. It shows only people who are in custody now, so someone who left will not appear. For the charge, bond or a release, call the jail's information line at 616-786-4140. The Sheriff says a shift supervisor takes calls on it day and night.

There are several harmless reasons:

• Booking is not finished. The jail enters names after fingerprints and paperwork are done.
• Another agency has them. A city police department or the State Police can hold a person first and bring them to West Olive later.
• They already left. Some people go home after paying a small interim bond to the jail, or once a judge has seen them.
• They are in a different jail. This can happen if the arrest was made across the county border.
• The spelling differs. Test a nickname, an old surname or a shorter spelling.
• They are a minor. Teens are not placed with adults.

Phone 616-738-4650 and ask booking staff to look. Keep the legal name and a birth date close by.

The Sheriff's pages describe a single adult facility. That is the Ottawa County Jail, also called the Adult Correctional Facility, 12130 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-738-4650. West Olive sits north of Holland, on a road shared with the Sheriff's other offices. The Sheriff places each person in the least restrictive setting that matches their classification.

• The jail: every adult inmate, at the address above.
• Sheriff's administration: 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-738-4000. These are offices, with no inmates.
• Teens: a separate building, covered in the under-18 answer.

Someone picked up in a different county may sit in that county's jail. Find it on our list of Michigan jails, or phone that county's Sheriff. Federal and state holds can send a person out of the area, so ask the jail where yours is.

The lookup asks for a name and returns results, but we cannot say whether a mugshot comes with them. Do not count on a photo there.

The state's Attorney General has issued an opinion that treats suspect photos in police files as open records. Still, an agency may refuse if releasing one would intrude unfairly on privacy. To ask, file a public records request with the arresting agency (the Michigan FOIA statute begins at MCL 15.231). For an arrest by Sheriff's deputies, Records takes calls at 616-738-4025. The office is at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460.

• For photos from an ICE arrest, use ICE's records request form.
• Federal mugshots are normally withheld from the public. The one exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which can release a photo of someone it is seeking.

VINE is a free service the state offers for county jails and for state prisons. It sends a notice about a release, a transfer or a break-out. It can also pass along court news.

• Register at vinelink.com.
• Or phone 800-770-7657 to register or to ask about a person's status.

The Sheriff's jail page points families to VINE for release notices. Treat it as a second check, and still call the jail's information line, 616-786-4140, if timing matters.

What happens first depends on the charge.

• Interim bond. For some lesser offenses, a person held at the jail can post a modest interim bond with the deputy on duty at a time no magistrate is free (MCL 780.581). When the arrest involves domestic violence, bond waits for a judge or magistrate.
• Arraignment. Shortly after arrest, the 58th District Court's judge or magistrate sees the person, often over a screen. Judges often free people on their own word or on a bond with no money up front. Cash bail is ordered only after the judge decides nothing gentler will work (MCR 6.106).
• Paying. A bond may be cash, 10 percent or surety. A kiosk in the jail lobby accepts bills, Visa, Mastercard and American Express, but no coins, money orders or checks. You can instead pay at expressaccount.com or on the phone at 866-422-6833.
• The 1 percent fee. On a 10 percent bond, the jail says the court keeps 1 percent of the full bond if the case ends in a conviction. With no conviction, the deposit is returned, minus any fines or costs.

Surety agents hold a state insurance producer license, and each court must approve them. Questions about an agent can go to the state insurance regulator at 877-999-6442. For more, see our bail guide and our summary of Michigan bail law.

The lookup tracks custody, not charges. Phone booking at 616-738-4650 to ask. The jail is at 12130 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460.

Once a case exists, try the state's MiCOURT search for the 58th District Court. If nothing turns up, call a clerk: Grand Haven, 414 Washington Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-846-8280; Holland, 85 West 8th Street, Holland, MI 49423, 616-392-6991; or Hudsonville, 3100 Port Sheldon Road, Hudsonville, MI 49426, 616-662-3100.

At the first hearing the court discusses counsel and checks if the person qualifies for a free lawyer (MCR 6.005). Money for a bond is no reason to be turned down.

The county runs a public defender office at two sites:

• Holland: 12185 James Street, Suite 170, Holland, MI 49424, 616-393-4463
• Grand Haven: 1111 Fulton Street, Grand Haven, MI 49417, same phone

Speak up for a lawyer at that first hearing, because no one is always named right after booking. Relatives can also pay for a private lawyer, who should phone the jail before coming in.

Every person may have one 45-minute visit a week. You sit face to face and cannot touch. The details:

• Reserve a slot at least a day ahead, and no more than three weeks ahead, by phoning 616-738-4650 in office hours.
• Office hours are Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office is shut Friday through Sunday.
• Each visit allows two adults and two children at most.
• Adults need photo identification: a driver's license, state card or passport. Kids come with an adult and carry something like a birth certificate.
• Arrive a quarter hour early. A QR code lets you check in from an hour before.
• New inmates usually cannot have visitors until they reach general housing.

A court order against contact stops visits, and the jail may cancel one with no notice. You can also meet by video from home through SmartJailMail.com. Set up a free account, upload an ID and a fresh selfie, then wait for the county's emailed approval. Charges run by the minute. Staff record and monitor these sessions. Our visiting guide has more tips.

An account pays for the store and for calls. There are three deposit routes:

• Online at expressaccount.com.
• By phone, 866-422-6833.
• The lobby kiosk at 12130 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, which is open at any hour for cash or a credit card.

