Here is how to run the search:

1. Go to the county jail search.
2. Type the surname alone at first. If the list is long, add a first name to trim it.
3. Nothing there? Try a nickname, then middle or maiden names, then other spellings.
4. Once you spot the person, copy down any booking or ID number listed. Staff find the right record faster with it.
5. Phone the jail, read that number, and ask about charges, bail and hearings.

Jail staff answer at 218-333-4189. The Sheriff's Records unit handles report requests on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 218-333-4187.

An empty result usually has an everyday explanation:

• Still in booking. Photos, prints and forms come first, and the record follows.
• Cited and sent home. For most misdemeanors, Minnesota officers may write a ticket that sets a court date and skip the trip to jail (Rule 6.01 of the criminal rules). That choice is off the table for domestic assault, stalking and breaking a protection or no-contact order. Those people are jailed and see a judge (Minn. Stat. 629.72).
• Freed already. Someone posted bail, or the judge set them free at the first hearing.
• Held elsewhere. Picked up across the county line? That county's Sheriff books them.
• Under 18. Kids are handled outside the adult jail.

Still stuck? Call 218-333-4189 and spell out the full name.

The county runs one adult jail. Its official name is the Adult Corrections Center, though county pages also call it the county jail.

• Address: 626 Minnesota Ave NW, Bemidji, MN 56601, phone 218-333-4189.
• Who stays there: men on the second floor and women on the first floor.
• Work release: people serving a sentence may ask to keep working. They fill out the jail's Work Release Packet and Questionnaire and bring it back to the jail.
• Size and checks: the Minnesota Department of Corrections licenses the jail and inspects it each year. Its 2026 inspection lists 132 approved beds.

The county is building a new jail on Pioneer Street in Bemidji. The county has not announced a move date, so people are held on Minnesota Avenue for now. The Sheriff's Office sits in the Law Enforcement Center, 613 Minnesota Ave NW, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-333-9111.

Someone picked up outside the county line is held by that county's Sheriff. Find nearby jails on our list of Minnesota jails.

Minnesota counts mugshots as public records. Booking photos fall under Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 26, which makes them public data. An agency can keep one back for a time when releasing it would hurt an active investigation. The arrest record is open too: the charge, whether the person is still held, and when they got out (Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 2).

For a copy, go to the agency behind the arrest. When deputies made it, call Sheriff's Records at 218-333-4187 on a weekday. If a city officer did, contact that city's police department.

• Immigration photos: request them with ICE's FOIA form.
• Photos from federal agencies: these generally aren't released. The U.S. Marshals Service may release one, for example while searching for a fugitive.

The state's Department of Public Safety offers a free tool called Minnesota VINE. It shows if a person is still in a county jail and names the jail. Signing up brings a notice when the person is let go or transferred.

• Sign up at Minnesota VINELink or by phone at 877-664-8463.
• Registration isn't automatic. Every family member who wants notice has to enroll.
• Once someone moves to state prison, notices come from a Department of Corrections system called Minnesota Haven.

Releases here follow set times. People finishing a sentence usually walk out around 6 a.m. Court-ordered releases happen as soon as the paperwork reaches the jail, as late as 11:59 p.m. For today's status, call 218-333-4189.

A District Court judge makes the release call at the first appearance. For a person arrested with no warrant, Rule 4.02 of the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure sets a 36-hour limit. That count skips the arrest day plus Sundays and legal holidays. Probable cause has a separate 48-hour deadline for the judge, and every day counts toward that one. When the arrest came on a warrant, its own terms control the timing.

• First choice: the judge starts from release on the person's word or an unsecured bond, and Rule 6.02 allows only the conditions that are truly needed.
• Two numbers: a money bail amount with no conditions must be set too. Many orders list a smaller sum that comes with rules and a bigger sum free of them.
• Paying cash: the money goes to the court administrator and stays the defendant's property, even if a relative put it up. Any fines and restitution can come out of it first. By signing court form CRM602, the defendant can send the refund to someone else (Minn. Stat. 629.53).
• Bond agents: an agent needs a Commerce Department license and approval from the state court bail bond program, and Minn. Stat. 60M.02 sets a fee of at least $100, which is never returned.

Call 218-333-4189 to learn where payment is taken today. Court Administration is at 600 Minnesota Ave NW, Suite 108, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-888-5060. Our bail guide for this county has more detail, and a statewide overview of Minnesota bail law is also available.

Call 218-333-4189 for the booking charge. After charges are filed in a formal complaint, Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) lists the case. It costs nothing to use. Searching by name or case number brings up each count and the case status. A few juvenile records stay hidden.

