The Sheriff's Office runs one lookup for both adult jails. The District Attorney's office calls it a searchable list of people in jail in the county. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Find an adult in custody search.
2. Type the person's last name and first name. Try a shorter spelling if nothing shows.
3. Copy the SWIS ID number if the record shows it. That is the jail's own number for the person.
4. Keep the SWIS ID with your notes. You will need it to send mail, add money or set up a video visit.

The jail system is large. It is budgeted for 1,130 beds, and MCDC alone booked 19,396 people in the 2025 budget year. With that many people coming and going, a fresh arrest can take a while to appear. Staff at 503-988-3689 can confirm what the lookup shows.

An empty result is not proof of release. Think through these common reasons:

• Still being booked. Booking takes time. Wait a few hours and search again.
• A different spelling. The record uses the legal name given at booking. Try a middle name, a nickname spelling or a former last name.
• Already out. MCDC released 19,539 people in the 2025 budget year.
• Held by another county. Arrests near a county border can end up in a Washington, Clackamas or Columbia County jail.
• Under 18. Youth go to juvenile detention, which the adult lookup does not cover.
• A federal hold. Federal prisoners may sit in a jail outside the county.

Call the Detention Center at 503-988-3689 and spell the full name; have the birth date ready. For an arrest by deputies, the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Records Unit at 234 SW Kendall Court, Troutdale, OR 97060, 503-988-7300, can help.

The Sheriff's Office runs two adult jails, and the county runs one youth center:

• MCDC, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, 503-988-3689. All booking and release happens here, in the Justice Center. It has 448 maximum-security beds plus an 18-bed booking area.
• Inverness Jail, 11540 NE Inverness Drive, Portland, OR 97220, 503-988-5060. This lower-security jail near the airport has about 1,037 dorm beds for low- and medium-risk people, plus those who work jobs inside the jail. Nobody is booked here.
• Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center, 1401 NE 68th Ave, Portland, OR 97213, 503-988-3460. For youth only.

Neighbor jails to call if the arrest was close to the edge of the county:

• Washington County Jail, 215 SW Adams Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97123, 503-846-2600 (24 hours)
• Clackamas County Jail, 2206 Kaen Road, Oregon City, OR 97045, 503-722-6777
• Columbia County Jail, 901 Port Ave, St. Helens, OR 97051, 503-366-4630

When the jail is too full, a county plan lets the Sheriff release some people early at 95 percent of capacity, based on risk (ORS 169.042-169.046). Their court date does not change.

Oregon keeps booking photos tightly held. Since HB 3273 (2021), police and jails generally may not hand out a mugshot. They can share one with the person in it, a victim, a party in the case, or the public when police have a reason, like tracking down a fugitive. A conviction from that arrest also opens the photo to release. The Sheriff's own policy follows that state law.

• Plan on finding the person by name and SWIS ID, not by a picture.
• Reporters can ask the Sheriff's Office at 503-988-4300.
• For an ICE photo, file a request for ICE records.
• Federal booking photos generally stay private, though the Marshals sometimes release one to find a fugitive.

The same law gives paid mugshot websites 30 days to remove a photo once asked, and they may charge $50 at most. If the case was dismissed or set aside, removal is due within seven days at no charge.

Yes. The Sheriff's Office uses VISOR, Oregon's version of VINE, which took over from VINELink on October 30, 2023. It is a free service of the Oregon Department of Corrections.

• It shows custody status in county jails and state prisons, so families can use it as a second search.
• A phone call, text or email tells you when the person leaves custody, changes facilities, escapes or dies.
• Signing up works with or without an account, and the person being tracked never learns of it.
• Help is available around the clock at 855-691-6246.

Victims of domestic violence can also use the DA's custody information page, which links a release notice form. Never count on an alert alone for your safety. Call 911 in an emergency.

Oregon uses security release, the state's word for bail, and it has no bail bond companies. Many people with low-level, nonviolent charges are let go on a promise to return under the Presiding Judge's standing order. Others stay until arraignment. The deadline for that hearing is 36 hours, and Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays don't run that clock (ORS 135.010).

