The PDF runs only a few pages. The county says the jail can house up to 42 people, and the copy printed October 29, 2026 counted 39 records. Steps:

1. Open the roster PDF.
2. Glance at the "Roster Printed on" date so you know its age.
3. Entries are sorted by surname, written last name, then first and middle. Your PDF viewer's search box will jump to a surname.
4. Read across the whole entry, including every charge listed for the person.
5. Copy down the Jacket number. Staff find a record quickly when you quote it.

Still no luck? Ring detention at 406-883-7272. Officers staff the jail at every hour.

Here is what each part of a line means:

• Jacket #. The jail's own number for the person. Use it on calls and paperwork.
• Days. How long they have been in custody so far.
• Booking Date. The day they came into the jail.
• Arr Agency. A short code for who arrested them, such as LCSO for the Sheriff's Office, PPD for Polson police, RPD for Ronan police or MHP for the Highway Patrol.
• Charges / Hold Reasons. The Montana law number and a short label for each charge. A tag like [Fel] marks a felony. A probation and parole hold shows as 46-23-1012.

For a bail amount or a release date, ask staff at 406-883-7272.

Most gaps have an ordinary cause:

• Timing. One printing a day means an arrest from a few hours ago may not be on it.
• Already out. They may have bonded out or been released by the court.
• Tribal custody. A tribal member held on a tribal charge sits in the Pablo jail.
• A transfer. Moves to state prison intake, another county or a federal hold drop a name from the list.
• Spelling. Check other spellings, a hyphenated surname or a maiden name.
• Age. Youth holds are handled apart from adults, so ask Juvenile Probation.

Phone 406-883-7272, give the legal name and birthday, and staff can check.

Yes, if the person is a tribal member. Most of the county is inside the Flathead Reservation. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) alone handle misdemeanors there by members of any tribe, and the Flathead Tribal Police run a 24-hour dispatch and jail in Pablo. Felonies can be brought by the Tribes or the state.

• Tribal police are based at 42487 Complex Blvd, Pablo, MT 59855, 406-675-4700.
• The tribal main line, 406-675-2700, reaches the tribal jail lobby and tribal police booking.

The county and the Tribes have disagreed since 2023 over the cost of handling reservation felonies. A 2025 law, SB 393, stops the county from withdrawing from that work any further before June 1, 2027. When you can't tell who made the arrest, call the county jail at 406-883-7272 and the tribal jail both.

Adults charged here are normally kept in Polson. Parts of the Flathead Reservation also lie in Sanders, Missoula and Flathead counties, so an arrest close to a county line could land someone in a neighbor's jail:

• Flathead County Detention Center, 920 South Main, Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-758-5617
• Sanders County Jail, Sheriff's Office, 1115 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-3584
• Missoula County Detention Facility, 2340 Mullan Road, Missoula, MT 59808, 406-258-4000

If the arresting agency is a mystery, the Sheriff's Office at 406-883-7279 can help track down where the person went.

The roster itself is text: names, numbers, dates and charges. Montana law lists booking photographs among public criminal justice records, along with daily jail rosters (MCA 44-5-103). To request a booking photo or an arrest report, contact the Sheriff's Office at 406-883-7279. The county's report request guide walks through how to ask for records.

A photo ICE took has to be sought through the federal agency's records request page.

With the county jail, a daily look at the roster plus a call to 406-883-7272 is the most reliable method.

• VINE, a free alert line, sends updates through calls, texts or emails. Its Montana coverage is adult felony offenders under corrections supervision, like those sent to prison or out on parole. Register on VINELink or by calling 800-456-3076, which runs 24 hours.
• Victims get a call. When someone charged with stalking, partner assault, strangling or breaking a protection order is let out on bail, jail staff must alert the alleged victim (MCA 46-9-108).

Most people see a judge first in Justice Court at the courthouse, 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7259. Cash bail is still used in Montana, yet the judge must reach for the mildest terms that make a return to court likely.

• Misdemeanor amounts often begin with the Supreme Court's recommended bond schedule.
• Felonies get an amount from the judge, since the schedule lists none.
• Assault on a partner or relative always needs a judge before release.
• People jailed on an outside county's or state's warrant wait for the court that issued it, not a judge here.
• For people held in jail, the judge also gets a pretrial risk report, since the county is a state pilot site.

Amounts, payment and bail agents are explained on our bail page.

Each roster charge pairs a Montana Code number with a few words, for example 46-23-1012 for a probation and parole hold. The Montana Code Annotated site, free to use, shows the text of every statute.

Once the case is filed, the court record gives the full charge. Look up misdemeanors on the limited court portal. For felonies, the District Court portal has the file. Final charging calls are made by the County Attorney's Office, at 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7245. In tribal cases, ask CSKT Tribal Court at 406-675-2700, ext. 1110.

At the opening hearing, the judge has to mention counsel, including the option of an appointed public defender. Montana's Office of State Public Defender represents people charged with felonies, youths in Youth Court, and anyone whose misdemeanor could bring jail.

• Local office: 50183 US Highway 93, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-6080
• Apply through advopd.mt.gov. Expect to upload paycheck stubs and recent bank records.
• Tribal court cases: the CSKT Tribal Defenders Office meets clients in jail and helps those who qualify by income, 406-675-2700, ext. 1125.

