The Department of Prisons runs one search for its whole system. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Incarcerated Person Locator from any phone or computer.
2. Enter the person's legal name, first and last, and their birth date, checking the spelling.
3. If you have the PID number from the arrest papers, search with that instead.
4. Read which facility is listed. Each of the four jails has its own address on State Road.
5. Write down the facility name. Visits, legal mail and money orders all depend on it.

Mail and deposits also need the person's PPN, the prison ID number. Ask for it when you call Classification, Movement and Registration at 215-685-8394. The other lines for that unit are 215-685-8395 and 215-685-8396. For Spanish, call 215-685-8692.

The locator covers only the four city jails. A person may be somewhere else for a while:

• Still at a booking center. Adult men are fingerprinted and photographed at a Divisional Booking Center and wait there for the video arraignment. These sit in police district buildings: the 1st District, 2301 South 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145, 215-686-3010; the 9th, 400 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130, 215-686-3090; the 15th, at Harbison Avenue and Levick Street in Northeast Philadelphia, 215-686-3150; the 18th, 5510 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143, 215-686-3180; the 25th, 3901 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124, 215-686-3250; and the 35th, 5960 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19141, 215-686-3350.
• At the Police Detention Unit. Women, people charged with homicide or DUI, and some others wait for arraignment at the Police Detention Unit in the city's Public Services Building, entered by a ramp off North 15th Street. For questions, call the arresting district from the list at the end of this page.
• Released at arraignment. Plenty of people leave at arraignment, either on a signed promise or after bail is paid.
• Under 18. Youth go to a separate detention center.
• Held by another agency. A federal, state or other county hold can place someone outside the city system.

If the search still comes up empty, try again later or ask the prisons' locating staff at 215-685-8394 to check.

The Department of Prisons, a city department, runs four jails. All are on State Road in Northeast Philadelphia, and together they hold both men and women:

• Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF), 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-7843. The largest, opened in 1995, with four housing buildings.
• The Detention Center (DC), 8201 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-8436. It houses people who need inpatient medical or behavioral health care.
• Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC), 8301 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-7100. It holds adult men in 13 housing units, and the city jail system keeps its women here too, apart from the men.
• Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF), 8151 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-6911. Opened in 2004, it has medical and behavioral health treatment areas, and youthful offenders charged as adults are housed there. Its modular unit, ASD MOD III, is next door at 8101 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

Which building holds women, and who stays in ASD MOD III, are best asked of the locating unit at 215-685-8394.

An arrest just outside the city line goes to that county's jail instead:

• Bucks County Correctional Facility, 1730 S Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18901, 215-345-3700
• Montgomery County Correctional Facility, 60 Eagleville Road, Eagleville, PA 19403, 610-635-7100
• George W. Hill Correctional Facility (Delaware County), 500 Cheyney Road, Thornton, PA 19373, county main line 610-891-4000

The city locator is built to tell you where a person is housed. It is a facility finder, so plan to learn charges and photos some other way.

Booking photos are taken at the police booking centers. Whether they are given out depends on the agency and on recent Pennsylvania court rulings about photos. Reporters can ask Police Public Affairs at 215-686-3388, or the Department of Prisons at 215-685-7711.

• For an ICE photo, use ICE's public records request page.
• Federal agencies usually keep their booking photos private. A rare exception: federal marshals can put out a fugitive's picture to help with a capture.

Yes. Pennsylvania's no-cost notice system, PA SAVIN, works through the VINELink search for Pennsylvania. Its records reach county jails, state prisons and people on state parole.

• Search the person to see their custody status, then pick a call, a text or an email as your alert for a release, a transfer or an escape.
• Phone sign-up and live operators, any hour: 866-972-7284. TTY: 866-847-1298.
• Signing up stays private, and no one tells the person inside.
• Victims in state prison cases can ask the Office of the Victim Advocate for extra notices.

Alerts can lag behind a real release. The city locator and the round-the-clock locating line, 215-685-8394, give the current picture.

