The roster is a web portal linked from both the Detention Center page and the Sheriff's page. Here is how to work it:

1. Load the roster portal.
2. Enter a surname; a long list shrinks once a given name is added.
3. Pick the right entry and read what Jonesville Highway lists for it.
4. Jot down any booking or inmate number you see; staff use it to find files quickly.
5. Questions left over? Call 864-429-2818 and ask for Booking.

Jail rosters are open records under South Carolina's FOIA (S.C. Code 30-4-30(D)(3)).

Here is why a search can come back empty:

• Booking isn't finished. Fingerprinting and intake forms come before the portal updates.
• They're already out. Bond hearings run twice a day here, so a quick release through cash, a surety or a personal recognizance bond is common.
• A spelling twist. Swap a nickname for the given name on a driver's license, or test a maiden name, or each surname of a doubled one alone.
• Another county has them. Arrests near Spartanburg, Cherokee or York lines, or on outside warrants, can lead elsewhere.
• A minor. Juveniles go through DJJ instead of this roster.
• A federal or ICE hold. Those agencies track their own detainees.

Detention staff at 864-429-2818 can clear it up. If deputies made the arrest, the Sheriff's Office line is 864-429-1612.

This county has one jail split into two units. Both sit at 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379, share the phone 864-429-2818, and appear on our site as the Union County Detention Center:

• Pretrial Division. Adults on county and city charges who are waiting for court. The jail averages about 100 county and city detainees.
• Prison Work Camp. The county says it holds anyone whose summary court or General Sessions term is 90 days or shorter, plus Family Court sentences. Apart from them, it can also house up to 20 state inmate workers who are serving state time. Workers cook for both units and labor at county buildings, the animal shelter, the maintenance shop, roadside litter pickup and property cleanups.

Arrested close to a border, or wanted somewhere else? Try these neighboring jails:

• Spartanburg County Detention Center, 950 California Avenue, Spartanburg, SC 29303, 864-596-2607
• Cherokee County Detention Center, 315 E. Dr. LM Rosemond Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340, 864-487-2529
• York County Detention Center, Moss Justice Center, 1675-3A York Highway, York, SC 29745, 803-628-3083
• Chester County Detention Center, 2740 Dawson Drive, Chester, SC 29706, 803-581-2602
• Fairfield County Detention Center, 10 Faith Lane, Winnsboro, SC 29180, 803-635-4841
• Newberry County Detention Center, 3239 Louis Rich Drive, Newberry, SC 29108, 803-321-2141
• Laurens County Detention Center, 154 Templeton Road, Laurens, SC 29360, 864-683-4055

Don't plan on a picture appearing in the portal. For questions about a booking photo, phone Jonesville Highway at 864-429-2818; reporters and the public may file a records request.

• Cleared cases get help from 2016 Act No. 132. Was the case dismissed or expunged, or did a jury acquit? Then mail the website a certified demand with the paperwork attached. Removal must follow within 30 days and costs nothing (S.C. Code 17-1-60).
• Want a photo immigration agents took? Use the ICE FOIA page.
• Federal booking shots are mostly withheld. The main exception: fugitive notices that the U.S. Marshals Service releases.

South Carolina's VINE service is free and follows a person's custody status and location, so it helps families as well as victims. Register for notices at VINELink South Carolina; the toll-free line is 866-727-2846, in English or Spanish. Pick phone, text message or email for the notices.

Each person must be registered separately; nothing happens on its own. When you need an answer today, Jonesville Highway staff at 864-429-2818 remain the best bet.

Magistrates run bond court two times a day at 210 West Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1648. State law calls for that hearing within a day of arrest, and once bond is paid the jail has four hours to release (S.C. Code 22-5-510).

• Many people go home on personal recognizance, a signed pledge with no money down.
• Others post cash, use a licensed bondsman or, with the judge's OK, leave 10 percent with the clerk.
• For murder, or anything carrying death or life, the wait is for a circuit judge.

Costs, where to pay and bondsman limits are laid out on our bail page.

Call Jonesville Highway at 864-429-2818; staff can read the booking charges aloud. The roster entry may also show them.

Once the case is filed, the county's Public Index, hosted by the state Judicial Branch, lets you search court records by name. The 16th Circuit Solicitor decides final felony charges; its local mailing address is P.O. Box 60, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1639. For copies of court papers, contact the Clerk of Court, 210 West Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1630.

The quickest moment is bond court: ask the magistrate for counsel. Anyone unable to pay can have one appointed after signing a sworn money statement (S.C. Code 17-3-10). Applying costs $40, though hardship can get that cut or dropped (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

• Local public defender: 101 Sharpe Ave., Union, SC 29379, 864-319-1315
• State agency: South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343

A family can retain a private attorney too. Ask the jail how attorney visits get set up.

Pretrial and county-sentenced inmates see visitors only on video, either from home or on screens at the jail. Booking happens through the jail's video visit provider rather than the jail desk: open an account online or call 888-984-1903.

• State workers at the Prison Work Camp get visitors Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• No one named as a victim or co-defendant in the inmate's case may visit.
• For safety or security, staff may cut a visit short or call it off.

Ask Jonesville Highway at 864-429-2818 about ID, fees and open times. Our visitation guide has general pointers.

