Use the roster first, then confirm by phone. A simple plan:

1. Open the Sheriff's inmate roster on your phone or computer.
2. Search by last name, then try other spellings if nothing turns up.
3. Call the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1, to make sure the person is there and to ask what happens next.
4. Ask for the booking number. It is the number the jail uses to identify each person.

Jot the number down somewhere safe. Staff can find the person faster when you have it.

A name can be missing for plain reasons:

• Booked minutes ago. Paperwork takes time after an arrest.
• Already gone home. Someone paid bail, or the court let them out on their own word.
• Taken elsewhere. People get moved to other counties, to state custody or to federal holds.
• Typed another way. Try the maiden name, a nickname or a second first name.
• A minor. The Detention Center holds adults. For a teen, call juvenile probation at 406-293-9715.

For a straight answer, phone the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1. Non-emergency dispatch is extension 5 on the same number.

Adults arrested here normally stay in Libby. Still, an arrest near a county line could end up in a neighbor's jail. These two are the closest in Montana:

• Flathead County Detention Center, 920 South Main, Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-758-5617
• Sanders County jail, 1115 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-3584

Idaho lies to the west and Canada to the north. If the arrest happened over one of those lines, the police there have the person. The Sheriff's Office at 406-293-4112 may know where someone was taken, so it is worth a call.

Montana treats a booking photo as a public record (MCA 44-5-103). To ask for a booking photo or an arrest report, call Sheriff's Records at 406-293-4112, extension 2, or fill out the Sheriff's records request page.

• ICE handles its own booking photos through the ICE records request page.
• Outside of ICE, federal mugshots are seldom released. One exception: a photo may come from the U.S. Marshals Service when it is hunting a fugitive.

For the Libby jail, your best tools are a daily look at the roster and a call to 406-293-4112, extension 1.

• VINE is a free notice service. Here it follows adults with felony sentences under the state DOC, like a parolee or a prison inmate, and it reaches you by call, text or email. Nobody is signed up for you. Register on VINELink or at 800-456-3076, any hour.
• Alleged victims in partner assault, choking, stalking or protection order cases get told by the jail when the accused gets out on bail (MCA 46-9-108).

Release is set by a judge at the first hearing. For arrests outside town limits, the County Attorney's Office says this usually comes the next business day, with judges seeing prisoners from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Most of these hearings are at the Justice Court, 418 Mineral Ave, Libby, MT 59923, 406-283-2412.

• For many misdemeanors, the judge may start from a statewide bond list.
• On a felony, the dollar figure is up to the judge.
• A partner or family assault arrest means no release until a judge has heard it.
• Holds on warrants from other counties or states block local bail (MCA 46-9-201).

For amounts, payment and bond agents, our bail page has the details.

Ask the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1, what the person is being held on. Every Montana statute is free to read at the Montana Code Annotated site.

After filing, every count appears in the court record. Misdemeanor records live on the lower court portal, and felony records live on the District Court portal. Last, the County Attorney's Office, 512 California Avenue, Libby, MT 59923, 406-293-2717, settles what the final charges will be.

The first judge the person sees must say they can have a lawyer, and must explain how to get a free one if money is short. Montana's public defenders take felonies, youth cases and any misdemeanor that could lead to jail time.

• Regional office: 723 5th Ave. E., Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-751-6080
• Apply online at advopd.mt.gov. Bank statements and recent pay stubs are needed.

Hiring a private lawyer is another choice. A lawyer is also the right person to carry papers that need the inmate's signature, since detention officers can't.

Visiting days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Each person in custody gets one 20-minute visit a week.

• Book your time at least 24 hours ahead by calling 406-293-4115, extension 1.
• All adult visitors must show a valid picture ID.
• Victims, witnesses and anyone involved in the inmate's case can't visit.
• Visitors who show up under the influence, or who act rude or unruly, are turned away and may be banned.
• If you are on probation or parole, get your officer's permission before you come.

The jail can change these rules at any time. For more tips, read our visiting page.

Yes, and mail is the only way the jail lists. Send cash or a money order to 512 California Ave, Libby, MT 59923. The envelope needs the inmate's name, plus your full name and address. The lobby does not accept money or items dropped off in person.

Commissary comes once a week, with food, writing supplies and hygiene items for sale. See our money guide and our commissary page for more.

Inmates place outgoing calls through a phone company under contract with the jail. Its help line for billing and account questions, 800-844-6591, is open around the clock.

Case details belong in calls with the lawyer, not on the jail phone. For questions about messages or other services, call the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1. Our phone guide and inmate email guide share general tips.

Before you write, call the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1, and ask for the correct mailing address. Put the inmate's full legal name on the front and your return address in the corner.