A Municipal Court magistrate decides release at the video arraignment, which runs at all hours. Pennsylvania gives almost everyone a right to bail. Only charges that can carry life, or cases where no conditions can keep people safe, allow a judge to refuse it (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14).

• Many people leave on their own promise, with rules, or on unsecured bail that costs nothing up front.
• Money bail is taken at all hours by the Bail Acceptance Unit, on the lower level of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-683-7726.
• Some Municipal Court cases can be paid by card on PA ePay Bail, for a 2.75 percent fee.
• Within 24 hours of release, the person must call the Pretrial Services check-in line at 215-686-7421.

Our bail and bond page covers payments, refunds, bondsmen and holds in full.

Once the District Attorney's Charging Unit files the complaint, the case gets a docket number and appears on the court system's public records.

• Type the name and pick Philadelphia on the UJS case search to pull up the docket. Each charge appears there with its grade, such as F1 or M2.
• For brand-new cases, try the court's new criminal filings list, searched by defendant name or court date.
• The Common Pleas information counter at 215-683-7004 can read out charge details on weekdays.

Charges can change as a case moves from Municipal Court up to Common Pleas. The DA's Office is at 3 South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3499, 215-686-8000.

The magistrate at the video arraignment appoints counsel. People who cannot pay are often represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which serves as the city's public defender. Its office is at 1441 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-568-3190, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Questions about a court-appointed lawyer can go to the court's Court Appointment Unit at 215-683-7007.
• Families may also pay for a private lawyer, early or late in the case.
• In federal cases, free help comes from the Federal Community Defender office in Suite 540 West at 601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-928-1100.

Save details about what happened for the lawyer, never for jail calls.

Every in-person visit is booked online at visitpdp.org. Slots open 48 hours to 7 days ahead and go first come, first served. Walk-ins are turned away.

• Times. CFCF, DC, PICC and RCF hold visits Monday to Friday at 9 to 10 a.m., 1 to 2 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. ASD MOD III visits are Saturday at 9 to 10 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. Youthful offenders have Saturday visits from 3 to 4 p.m.
• How often. One hour of visiting per week. Holiday visits happen only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
• Who. Adult visitors must be on the approved list and carry government ID. One adult and one child at a time. Children must be at least six months old, come with a parent or guardian with proof of custody or a birth certificate, and cannot visit during school hours.
• Barred. People on probation, parole or other release, and anyone held in a city jail in the last six months.
• Dress. Sleeved shirts are required. No hoodies, plain white t-shirts, orange jumpsuits, blue scrub tops, torn jeans, short shorts or skirts, open-toed or slip-on shoes, jewelry or smart watches.
• Arrival. Come 10 minutes early with quarters for the lockers. DC and ASD visitors check in at the Riverside lobby, 8151 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

Questions go to Community Justice and Outreach at 215-685-8909. Our visitation guide has more tips.

The Department of Prisons accepts two kinds of deposits:

1. Online by card. Commissary money goes in with a credit or debit card through the commissary vendor's website.
2. By mail. Send a money order or certified check to the person's jail, not the mail scanning P.O. Box. Write it like this: the person's name and PPN number, the facility name, its street address, then Philadelphia, PA and the ZIP. For CFCF that is 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

Cash and personal checks are refused. Calls, video visits and tablet services are paid through a separate account with the phone vendor. For help, call Community Justice and Outreach at 215-685-7288 on weekdays.

Our deposit guide and commissary guide explain the rest.

A private company runs the phones and tablets in the city jails. Families pay that company on its deposit site. The money covers calls, video visits, messages and tablet entertainment.

• If you are owed a refund, mail a written request with the facility name and the PPN to ViaPath Technologies, ATTN: Refund Request, P.O. Box 95, Lake Butler, FL 32054-9901.
• No answer in 30 days? Call 866-640-5445, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
• If the person talks about self-harm or suicide on a call or visit, report it right away at 215-685-8443.

