A 2022 report to state lawmakers listed 30 beds here. A phone call is the most reliable check. Try this order:

1. Look the name up with the inmate lookup, if it loads for you.
2. Whatever it shows, call 406-827-3584 to confirm.
3. Give the person's legal name, any nicknames, and birth date.
4. Ask what charges are listed, which agency made the arrest, and when the first court date is.
5. Jot down the booking number if staff share one, since it makes the next call quicker.

The front office keeps weekday hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After hours, the City of Thompson Falls tells callers to use extension 3 on the Sheriff's line.

An empty search can mean several things:

• Still being booked. Paperwork takes a while after an arrest.
• Already released. They may have bailed out or been let go at a hearing.
• Held somewhere else. An arrest in a neighboring county, on the reservation, or on a federal charge can mean a different jail.
• A spelling mismatch. Try a middle name, maiden name or nickname.
• Under 18. Minors are kept apart from the adult jail.

Staff at 406-827-3584 can clear up most of these in one call. For a supervisor, ask for the Detention Commander, 406-827-6946.

Booking is the check-in step for a new arrest. The Sheriff's fee list, dated July 2, 2025, shows a $25.00 intake fee. Ask the jail how that fee is charged and whether it comes out of the person's account.

After booking, the person waits for a first appearance before a judge, usually in Justice Court at 406-827-6941. The judge reads the charges and decides on bail or release at that hearing.

Adults arrested by county or town officers stay in the Thompson Falls jail. An arrest just across a county line, though, puts a person in that county's lockup. These are the closest Montana jails:

• Lake County Detention Facility in Polson, 406-883-7272
• Mineral County jail in Superior, run by the Sheriff, PO Box 99, Superior, MT 59872, 406-822-3555
• Lincoln County Detention Center in Libby, visit scheduling at 406-293-4115, ext. 1
• Flathead County Detention Center, 920 South Main, Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-758-5617
• Missoula County Detention Facility, 2340 Mullan Road, Missoula, MT 59808, 406-258-4000

Not sure which agency made the arrest? Ask the Sheriff's Office at 406-827-3584 where the person was taken.

That's possible after an arrest on Flathead Reservation land, which takes in part of this county, Hot Springs included. Flathead Tribal Police keep their own jail open around the clock. The department sits at 42487 Complex Blvd, Pablo, MT 59855, and its main phone, 406-675-4700, is answered in business hours.

The Tribes' own statement gives CSKT sole say over misdemeanors committed on the reservation by members of any federally recognized tribe. For felonies by tribal members, the Tribes and the state split the work. Questions about a tribal case go to the tribal court at 406-675-2700, ext. 1110.

Montana's records law puts booking photos on the public side of the line, along with bail papers and daily jail rosters (MCA 44-5-103). Phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-827-3584 to learn how to ask for a copy.

• ICE keeps its own photos. Ask for one through its FOIA records page.
• Federal booking photos are rarely given out. The main exception is the U.S. Marshals, who may put one out while hunting a fugitive.

For the county jail, a phone call to 406-827-3584 is the way to learn about a release or transfer.

• VINE is a free notice service. In Montana it tracks felons the Department of Corrections supervises, such as people in prison or out on parole. Alerts come by phone, text or email once you enroll on VINELink or at 800-456-3076. Nobody is signed up for you.
• Family violence, stalking and protective order cases come with a duty. The detention center has to reach the alleged victim quickly once the accused posts bail (MCA 46-9-108).

Release is decided at the person's first court appearance, usually in Justice Court, 1111 Main Street W, Thompson Falls, MT 59873. Montana has kept money bail. Still, the law points judges to the lightest conditions that will keep the person showing up for hearings.

• For a lot of misdemeanors, a statewide recommended schedule gives the judge a starting figure.
• No figure exists for felonies on that schedule, so a judge sets one.
• Charges of hurting a partner or relative can't be bailed until a judge sees the person.
• Bail can't be set here on another county's or state's warrant.

Amounts, payment steps and bond agents are on our bail page.

Start by asking jail staff what is on the booking sheet. Every Montana charge ties to a numbered statute, for example 45-5-201 for assault. Read the wording of any statute free on the Montana Code Annotated site.

When the prosecutor files, the full complaint lands in the court record. Search misdemeanors in the lower court portal and felonies in the District Court portal. The County Attorney makes the final call on what to charge. That office is at 1111 Main Street W, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-6903.

At the first court date the judge tells the person they may have a lawyer. Someone who can't pay may get one through Montana's Office of State Public Defender, which takes felonies, jailable misdemeanors and youth matters.

• Region 1 office named in the county's 2024 court resource guide: 723 5th Ave. E., Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901, 406-751-6080
• Apply at advopd.mt.gov. The office asks for proof of income, like recent paychecks and bank records.

A family may choose to pay for a private attorney. That lawyer can ask the jail how to set up a confidential visit or call.

Visiting days, times and dress rules are set by the jail and can change. Call 406-827-3584 before you plan a trip. Ask:

• if the jail offers face-to-face visits, video visits, or a mix
• how far ahead you must book
• what ID visitors need, and the minimum age
• whether children may come along
• what you can bring inside

Our visiting guide has general tips.

Account money pays for snacks, hygiene items and calls. To learn how deposits work right now, and any limits or fees, call the jail at 406-827-3584. Know the person's legal name and, if you have it, the booking number.