Families can also hire a private attorney at any point.

Visits take place every Saturday and Sunday, and every visit needs an appointment. Call 406-883-7272 to book a time and to ask:

• how long a visit lasts and what hours are open
• what kind of ID adults need, and whether kids can visit
• whether the visit is through glass or face to face
• what you may carry in and what must stay in the car

Our visitation page explains what visits are usually like.

A jail account typically covers canteen snacks, soap and other basics, and calls. Phone 406-883-7272 to learn the current deposit options, any fees and any cap. Quote the Jacket number from the roster along with the person's name.

Our guide to sending money and our commissary page explain the usual options and what the money buys. Never mail cash.

Ask detention at 406-883-7272 how your relative can phone out, the per-minute or per-call rate, and if tablets or e-messages are part of the setup. Treat every call as recorded, and keep details of the case between the person and their lawyer.

Our inmate phone guide and our guide to jail messages cover how these systems usually work.

Phone the jail at 406-883-7272 first, because mail rules and the right address come from staff. Ask how to address the envelope, whether the Jacket number belongs on it, and which items are allowed, like pictures or paperbacks.

Put the person's legal name on the envelope, with your return address showing. Common rules are listed in our jail mail guide. Don't tuck cash into a letter.

Wallets, phones, keys and clothes collected during booking go into jail storage, and they come back at release. If you are picking things up for the person, call 406-883-7272 ahead and ask about pickup times and whether a signed release is needed. Bring photo ID to the courthouse at 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, where the jail door faces west.

The Sheriff's Office answers for the health of everyone it locks up. If the person is ill, hurt or takes a daily prescription, call 406-883-7272 right away. Tell staff the drug, how much is taken and the prescriber's phone number.

Dial 911 for any emergency. If you fear the person may harm themselves, tell staff that plainly.

To ask about a warrant, phone the agency for the area where the case began. The Sheriff's Office is at 406-883-7279, and dispatch takes non-emergency calls day and night at 406-883-7301, for Polson police too. Ronan police answer at 406-676-0223, and St. Ignatius police at 406-745-3881. On the reservation, tribal police can be reached at 406-675-4700. Pending cases can be looked up on the limited jurisdiction portal and the District Court portal. People wanted for skipping state supervision are flagged on the offender search. Get a lawyer's advice first, then turn yourself in at the jail or contact the issuing court about a new hearing.

Phone the court handling the case:

• Justice Court, 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7259. Check its weekly docket online.
• Clerk of District Court, Room 301 of the same courthouse, 406-883-7256.
• For Polson city cases, phone 406-883-8212.
• For Ronan city cases, phone 406-676-0211.
• For St. Ignatius cases, phone the town at 406-745-3791.
• For tribal cases, phone CSKT Tribal Court at 406-675-2700, ext. 1110.

You can also type a defendant's name into either state portal. Every stage of a case is laid out step by step on our court page.

Federal arrests here go to the court in Missoula, the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Missoula, MT 59802, 406-542-7260.

1. A federal judge rules on jail or home at the very first federal appearance (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals Service keeps pretrial federal prisoners and may rent space in a county jail. Its Montana office at 406-200-6004 can say which one.
3. Follow the case on PACER.
4. For anyone sentenced federally, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator can search by register number or by name.

Expect these steps when ICE wants the person:

1. ICE asks for a hold by sending Form I-247A.
2. Jail staff may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Under Montana law the detainer must be honored, unless the person can show credible papers proving U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. Agents then transfer the person to a site that ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office uses, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number, or by full name and country of birth. When a search comes up empty, ICE tells families to call that office.

Sentenced felons often remain in the Polson jail for a while. Corrections staff assess them there first. The state search may show them during that wait.

• The state's Montana offender search accepts a name or DOC number and returns a location.
• For visiting and mail rules at each site, open our Montana state prisons guide.
• Call the Board of Pardons and Parole with parole questions, 406-846-1404.

Teens are kept out of the adult cells. The jail has one room for brief youth holds, then a youth is either released or moved to a juvenile facility. Youth Court takes the case, and youth files never appear on the public portals. Holding a youth in detention starts a 24-hour clock for a probable cause hearing, and that clock pauses on weekends and holidays (MCA 41-5-332). Juvenile Probation, at 406-883-7264, can tell a parent which facility has the youth and when court is.

The roster names the arresting agency for each person. These agencies work in a county of about 33,392 people (Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025):

• Sheriff's Office, 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7279. Covers areas outside town limits.
• Polson Police Department, City Hall, 106 1st Street East, Polson, MT 59860. Police clerk 406-883-8211, or the 24-hour line 406-883-7301.
• Ronan Police Department, 209 Main St SW, Suite A, Ronan, MT 59864, 406-676-0223
• St. Ignatius Police Department, 4 1st Ave E, St. Ignatius, MT 59865, 406-745-3881
• Flathead Tribal Police, 42487 Complex Blvd, Pablo, MT 59855, 406-675-4700, open around the clock and serving members and non-members
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, 24-hour dispatch 855-647-3777