• If security is set, posting 10 percent of it, $25 at least, usually gets the person out (ORS 135.265).
• Pay in person at the Justice Center lobby at any hour, at the Inverness Jail lobby from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., or online through TouchPay Online with MCSO Facility #297204.
• Only cash and credit cards are taken.
• The Sheriff never calls to demand payment for a release. Treat such calls as scams.

Ask the bail line at 503-988-3689 about the amount and any holds. Our bail and release page goes through refunds, holds and denial of release in full.

Charges come into focus in stages. Police list the booking charges. Next, the District Attorney's office decides on the formal charges, and the judge reads those charges at arraignment.

1. Call the jail at 503-988-3689 and ask for the booking charges.
2. Watch the DA's Court Appearance List, a PDF posted by 5:00 p.m. each day.
3. After the DA files, look the person up by name on OJD Records and Calendar Search, which is free.
4. Call court Records at 971-274-0570 for case facts.

Expect changes: prosecutors can add counts, drop some or reduce them before the first hearing, so rely on the court record.

A defense lawyer is waiting in the arraignment courtroom, and the person can ask for an appointed lawyer there. They complete a sworn form about their money, and a court screener reviews it. A $20 fee usually applies, though the court may waive it. Being broke never means facing court alone.

• Metropolitan Public Defender, Multnomah Defenders Inc. and other offices take appointed cases.
• Under a federal order called Betschart, a person held in jail for a week after the first hearing, still unrepresented, generally must be released on conditions. The case continues.
• For a private lawyer, the Oregon State Bar runs a referral line at 503-684-3763.
• On a federal charge, the Federal Public Defender, 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123, often steps in.

The person in custody makes the request in court. A relative can't sign up for them.

Both jails offer in-person and video visits. Call 503-988-3689 before you leave home, because weekend staffing may affect social visits.

• Who may come: only people on the person's visitor list, children included. Up to 3 visitors at a time, and children count.
• What to bring: a current government photo ID for each adult. Minors need a parent, guardian or approved adult with proof, such as a birth certificate.
• How it works: arrive 30 to 60 minutes early, fill out a service request form for each visitor at the window, and wait. Visits are first come, first served and last up to 30 minutes.
• Dress code: chest, groin and buttocks covered, no hats or hoods, no gang or drug images, and closed-toe shoes for contact visits.

MCDC social visits: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m.; Saturday at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Inverness social visits (since September 7, 2026): Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. None on Wednesday or Sunday.

Video visits can be made from home on a Windows or Mac computer with a webcam, or from lobby kiosks at both jails. Book at least 24 hours ahead. Visits are recorded, and the vendor's site lists prices. For kiosk visits, check in at the security desk 15 minutes early with photo ID. More tips are on our visiting guide.

Deposits need the person's SWIS ID and the pay location code 297204. Every deposit carries a processing fee. Choose one of these ways:

• Lobby kiosks at the Justice Center (open 24 hours), the Inverness Jail lobby, and the fourth floor of the downtown courthouse, 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204. They take cash, debit or credit cards.
• Online or by phone at 866-232-1899.
• By mail, only government, transfer or payroll checks, sent to the MCSO Fiscal Unit, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 350, Portland, OR 97214.

Cash, personal checks, cashier's checks and money orders sent by mail come back with the whole letter. The person can also send money out. They fill out a form, and staff issue a check, at most two times in 30 days and up to $500 each time. The person picking it up shows a government ID. See our guide to account deposits and our commissary page for what the money can buy.

People in custody make outgoing calls only. Nobody outside can phone in to them.

• Calls to numbers on the jail's toll-free list cost nothing. Other calls are collect.
• The county budget pays for two free calls a week for each adult in custody.
• Calls last up to 15 minutes, are recorded, and can't be three-way calls.
• To stop calls from the jail, press 6 when one comes in.
• The phone provider's line is 800-844-6591.