Minnesota sorts crimes into four levels, and each has a top penalty:

• Petty misdemeanor: fine only, $300 at most.
• Misdemeanor: the cap is 90 days, a $1,000 fine, or both.
• Gross misdemeanor: the cap is 364 days, a $3,000 fine, or both.
• Felony: a crime punishable by one year or longer in prison, under Minn. Stat. 609.02.

Court Administration can explain what a case entry means. Call 218-888-5060.

A public defender is an option if money is too tight to hire one. Under Minn. Stat. 611.14, a public defender can be appointed in felony and gross misdemeanor cases, plus any misdemeanor where jail is a possible sentence. Eligibility is decided by the judge after reading a money statement the person fills out under oath. Anyone receiving means-tested benefits is presumed eligible under Minn. Stat. 611.17.

Public defenders who cover this county work out of the Ninth Judicial District's Bemidji office, 619 Beltrami Avenue NW, Suite 240, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-755-4333.

The first hearing is the right moment to ask. The family is free to hire a private attorney as well. Attorneys get in-person contact visits at the jail.

The jail offers visits seven days a week in three blocks: 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. A visit has to begin before its block ends. Visits with family happen on screens rather than in person.

• Lobby kiosk: 15 minutes per visit, and a visitor may see only one inmate a day.
• At home: remote video visits run on the TurnKey Corrections system. Create an account at inmatecanteen.com.
• Carry a photo ID in case staff ask. Leave cameras behind.
• Children need a parent or legal guardian along.
• A person covered by a protection, harassment or no-contact order involving the inmate is barred.
• Staff monitor and record every visit.

Read more in our visiting guide, or ask jail staff at 218-333-4189.

Account funds pay for commissary, phone time, email and medical fees. The jail's rules allow these ways in:

• Mail: staff pull cash, money orders and government checks out of letters and post them to the account. The inmate endorses any money order or government check. A money order can be tracked, so it is the safer pick.
• Personal or paycheck checks: they are stored with the person's property rather than deposited.
• Visiting desk: staff accept cash or money orders.

When an inmate owes the jail, half of every deposit pays that balance down. For questions about a lobby kiosk or online deposits, call the jail's administration office at 218-333-4181 on a business day. Our deposit guide covers the basics, and the commissary page lists what it can buy.

Reliance Telephone runs the jail phones. Inmates call collect or with a prepaid card, bought from staff or at reliancetelephone.com. Jail staff relay incoming calls only in a true emergency.

• Recorded messages: family can leave a brief message on the jail message line, 218-558-3773.
• Email: write through team3.inmatecanteen.com. Each message costs the inmate $0.25. Messages must be in English, and staff review them.
• Texts: an inmate can rent a texting device for $4.00 per 30 days, and each text is $0.09. Load the texting account at reliancetelephone.com.

Since calls can be recorded, discuss the case only in person with the attorney. Our calling guide and e-message guide explain the systems in depth.

Use this format, with the inmate's full name on top:

Full Name
Beltrami County Adult Correction Center
626 Minnesota Avenue NW
Bemidji, MN 56601

• Staff scan letters and pictures onto the jail kiosk, where the inmate views them.
• Originals are stored with their belongings and returned when they leave.
• Anything showing gang symbols, graffiti, threats or offensive material is returned.
• If the inmate has been transferred or released, the letter goes back to you.

Before mailing a book or magazine, call 218-333-4189 to ask what is allowed. Our letters guide has general tips.

The jail stores just what the person had with them when booked. The jail won't accept bags, clothes or other belongings that family drops off later.

Collect leftover items quickly after a release or transfer, because items left more than 30 days get thrown away. Phone 218-333-4189 to ask how to collect them and what ID to bring.

People getting out can also join the jail's Reset Program, a voluntary reentry service run with a social worker. Reach the coordinator at 218-333-8163.

The county contracts with a medical provider to treat people held here. Tell the jail at 218-333-4189 about any illness, injury or medicine. Give each drug's name and dose, plus the prescriber's name. Inside, the person can tell an officer whenever they feel unwell.

• Each nurse visit is $5.00 and each provider visit is $10.00, charged to the account.
• Care is never refused because someone can't pay.
• Dental work is limited to emergencies.
• If someone plans to turn themselves in, they should bring every current prescription.

Concerns about abuse or sexual assault inside the jail can go to the administration office at 218-333-4181 during business hours.