The jail sends mail back if it holds any of these:

• stains, or blank envelopes inside
• extra paper of any kind
• stickers, glitter, crayon or paint
• magazines or newspaper clippings
• perfume, or any other change to the letter

Books must be new, soft-bound, fit for a jail and shipped right from the seller. Passing banned items to someone in custody is a crime (MCA 45-7-307). Our mail page has more.

Not jail staff. Detention officers can't deliver paperwork or have an inmate sign documents. Mail the papers to the person, or give them to the person's lawyer to bring in.

Facing a court deadline? Phone the clerk of the court handling the case and explain the problem.

Ask the jail what was taken at booking and how it can be picked up. Call 406-293-4112, extension 1, on a weekday. Find out whether the inmate must sign a release form first. Pickups happen at the Sheriff's Office, 512 California Avenue, Libby, MT 59923, so carry a photo ID.

The jail says medical care is always available, for emergencies and routine needs alike. A certified food company serves three meals a day. There is also a recreation room each day, and cleaning supplies are handed out daily.

Worried about a prescription or an illness? Phone the jail at 406-293-4112, extension 1, without waiting. Share three things: what the drug is, the daily dose, and the doctor who prescribed it. Call 911 for any emergency.

Phone the Sheriff's civil and warrants line, 406-293-4112, extension 4, with warrant questions. Deputies serve warrants across the county, while town officers cover Libby, Troy and Eureka. The DOC offender search labels state prison escapees as wanted, along with anyone who absconded from probation or parole. Open court cases can be found on the free lower court portal and the District Court portal. Anyone who thinks they have a warrant should call a lawyer before anything else. They can then turn themselves in at the Detention Center, 512 California Ave, Libby, MT 59923, or call the clerk of the issuing court and request a new date. Justice Court warrants can be discussed at 406-283-2411.

Each court sets its own calendar:

• Justice Court, 418 Mineral Ave, Libby, MT 59923, 406-283-2411
• District Court, 512 California Ave., Libby, MT 59923, 406-293-8120, plus its hearing calendar
• City courts: Libby 406-293-4440, Troy 406-295-4151 and Eureka 406-297-2123

You can also type a name into either free state court portal. What each hearing is for is laid out on our court page.

Missoula's federal court hears federal arrests from this county. It sits in the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Missoula, MT 59802, 406-542-7260.

1. Detention is decided at the opening federal hearing: home or custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Deputy U.S. marshals keep federal prisoners in custody before trial and may place them in a county jail. To find out where, phone the Marshals' Montana district office at 406-200-6004.
3. PACER carries the federal docket: PACER case locator.
4. Once sentenced, run a name or register number through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Immigration holds follow a set pattern:

1. A detainer arrives at the jail on federal Form I-247A.
2. Up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, the jail may keep holding them. Officers in Montana are bound to follow the detainer (MCA 27-16-801). They must let the person go if believable papers prove citizenship or lawful status.
3. ICE agents then come for the person. The next stop is a site the agency's Salt Lake City Field Office uses, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Look them up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator by full name and country of birth, or by A-number. If nothing comes up, the agency's advice is to phone the field office.

Someone sentenced to state custody may sit in the Libby jail for a while, waiting for a DOC assessment. They may appear in the state's search while they wait.

• Where they are and their status show on the Montana offender search. Use a name or DOC number.
• Visiting and mail for each prison are explained in our Montana state prisons guide.
• Adult probation and parole in this area: 406-293-7739.

Adult jails may hold a minor only briefly under Montana law (MCA 41-5-349). Teen cases belong to Youth Court, and the public court portals leave them out. Detained youths see a judge quickly, inside 24 hours that exclude weekends and holidays (MCA 41-5-332). Juvenile probation, 406-293-9715, can say where your child is being held and what happens next.

Roughly 22,328 residents share 3,675 square miles here, by the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate. These agencies can make an arrest here:

• Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, 512 California Avenue, Libby, MT 59923, 406-293-4112. Deputies cover the areas outside town limits. There is a north county deputy office at 855 Hwy 93 North, Eureka, MT 59917, 406-297-2121, and a resident deputy in Troy. Call the Sheriff to learn which agency made an arrest in Rexford, Trego, Fortine, the Yaak or another small community.
• Libby Police Department, 603 Mineral Avenue, Libby, MT 59923. Its non-emergency line for non-criminal matters is 406-293-3343. Other non-emergency crime reports go through Sheriff's dispatch.
• Troy Police Department: reach an officer through Sheriff's dispatch, or leave a message at 406-295-4151.
• Eureka town police: the town has its own department. Town Hall can be reached at 406-297-2123.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, 24-hour dispatch 855-647-3777
• Kootenai National Forest (U.S. Forest Service), Supervisor's Office, 31374 US Highway 2, Libby, MT 59923, 406-293-6211