At Inverness, phones run weekdays 8 to 11 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m., 4 to 6 p.m. and 8 to 11 p.m., and weekends 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 7 p.m. Ask the jail about messaging and email options. Our jail phone guide and jail email guide cover how these services usually work.

All personal mail goes to one address, whichever jail the person is in. Write it like this:

INMATE MAIL
Full booked name and SWIS ID
11540 NE Inverness Drive, Portland, OR 97220

• Use the first and last name the person was booked under.
• A return address is required. Mail without one is not delivered.
• Every letter is opened and checked.
• Never send cash, checks, stamps, sexual images or anything hard to search.
• Legal mail must say "LEGAL MAIL" on the address side. It is opened in front of the person.
• Only a publisher or an approved store may send books and magazines. No hardbacks or spiral books, nothing over 9 by 13 by 3 inches, and four items at a time.

Personal mail has to come by post; lobby officers can't accept it. Our jail mail guide has more tips.

Belongings taken at booking are stored for the person. To release them to family, the person in custody must fill out a request form first. All of the property goes out together.

• Pick up at the security desk at MCDC, 1120 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204, with a government photo ID.
• Pickup hours are weekdays 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 to 10:30 p.m., and weekends 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or 3:00 to 10:30 p.m.
• Eyeglasses are the only item usually accepted from outside. Drop them off at either jail with your ID and mailing address.
• One shirt and one pair of pants can be swapped in after the person sends a form. Drop-off is at the same MCDC desk.
• Clothes for court go to the defense lawyer, arranged ahead of time.

Questions go to 503-988-3689.

County Corrections Health staff screen each person at booking and work with the Sheriff's Office on medical and mental health care in the jails. Oregon law requires jails to provide emergency medical and dental care (ORS 169.076). A jail may charge a health fee only if it gives needed care to everyone, money or no money (ORS 169.150).

• A jail may not accept someone who is unconscious (ORS 169.105).
• Call the jail at 503-988-3689 to report a known illness or needed medicine.
• Tell the defense lawyer as well, who can bring it up in court.

Oregon jails are inspected under state law, and many also take part in a voluntary Oregon Jail Standards review.

Both the Sheriff's Office and city departments arrest people on warrants. The Sheriff's Law Enforcement Records Unit is at 234 SW Kendall Court, Troutdale, OR 97060, 503-988-7300. For a warrant check, phone the circuit court at 971-274-0545 and press 5, ready with a case number or a full name and birth date. Metropolitan Public Defender offers a free, private hotline at 503-414-5453. Check the official wanted pages: U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted, FBI Portland and Oregon DOC Most Wanted. Get a lawyer before you surrender. You can turn in at the Justice Center, the Troutdale Sheriff's Operation Center or a police precinct, though some are not staffed overnight. The Central Courthouse is 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204.

Each hearing ends with the clerk naming the next date. To look it up later, use these:

• Hearings appear in OJD Records and Calendar Search, a free state site. Juvenile cases are left out.
• The circuit court posts calendars and live streams.
• Sign up for text reminders so a date is never missed.
• Call Criminal Operations at 971-274-0545, weekdays 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

First hearings for people in jail happen on the third floor of the Justice Center, 1120 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204. Our court process guide explains each step after that.

Federal arrests here are handled by the District of Oregon's federal court in its Portland Division. The Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse is at 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 740, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-8000.

1. Before trial, the U.S. Marshals Service chooses the jail. Call its district office, 1000 SW 3rd Avenue, Room 401, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2209.
2. Next comes a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142). There a judge decides if the person may wait for trial at home.
3. Pretrial housing is a contract jail or the detention center at FCI Sheridan, 27072 Ballston Road, Sheridan, OR 97378, 503-843-4442.
4. After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or BOP register number.

The Federal Public Defender, 101 SW Main, Suite 1700, Portland, OR 97204, 503-326-2123, defends many people charged in federal court.