The county posts its own warrant lists. To ask whether one exists, call 218-333-9111, or open the county's warrant list and the Sheriff's active warrant listing. The state also keeps a wanted fugitives page for people who broke supervised release.

Open court cases are on the free state case search, though warrants are not part of it.

If a warrant exists, get a lawyer's advice first. Then call court administration for the court that signed the warrant. Turning in at the jail is the other option. Court Administration is at 600 Minnesota Ave NW, Suite 108, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-888-5060.

Every state criminal case from this county lands in District Court, which belongs to Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District. Its Court Administration office is in the Judicial Center, 600 Minnesota Ave NW, Suite 108, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-888-5060.

• The state's free hearing lookup shows coming court dates when you enter a name.
• The omnibus hearing, a session on evidence questions, generally lands in the first 42 days, per Rule 11.01.
• A defendant can insist on a quick trial. Then it has to begin inside 60 days under Rule 11.09.

Under Minn. Stat. 609.49, missing a felony court date is a crime of its own. That extra count goes away when the person comes in on their own within 48 hours. The court process guide explains every stage.

A federal case is filed in the U.S. District Court, which covers all of Minnesota as one district and has four courthouses. Fergus Falls is the closest to Bemidji: 118 South Mill Street, Fergus Falls, MN 56537. Reach the clerk at 612-664-5000. Major crimes on the Red Lake Reservation are often prosecuted federally.

1. The first steps include a detention hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142. That is where the judge chooses between release and staying locked up until trial.
2. The U.S. Marshals Service keeps custody of federal defendants who are not released before trial. Call its Minneapolis office, 300 South 4th Street, Suite 402, Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612-664-5900, to ask where someone is housed.
3. Many federal detainees in Minnesota sleep at the Sherburne County Jail, which is in Elk River. Reach that county's Sheriff's Office at 13880 Business Center Drive NW, Suite 100, Elk River, MN 55330, 763-765-3500.
4. There is also a U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services office in Bemidji at 619 Beltrami Avenue, Suite 100, Bemidji, MN 56601, 218-210-6030.
5. Once a federal sentence begins, use the BOP's inmate locator.

When immigration officers want someone held, this is the usual order:

1. The paper that starts it all is Form I-247A. Jails call it a detainer.
2. On that form, immigration officers ask for the person to be held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. This gives agents a window to come (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Minnesota's Attorney General weighed in through an opinion dated February 6, 2025. According to that opinion, state law gives a jail no power to hold someone past release on the detainer alone.
4. If ICE takes custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Have the A-number? Search with it. No A-number? Enter their full name, then choose their birth country.
5. Questions can go to ICE's St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections handles anyone given a felony prison term. Deputies first drive them from the Bemidji jail to a DOC intake center, where each person is processed and evaluated.

• Look for them on the DOC Offender Locator. Records for brand-new arrivals can lag by a few business days.
• The closing third of most sentences is lived out in the community under DOC supervision. That stretch is called supervised release.
• For prison visits and mail, read our Minnesota state prisons guide.

Under Minnesota law, a person under 18 is a child. Their case belongs in the juvenile court of the District Court. Usually a parent picks the child up. Minn. Stat. 260B.176 sets the limits on holding kids. Holding a child in secure detention for over 36 hours (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excluded) requires a filed petition plus a court order. Beyond the metro area, a jail or lockup built for adults may hold a youth one day (24 hours) at most, weekends and holidays left out, before that same court step is needed. State inspectors have not approved the Bemidji jail to house juveniles.

The secure youth center in town is the Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center, 1231 Fifth Street NW, Bemidji, MN 56619. Court Administration at 218-888-5060 can help you find out where a child is.

For serious charges against 14- to 17-year-olds, there are two other paths. Certification can move the case into adult court. The other route keeps it in juvenile court as an extended jurisdiction juvenile (EJJ) case.

The county had an estimated 47,053 residents on April 1, 2025, according to the Minnesota State Demographic Center. Several agencies make arrests here:

• Sheriff's Office: 613 Minnesota Ave NW, Bemidji, MN 56601, inside the Law Enforcement Center, 218-333-9111. That number doubles as the non-emergency dispatch line. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For emergencies, use 911.
• City and tribal officers: Bemidji police work inside the city, and tribal officers patrol reservation land. Dispatch can tell you whose officers made the arrest.
• Minnesota State Patrol: its headquarters is 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 130, Saint Paul, MN 55101, 651-201-7100. The State Patrol's contact page lets you choose the county and see the district that covers it.

Ask the arresting agency for its report number when you call.