1. Open the Sheriff's inmate search.
2. Enter a last name. A long list? Narrow it with the first name.
3. Look over the matches. People are sorted by the day they were booked.
4. Click a name. The record shows sex, race, age, home city, the Inmate ID and the charges.
5. Write down the Inmate ID. You may need it for money, mail and phone calls.

Each record also has links for web deposits, commissary and inmate notices. If a record says the person may have been moved or let go, call the jail at 918-253-4530 to find out which.

A name can be missing for a few plain reasons:

• Booking takes time. Fingerprints, paperwork and a health screening come first. A later search often finds them.
• The spelling is off. Try only the last name, a maiden name or a nickname.
• They were released or moved. Once someone leaves, their record changes or drops off.
• Another county has them. Someone picked up in Ottawa or Mayes County sits in that county's jail.

The Sheriff's site also has a Daily Booking Report that covers the last 72 hours. Still stuck? Call the jail at 918-253-4530, or ask the police department that made the arrest where the person went.

The Sheriff's jail in Jay is the county's adult jail. For an arrest outside county lines, try these:

• Ottawa County Jail (to the north): 28 B St SE, Miami, OK 74354, 918-542-2806
• Mayes County Jail (to the west): 1 Court Place, Suite 150, Pryor, OK 74361, 918-825-6500
• Federal Transfer Center, for some people in federal custody: 7410 S. MacArthur Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73169, 405-682-4075
• Cimarron Correctional Facility, for some people held by ICE: 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023, 918-225-3336

Arrests over the state line in Arkansas or Missouri go to that county's sheriff. Teens go to a juvenile center, not an adult jail.

Requests for booking photos go through the Sheriff's Office in Jay, 918-253-2700. Staff there can explain how to ask for a copy and whether it must be in writing.

• Under the Open Records Act, arrest facts such as name, charge and jail booking data are generally public (51 O.S. § 24A.8). That law does not name booking photos.
• News outlets can ask the Sheriff's Office for photos too.
• To ask ICE for its photo of someone, use federal records law through ICE's FOIA page.
• Federal photos are rarely given out, though the Marshals may post a wanted fugitive's picture.

Yes, two ways:

• Oklahoma VINE. This free state service tracks custody status, including transfers, release, escape and death. Search and sign up on VINELink, or call toll-free 877-654-8463. DOC assigns its own number at prison intake, so sign up again at that point.
• The Sheriff's app. It has inmate search, booking details, alerts and wanted persons. Get it on the App Store or Google Play.

Each record on the Sheriff's search also links to inmate notices you can sign up for.

In Oklahoma, nearly everyone has a right to bail. A judge may deny bail outright only for certain charges, like violent crimes or crimes with a life sentence, and only after a hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).

• Some lower charges have set amounts. A District Court judge decides the rest.
• A second or later DUI must go before a judge before release (HB 1222).
• Ways out include paying in cash, hiring a bondsman, pledging land or signing a promise to return.
• A hold from a second Oklahoma court can be cleared by posting that court's bond as well (HB 1991).

Ask the jail at 918-253-4530 for the bond amount. For the full steps, see our bail and release page.

The charge list sits right on each person's jail record. For the court side, the Court Clerk here puts cases on ODCR, so search the case there. After the District Attorney files, the court case lists the official counts.

Charges can change after booking. Prosecutors may add, drop or lower them. For the latest, call the Court Clerk at 918-253-4420. For a city ticket, call the city court that wrote it.

The person can request the form for a court-appointed lawyer from a jail officer. A District Court judge decides who qualifies, based on income, debts and property. Being able to post bail can be weighed, but not as the only reason. Here the state's indigent defense program uses a contract office at 204 W 4th St, Suite C, Grove, OK 74344, 918-314-3487.

The form costs $40, paid into the Court Fund; on request, that bill can sit until the case closes. The Oklahoma Indigent Defense System main office is at 111 N. Peters Ave, Suite 500, Norman, OK 73069, 405-801-2601. It does not assign lawyers by phone; the judge does.

The jail has two kinds of visits:

• On-site visits happen on kiosks at the jail. Book at least 24 hours ahead, then check in at the lobby when you arrive.
• Video visits from home run 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, with a break from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Visitors sign up through the visit service the Sheriff's visitation page links to, and send in a photo to be approved. A visit runs about 15 to 20 minutes, so check the length when you book.

• Bring a valid passport or a U.S. or state photo ID.
• Children must come with a parent, guardian or custodian.
• Only one adult visitor is allowed at a time.

For more on how jail visits work, see our visitation page.

There are two ways, and both take cash or a debit or credit card:

1. The lobby kiosk at the jail, 327 S. 5th Street, Jay, OK 74346.
2. Online deposit, through the link on the Sheriff's commissary page. It works from anywhere.

Keep the money out of the mail. Cash and money orders sent in an envelope are not a way to fund an account here.

• Commissary orders close Friday mornings before 9:00 a.m.
• A person counts as indigent with a balance under $15.00 for thirty days.
• Writing supplies like stamps, paper and envelopes can be bought for them through the commissary service.

Our money and commissary pages explain deposits and ordering.

Under state rules, a new arrival gets two or more calls once booked. Those can go to local numbers or be placed collect (OAC 310:670-5-1). Don't be surprised if that first call is collect.

Later calls run through the jail's phone setup. Questions on accounts, rates, tablets or messaging go to the jail at 918-253-4530.

Our calling page and messaging page give general tips.

Put the person's full name on line one. Below it goes the Sheriff's Office address, 327 S. 5th Street, Jay, OK 74346. Call the jail first at 918-253-4530 to check the address and whether to add the Inmate ID from the search.