Rates and tips are in our phone call guide, and messaging is covered in our jail email guide.

Personal letters do not go to the jail. They go to a scanning center, which puts them on the person's tablet. Letters sent straight to a facility are returned. Address personal mail this way:

• Philadelphia IPCS, PA
• Full name, PPN #
• P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131

Legal and professional mail is different. It goes straight to the person's facility, marked "Legal Mail," with the name, PPN, facility name and street address. For CFCF, that is 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

• Use pen or pencil on plain white paper with a plain white envelope.
• No crayon, marker, glitter or colored paper, and no more than two stickers on the envelope.
• Up to five photos, 5 by 7 inches or smaller, with no nudity, weapons, money or drugs.
• Books, magazines and newspapers must ship from a seller such as a bookstore. Hardcovers and packages are refused.

Our jail mail guide has general tips.

Most clothing for daily wear has to be bought from the online commissary catalog, not brought in.

• Court clothes. Families may drop off one outfit for court, swapped one for one, once the unit manager approves. Drop off at DC before 1:30 p.m. or at PICC before 5 p.m. Shoes are refused.
• Medical items. Prescription glasses, dentures or a prosthesis may be brought in with health care approval.
• At release. People leaving get a discharge packet listing community services, plus a prescription for naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug.

To ask about stored property or pickup, call Community Justice and Outreach at 215-685-8909, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Department of Prisons' main office is at 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

The city jails have their own health care. The Detention Center, 8201 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-8436, houses people who need inpatient medical or behavioral health treatment, with 99 beds in its health services wing. Riverside Correctional Facility also has treatment areas.

• Worried about the person's safety, or about talk of self-harm? Call 215-685-8442 right away.
• Family questions about care go to Community Justice and Outreach at 215-685-8909 on weekdays.
• Medical records are requested with a written form from the Department of Prisons.
• Interpreters are available at every facility.

In a life-threatening emergency outside the jail, call 911.

Bench warrants in the city go to a sheriff's team, the Fugitive Warrant Unit at 714 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-683-3726, which works at all hours; city police handle arrest warrants. Check these wanted lists: Sheriff's top priority fugitives, Philadelphia police wanted, Pennsylvania State Police most wanted, state parole absconders, U.S. Marshals top 15 and FBI. Court staff confirm warrants at 215-683-3724. Someone with a bench warrant can turn in, ideally with a lawyer, at Courtroom 403, Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, weekday mornings from 7:30. Records: 215-683-7700.

There are three quick ways to find a hearing date:

• Search the upcoming criminal court dates tool from the First Judicial District.
• Check the docket sheet on the UJS case search, which lists the next date and courtroom.
• Call the Pretrial Services Notification Unit at 215-683-3710, which also takes address changes.

Most hearings take place at the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, though some Municipal Court rooms are in police district buildings. Missing a date can bring a bench warrant. Our criminal court page lays out every stage, from arraignment to sentencing.

People charged with federal crimes in the city appear in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania's federal court, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-597-7704.

1. A federal judge sees the person first. A detention hearing then settles where they stay until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. If held, the person is in the custody of federal marshals. Ask the U.S. Marshals Service district office, 601 Market Street, Room 2110, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-597-7272, where they are housed.
3. The Federal Detention Center, 700 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-521-4000, holds federal defendants waiting for trial.
4. After a federal sentence, use a name or register number on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. It covers people held since 1982.

When immigration officers want someone in a city jail, the steps usually run like this:

1. ICE sends the jail a written detainer request, Form I-247A.
2. With it, ICE wants the person kept up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. A detainer is a request, not a court order. The Third Circuit, which hears Pennsylvania appeals, found that a county jail can be responsible when it holds someone on a detainer alone (Galarza v. Szalczyk, 3d Cir. 2014). Each jail makes its own rules, so call the Department of Prisons at 215-685-7711.
4. Once ICE has the person, the Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164, handles the case.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

State prison starts with a stop at a classification center. Staff there sort out security level and treatment needs, which can take weeks or months. After that, the Department of Corrections moves them to a state prison.