Immigration holds follow a set path:

1. The process begins with an ICE detainer, Form I-247A, filed with the jail.
2. The request seeks to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Oregon limits that. Its sanctuary laws (ORS 181A.820-181A.829; HB 3265, 2021) bar Oregon officers and jails from honoring any immigration request that lacks a judge's signature. In practice, a detainer by itself generally can't keep someone in a county jail here, and the jail won't pass release times to ICE for enforcement.
4. Should ICE take custody anyway, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. The A-number works best; lacking that, type the name and country of birth.
5. Call the ICE office in Portland, 4310 S Macadam Ave, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239, 503-326-4165, weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It reports to the Seattle Field Office, 12500 Tukwila International Boulevard, Seattle, WA 98168, 206-277-2000.

The Sheriff's Office posts immigration questions and answers in seven languages on its law enforcement page.

Use the Oregon Offender Search, run by the Oregon Department of Corrections. Search by name. DOC says the results are a public service, not an official record.

• New prisoners first go through intake, which takes about 30 days. Personal visits are not allowed then, but calls and letters are.
• Letters during intake go to 24499 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Wilsonville, OR 97070, with the person's SID number.
• Questions go to DOC at 503-945-9090.
• Our Oregon state prisons guide lists each Oregon prison.

Youth are held in the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center, 1401 NE 68th Ave, Portland, OR 97213. The adult lookup leaves them out, so call 503-988-3460.

• Visits are 30 minutes, seven days a week, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday add 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. They can be in person or virtual, set up ahead of time.
• Send letters by regular mail with the youth's name, in care of the center. Ask staff the exact format.
• Youth keep going to school inside, through the Multnomah Education Service District.
• Juvenile court sits in the same complex, 971-274-0800.

Youth committed to state custody end up with the Oregon Youth Authority, which runs five youth correctional facilities.

Knowing the agency helps when you need a police report or items taken during the arrest. One non-emergency number, 503-823-3333, reaches police dispatch across most of the county. Call 911 for emergencies.

Portland (about 640,623 people citywide, PSU estimate, July 1, 2025):

• Police Bureau (PPB) Central Precinct, in the Justice Center lobby, 1111 SW 2nd Ave., Portland, OR 97204, 503-823-0097, open 24/7
• East Precinct, 737 SE 106th Ave., Portland, OR 97216, 503-823-4800
• North Precinct, 449 NE Emerson, Portland, OR 97211, 503-823-5700

Gresham (115,739 people):

• Gresham Police Department, 1333 NW Eastman Parkway, Gresham, OR 97030, 503-618-2318, weekdays 8 to 4 with a noon hour closure
• Rockwood Public Safety Facility, 675 NE 181st Ave., Portland, OR 97230, 503-618-2041

Sheriff's Office towns and rural areas. Deputies patrol Troutdale (16,484 people), Fairview (11,046), Wood Village (5,220) and Maywood Park (830) under contract, plus unincorporated land from Sauvie Island to the Columbia River Gorge. The patrol base is the Troutdale Sheriff's Operation Center, 234 SW Kendall Court, Troutdale, OR 97060. The main office is at 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Suite 350, Portland, OR 97214, 503-988-4300. Its Transit Police and River Patrol units also make arrests.

Towns split with other counties.

• Lake Oswego Police, non-emergency dispatch at 380 A Avenue, Lake Oswego, OR 97034, 503-635-0238
• Milwaukie: ask the Sheriff's Office which department handled it

Other agencies.

• Oregon State Police: dial *OSP (*677) from a cell phone, or the Northern Command Center at 800-442-0776. The nearest patrol office is 8085 SE Deer Creek Lane, Milwaukie, OR 97222, 503-731-3020.
• Port of Portland Police at the airport, reached through the Port's 24-hour line at 7240 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97218, 503-460-4000
• PSU Campus Public Safety Office, staffed 24/7, non-emergency 503-725-4407
• FBI field office, 9109 NE Cascades Parkway, Portland, OR 97220, 503-224-4181, for federal arrests