• Photos must be unframed, no bigger than 4x6 inches, and not sexual.
• Books, puzzle books included, must come straight from a publisher or bookstore, three at most.
• Magazines and other periodicals are not normally allowed.
• Letters from a lawyer, a court or a government office are opened only with the person there.
• There is no state limit on letter count for people in jail (OAC 310:670-5-9).

Mail going out from the jail carries the jail's return address and the person's name. Our mail page has addressing tips.

Staff list the person's things at booking and store them. At release, the jail must match the items to that list and have the person sign (OAC 310:670-5-1).

• Any balance in the jail account is paid only to the person, at release.
• If release happens on a weekend, account funds can be picked up Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• To pick up clothes or other items for the person while they are still inside, call the jail at 918-253-4530 and ask what form or ID you need.

Under Oklahoma jail standards, every new arrival gets a health screening right away. Staff explain how sick calls work. Once a written sick call is turned in, the rules give 48 hours to schedule a licensed provider. An urgent problem should be seen faster (OAC 310:670-5-8).

• Have the person put each request in writing and keep track of the date.
• If you know of a health need, like a daily medicine, tell the jail at 918-253-4530.
• State law also requires adequate medical care and safe, separate housing for women, minors and the infirm (74 O.S. § 192).

If a worry is not handled, ask to speak with a shift supervisor.

Sheriff's deputies serve court warrants in every part of the county. The Sheriff's Office answers warrant questions at 918-253-2700. The Sheriff posts local fugitives on its Most Wanted page. Statewide, check the Attorney General's 10 Most Wanted; for escapes, DOC's Orange Alert; and for fugitives sought across the country, the Marshals keep a 15 Most Wanted list. Court cases can be checked on ODCR. With a lawyer's advice, a person can surrender at the jail in Jay or ask the Court Clerk, 327 S. 5th Street, Jay, OK 74346, 918-253-4420, about bond or a new date.

Open the person's case on ODCR; upcoming dates show in the docket. The Court Clerk can also give the date by phone at 918-253-4420, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Jay city cases are on the city's court calendar.
• Grove Municipal Court meets Wednesdays at 9 a.m. at 1201 NEO Loop, Grove, OK 74344, 918-786-6107.

Our court guide walks through each kind of hearing.

Federal cases from here are heard in Tulsa at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, 333 W. 4th Street, Room 411, Tulsa, OK 74103, 918-699-4700.

1. First comes a detention hearing, where a federal judge rules on release before trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Anyone kept locked up before trial goes into Marshals custody. The Marshals' Tulsa office is at 333 West 4th Street, Suite 2050, Tulsa, OK 74103, 918-200-0600. That office can say which jail has the person.
3. Some stay in a county jail that has a deal with the Marshals. Others pass through the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
4. After sentencing, look them up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

An immigration hold usually goes in this order:

1. ICE starts by sending the jail a request called a detainer (Form I-247A).
2. The detainer allows the jail to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents then pick the person up. ICE handles Oklahoma from Dallas, where its field office is at 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200. ICE's Oklahoma City office is at 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199.
4. Detainees may be sent to Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023. Its detainee information line, 918-225-3336, answers 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
5. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Search it with the A-number. Lacking that, try the full name plus birth country.

HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795) targets people living in Oklahoma without lawful immigration status by creating a new state crime. For now a federal court has blocked the law, and the block stays in place while the appeal is pending.

A state prison sentence does not mean an instant move. DOC says moves into its custody normally happen 6 to 9 months after sentencing. Then a DOC assessment and reception center sorts each person by custody level before they go to a prison.

• A name or DOC number pulls up a record on the DOC Offender Lookup.
• Every prison is listed on our Oklahoma state prisons page.
• Mail to a state prison must include the person's name and ODOC number.
• For questions once they arrive, DOC points families to the person's assigned case manager. The main DOC line is 405-425-2500.

Minors who can't go home are sent to juvenile detention instead of the jail in Jay. The Office of Juvenile Affairs runs youth cases here from its district office, 1431 North Main, Jay, OK 74346, 918-253-8920, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• A youth may be held at a police station or sheriff's office only up to 6 hours for processing.
• A detention hearing before a judge follows quickly, usually the next judicial day.
• For grave crimes, teens from 15 to 17 can be charged as youthful offenders, a special track with adult court as the fallback.

Call the OJA office to learn which center has the youth and how parents can visit.

Ask the agency that made the arrest, since it knows where its prisoner went. Here is every agency that patrols the county:

• Sheriff's Office, 327 S. 5th Street, Jay, OK 74346, main line 918-253-2700. Dispatch for non-emergency help: 918-253-4531. Deputies cover about 792 square miles of rural roads and small towns. Call here for Bernice, Oaks and Ketchum.
• Grove Police Department (Grove, about 7,399 people in 2025), 11 E 3rd Street, Grove, OK 74344, 918-786-6121
• Jay Police Department (Jay, about 2,507 people), north end of 102 N 5th St, Jay, OK 74346, 918-253-4277
• Colcord Police Department, 918-544-6133. Town Hall is at 128 S Colcord Ave, Colcord, OK 74338.
• Kansas Police Department, through Kansas Town Hall, 150 South Cherokee Street, Kansas, OK 74347, 918-868-2198
• West Siloam Springs Police Department, reached through the town hall at 4880 Cedar Drive, Colcord, OK 74338, 918-422-5101
• Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, which works throughout the Cherokee Nation, through Justice Services, P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465, 918-453-5610
• Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which works the state highways. The nearest troop office it lists is Troop L in Vinita, 918-256-3388.