• Look for a state prisoner by name or Corrections ID on the state's prison inmate locator.
• Our guide to Pennsylvania state prisons lists the visiting and mail rules at each one.
• DOC staff share information only with the person the prisoner named as next of kin.
• The DOC central office is at 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.

Shorter sentences can be served in the city jails instead, under cutoffs set by state law (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). Supervision after release comes from the city's probation office, called Adult Probation and Parole, at 714 Market Street, 1st Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-683-1000.

Police keep youths apart from adults, and most go through Juvenile Court. A youth who is detained is taken to the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, 91 North 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19139, run by the city's Department of Human Services. Its line is open 24 hours: 215-686-4845.

• The court's Delinquent Intake Unit, which decides on detention, works there around the clock: 215-686-4999.
• Parents, grandparents and legal guardians may visit Monday to Friday, 7 to 8 p.m., and weekends, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Each child gets one visit every two weeks.
• Juvenile Court is at 1501 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-686-4000.
• Teens charged as adults may be held at Riverside Correctional Facility, 8151 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, and show up in the adult locator.

Juvenile cases stay off the public court portal.

One department, the Philadelphia Police Department, covers the whole city, home to 1,574,281 people (Census estimate, July 1, 2025). Headquarters is at 400 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Call 911 for emergencies and 311 for non-emergencies. Tips: 215-686-8477. Public Affairs: 215-686-3388.

South Division

• 1st District, 2301 South 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145, 215-686-3010
• 3rd District, 1300 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-686-3030
• 17th District, 1201 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146, 215-686-3170

Central Division

• 9th District, 400 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130, 215-686-3090
• 22nd District, 1747 North 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121, 215-686-3220

East Division

• 24th District, 3901 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124, 215-686-3240
• 25th District, 3901 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124, 215-686-3250
• 26th District, 615 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, 215-686-3260

Northeast Division

• 2nd District, 7306 Castor Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19152, 215-686-3020
• 7th District, 1701 Bowler Street, Philadelphia, PA 19115, 215-686-3070
• 8th District, 3100 Red Lion Road, Philadelphia, PA 19114, 215-686-3080
• 15th District, Harbison Avenue and Levick Street, 215-686-3150

Northwest Division

• 5th District, 6666 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128, 215-686-3050
• 14th District, 43 West Haines Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144, 215-686-3140
• 35th District, 5960 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19141, 215-686-3350
• 39th District, 2201 West Hunting Park Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19140, 215-686-3390

Southwest Division

• 12th District, 6448 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19142, 215-686-3120
• 16th District, 3900 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-686-3160
• 18th District, 5510 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143, 215-686-3180
• 19th District, 6059 Haverford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19151, 215-686-3190
• 77th District (Airport), 8800 Essington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153, 215-937-6918

Detective divisions

• Central, 400 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130, 215-686-3093
• East, 3901 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124, 215-686-3243
• Northeast, Harbison Avenue and Levick Street, 215-686-3153
• Northwest, Broad Street and Champlost Street, 215-686-3353
• South, 24th Street and Wolf Street, 215-686-3013
• Southwest, 55th Street and Pine Street, 215-686-3183

Other agencies

• Sheriff's Office, 100 S. Broad Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19110, 215-686-3560
• Philadelphia Housing Authority Police, 2013 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19121, non-emergency 215-684-4840
• University of Pennsylvania Police, 4040 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-898-7297
• Temple University Police, 1101 W. Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, 215-204-7900
• Drexel University Police, 3219 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-895-2822
• SEPTA Transit Police, which patrols trains and buses, through SEPTA customer service at 215-580-7800
• Pennsylvania State Police, Troop K, Philadelphia station, 2201 Belmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131, 215-452-5216