The Detention Center page names an online commissary store for both deposits and orders. That company's line is 800-822-9388. Keep the inmate's full name and roster number at hand.

Check fees and caps before sending anything. See our guide to inmate deposits for typical methods and our commissary explainer for what the money buys. Mailing cash is never safe.

Inmate calls here run through the same company that handles video visits. Open an account or ask about rates at 888-984-1903. Expect recording on every line, so case details belong only in lawyer conversations.

Whether messaging or tablets are available is a question for Jonesville Highway at 864-429-2818. Background reading: our jail calling guide plus the inmate messaging guide.

The jail's listed street address is 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379. Before sending anything, call 864-429-2818. Ask for the exact address layout and whether the envelope needs an inmate number.

• Every incoming letter is opened and checked by staff.
• Victims and co-defendants can't send mail to the inmate.
• Inmates without funds receive stamps, envelopes and paper for two personal letters a week, along with legal mail to lawyers and courts.

Write the inmate's legal name, and add your complete return address. General tips sit in our jail mail guide.

Booking officers bag wallets, cell phones and street clothes, and the jail holds that bag until the person walks out. Before driving out to collect belongings or ask about an account refund, call 864-429-2818. Ask too whether the inmate must sign off before anyone else collects.

Take a photo ID to 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379. You can also ask whether street clothes for court or release may be dropped off.

Counties must provide every inmate with basic needs such as food, clothing and medical care (S.C. Code 24-5-80). Phone Jonesville Highway at 864-429-2818 the moment you hear of a sickness, an injury or a missed medicine. Give the drug name, dose and prescriber.

The state's corrections department inspects each jail at least yearly (S.C. Code 24-9-10). For an emergency, dial 911. Fear of suicide or a psychiatric emergency should be named outright when you call.

Deputies serve felony and misdemeanor warrants countywide. Call the Sheriff's Office, 200 East Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1612, and ask for its warrant officer; in town, city officers serve them too. Magistrates sign arrest warrants, so their office can also confirm one. Official lists:

• Sheriff's warrants and civil papers page
• PPP Most Wanted Offenders
• 15 Most Wanted, U.S. Marshals

Clearing one? Get legal advice first. Surrender afterward at 1657 Jonesville Highway, Union, SC 29379, or call the issuing court. Clerk of Court: 210 West Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1630.

That depends on which court has the case:

• Bond court and magistrate trials: Magistrate Court, 210 West Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1648.
• Felony cases: the Clerk of Court in that building, 864-429-1630, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. General Sessions terms are listed on the Solicitor's Union court schedule.
• Any filed case: a name search on the county Public Index.

Every stage, bond court through sentencing, is covered on our court page.

Federal cases from here go to the Spartanburg Division. Its clerk works in Greenville, 864-241-2700, Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse, 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601.

1. The first federal appearance includes a ruling on detention or release (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before a federal trial, the Marshals Service decides where a defendant sleeps, and that is often a rented bed at a county lockup. Ask the Greenville office, 300 East Washington Street, Room 232, Greenville, SC 29601, 864-232-1566, where the person sleeps tonight.
3. Post-sentence, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator with a name or register number.

An immigration case usually unfolds this way:

1. ICE sends Jonesville Highway a Form I-247A detainer.
2. Its request: a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Also, within 72 hours of any criminal booking, state law has the jail confirm immigration status. Those found without lawful status get reported to federal Homeland Security (S.C. Code 23-3-1100).
4. ICE's South Carolina office: 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
5. Type the person's name with their birth nation, or the A-number, into the ICE Online Detainee Locator. No result? ICE advises contacting the field office.

Any sentence longer than three months transfers custody to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), which chooses the facility (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Everyone starts in reception and evaluation; face-to-face visits wait until that ends, unless it stretches beyond 30 days.

• State prisoners appear in the SCDC inmate search, refreshed through midnight the night before; county inmates are left out.
• SC VINE custody alerts line: 866-727-2846. SCDC main office: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210.
• For details on each SCDC institution, open our South Carolina state prisons page.

Minors don't stay long with adults. By statute a child may be kept in adult lockup six hours or less, and nobody aged ten or under is ever jailed (S.C. Code 63-19-820). A Family Court judge then has 48 hours to rule on continued detention; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays aren't counted (S.C. Code 63-19-830).

• Detained youth typically go to DJJ's Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.
• Parents can call the DJJ county office, 200 South Mountain St., Suite 3, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1640, for the child's location and hearing date.

Census figures put the population at 26,799 (estimate, July 1, 2025). Four agencies do most of the arresting:

• Union County Sheriff's Office, 200 East Main Street, Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1612. Covers unincorporated areas. For an arrest in Lockhart or Carlisle, start here.
• Union Public Safety Department (city police and fire), 215 Thompson Blvd., Union, SC 29379, 864-429-1713.
• Jonesville Police Department, 864-674-5262. Town Hall is at 131 North Main Street, Jonesville, SC 29353.
• South Carolina Highway Patrol, Troop 4, 454 S. Anderson Road, Suite 400, Rock Hill, SC 29730, 803-639-9035.

Dispatch for every local agency runs from the county 911 center, 414 South Pinckney Street, Union, SC 29379. Its office line is 864-429-1620; after 4:00 p.m. and on weekends, use 864-429-1611.