Ways to deposit are explained in general terms in our money guide. To see what an account can buy, read our commissary page. Mailing bills or coins is a bad bet.

For phone calls, ask the jail at 406-827-3584 how to get set up, what calls cost and whether they are recorded.

Electronic messages are set up through an account at NCIC.com, according to the jail's mail rules. Each message costs $0.25, and a picture message or document costs $0.35. There is no cap on how many you can send. Inmates read messages and scanned mail on jail tablets.

Save talk about the charges for the defense lawyer. For more, see our jail calling guide and our page on inmate e-messages.

Since October 21, 2026, personal mail no longer goes to Thompson Falls. It goes to a Texas address. There each letter is scanned, and the person reads it on a jail tablet. The paper is destroyed afterward. It is not returned, and you are not paid back for it. Write the address this way:

Inmate's full name
Sanders County Detention Center Montana
PO BOX 591
Longview, Texas 75606

• Show the person's name, the Sheriff's Office and your return address on the envelope.
• Pages can't be larger than a sheet of letter paper, 8.5 by 11 inches.
• Send 5 pages or fewer, written on the front side only.
• Include no more than 1 photo. With more, the whole letter is sent back.
• Never send legal or medical mail to the Texas box.

Our mail guide has more tips. Leave money out of every envelope.

Legal mail is the one kind still sent to Thompson Falls. Address it to Sanders County Detention Center, PO Box 910, Thompson Falls, MT 59873.

Books, magazines, newspapers and bulk mail can't go to the Texas scanning box either. The jail's rules say they must be sent to the facility under its own guidelines. Before you order anything, call 406-827-3584 and ask where it should be shipped and from whom.

Things taken from the person at booking are locked up by the jail until release. Planning to pick things up for them? Phone 406-827-3584 on a weekday and find out whether they need to sign a paper letting you take the items. Then bring photo ID to 1115 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873.

Health care for people in custody falls on the Sheriff's Office. Tell the jail at 406-827-3584 right away about any illness, injury or daily medicine. Have ready the drug's name, the dose, and a phone number for the prescriber.

Life-or-death situations call for 911. The county's court resource guide also lists a mental health crisis line, 406-261-6474.

In this county, warrants are signed by a Justice Court or district judge and carried out by deputies or town police. Questions about one go to the Sheriff's Office, 406-827-3584. Open charges can be looked up free on the state's lower court portal and District Court portal. Escapees and people who fled state probation or parole are flagged as wanted in the Montana offender search. If one turns up, talk it over with a lawyer first. The next step is turning yourself in at 1115 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, or asking the judge's office that signed it for a new hearing.

Every court here runs a separate schedule. Phone whichever one is handling the case:

• Justice Court, 1111 Main Street W, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-6941, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Clerk of District Court, same building, 406-827-6962.
• City courts: Thompson Falls at 406-827-3557, Plains at 406-826-3515, and Hot Springs at 406-741-2353.

Both state court portals take a name search as well. Each step of a case is laid out on our court process page.

A federal case from this area is tried before the Missoula Division judges. Their courthouse is the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Missoula, MT 59802, 406-542-7260.

1. The opening federal hearing settles whether the person is detained or sent home to wait (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Pending trial, a federal prisoner is in the Marshals' custody and may be housed in a local jail under contract. To learn the location, phone the U.S. Marshals in Montana at 406-200-6004.
3. Read the court papers on PACER.
4. After a federal sentence, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, by name or register number.

1. The jail receives a detainer from ICE, called Form I-247A.
2. That lets the jail keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Montana officers are bound to carry out the request, except when they are shown credible papers of citizenship or legal status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. ICE agents then pick the person up. Montana detainees are handled out of Utah, at the Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator. An A-number works best. Without one, enter the name and birth country. When the search finds no one, ICE's advice is to phone that field office.

A person sentenced to state prison often stays on in the county jail until state corrections staff finish screening them. The state search can list them even before the move.

• The Montana offender search lists current location. Search by name or by state ID.
• Our Montana state prisons guide gives visiting and letter rules, one prison at a time.
• The probation and parole field office in town is at 1047 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-3590.

Teen cases go to Youth Court, and the online court portals leave them out. Any youth placed in detention must have a court hearing inside 24 hours, with weekend days and legal holidays skipped in the count (MCA 41-5-332). The Sheriff's Office at 406-827-3584 can say where the youth was taken. Juvenile probation, which covers Lake and Sanders counties, answers Youth Court questions at 406-883-7264.

The jail can tell you which agency brought the person in. The county has about 14,062 residents (Census Bureau, July 1, 2025 estimate), served by these agencies:

• Sheriff's Office, 1115 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-3584. It also runs the jail and county dispatch.
• Thompson Falls Police Department, City Hall, 108 Fulton Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, 406-827-3557. Open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After hours, the city sends callers to the Sheriff's line, extension 3.
• Plains Police Department, 101 West Lynch Street, Plains, MT 59859, 406-826-3411. Three full-time officers.
• Hot Springs Police Department, 111 Main Street, Hot Springs, MT 59845, non-emergency 406-741-3314.
• Flathead Tribal Police, 42487 Complex Blvd, Pablo, MT 59855, 406-675-4700. Serves tribal members and non-members on the reservation.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, 24-hour dispatch 855-647-3777.