A credit card may not exceed $200 in one deposit or $300 over 14 days. Fees are added. The jail would rather you not send deposits by mail. Store orders go in once a week, for up to $125, at canteenservices.com or expressaccount.com or by phone. At release, whatever remains is returned on a debit card. For more, read our money guide and commissary guide.

Calls run through Smart Communications. You can use a prepaid collect account or a PIN debit account. The jail lists two help lines: 727-349-1561 and 888-843-1972.

A voicemail left for an inmate costs $1.00 per message at 863-400-5993. It needs a funded account and the person's ID number. They get a notice on their kiosk or tablet.

Calls can be recorded, so keep case details for your lawyer. More is in our jail phone guide and our texts and email guide.

Letters sent straight to the jail come back to you. Use this processing address instead, and print the name and ID number in plain letters:

Ottawa County Adult Correctional Facility
Inmate name and ID number
PO Box 9155
Seminole, FL 33775-9137

Letters, postcards and greeting cards are scanned, and the person reads the scans on a tablet. A MailGuard Tracker account lets you follow what you sent. Books have to be new paperbacks bought from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Hamilton Books, Schuler Books or Walmart, and the jail may still turn one down. Never put cash in the mail. Our mail guide adds detail.

What the person carried in goes into jail storage. Call 616-738-4650 and ask booking how pickup works, what ID to carry and if a signed release is required. The front desk at 12130 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460 is open Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Phone 616-786-4140, which is answered at all hours. Describe the problem and give any medicine names, doses and the doctor. Ask the jail staff what steps the person inside must take to be seen by medical staff.

A mental health liaison works with the Sheriff at 616-738-4091. If life is in danger, dial 911.

Deputies of the Sheriff's Office, 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-738-4000, can tell you about warrants. Ask for the Records unit and read them the full name and the birth date of the person you mean. Administration answers Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The MiCOURT case search shows filed cases, not warrants, so also call a clerk at the 58th District Court, 414 Washington Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-846-8280. If a warrant exists, see a lawyer before doing anything else. The lawyer can then call the court that signed the warrant about turning in.

Only the court that holds the case can give you the date. The 58th District Court has three sites. Each is open Monday to Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Grand Haven, 414 Washington Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-846-8280
• Holland, 85 West 8th Street, Holland, MI 49423, 616-392-6991
• Hudsonville, 3100 Port Sheldon Road, Hudsonville, MI 49426, 616-662-3100

After the early hearings, a felony goes on to the 20th Circuit Court, 414 Washington Avenue, Suite 300, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-846-8320. Early in a felony, the court sets a conference to review probable cause, about 7 to 14 days after arraignment. If the case goes on, a preliminary exam is held roughly 5 to 7 days after that. You can search by name in MiCOURT. The court guide breaks down each kind of hearing.

Federal criminal cases from this county are filed in Grand Rapids, at the Southern Division of the federal district court for western Michigan. The courthouse is at 110 Michigan Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-456-2381.

1. At a detention hearing, custody or release is up to a federal judge (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before then, the U.S. Marshals Service has custody. Its Grand Rapids office is at 110 Michigan Street NW, Suite 744, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-456-2438.
3. The federal defender's office is at 50 Louis NW, Suite 300, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 616-742-7420.
4. Search the Bureau of Prisons locator once a sentence has begun.

An immigration hold often follows these steps:

1. ICE sends the jail a hold request, Form I-247A, known as a detainer.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail can hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, to give ICE time to take custody.
3. See whether ICE has the person by using the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Search with an A-number, or enter the name and the birth country.
4. Questions go to the ICE field office in Detroit, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601, which serves Michigan and Ohio.

Speak with an immigration attorney quickly.

A sentenced man begins at Jackson, in the state's Reception and Guidance Center. A sentenced woman begins at the reception center in Ypsilanti. Deputies from the county do the transport. The reception stage lasts roughly 30 to 45 days, and men there cannot be visited, though mail and money deposits still reach them.

• The state's prison system keeps an online Offender Tracking Information System. Enter a name or number.
• Rules inside each prison are on our Michigan prison guide.

Michigan now treats 17-year-olds as juveniles. The county's 20th Circuit Court has a Family Division for youth cases, 414 Washington Avenue, Suite 300, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-846-8320. The law bars contact between teens and adult inmates, even by sight or voice.

The county's youth lockup is the Juvenile Detention Center, 12110 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-786-4130. For a teen of at least 14, the judge may order the case tried among adults (MCL 712A.4). Some grave crimes send a 14-to-17-year-old straight to Circuit Court (MCL 600.606).

To learn who made the arrest, ask booking at the jail. These agencies work here:

• Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, MI 49460, 616-738-4000. Deputies patrol under contract in these places:
  • Allendale Township, 616-892-3123
  • City of Coopersville, 616-997-8175
  • City of Ferrysburg and Village of Spring Lake, 616-215-1595
  • Georgetown Township, 616-662-6019
  • Holland and Park Townships, 616-393-4486
  • City of Hudsonville: use the Sheriff's main line above
• Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, 525 Washington Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417, 616-842-3460
• Zeeland Police Department, 29 W. Main Avenue, Zeeland, MI 49464, 616-772-9125
• Holland city police, campus police and other towns: use the non-emergency number, 800-249-0911
• Michigan State Police, Post 61, 2290 4 Mile Road NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49544, 616-866-4411