1. Pull up the Sheriff's current inmates list.
2. Look for the last name. If many people share it, narrow by first name.
3. Open the matching entry and copy down whatever it lists, such as a booking date or number.
4. Look again later that day if the arrest just happened.
5. No match at all? Call the jail at 605-677-7117.

On the Sheriff's website this list is labeled "Current Inmates." Staff can confirm custody by phone. That call is the best answer for a brand-new booking.

A missing name has a handful of common causes:

• Still being processed. Fingerprinting and paperwork can run long.
• Already gone. Bond got paid, or the judge ordered release.
• Housed elsewhere. Clay and Union counties have a 2026 deal to board each other's prisoners, so a Clay case could sit in Elk Point.
• Spelling. Try nicknames, hyphenated last names and former married names.
• Under 18. Detained juveniles are sent to a Sioux Falls youth center.

Call 605-677-7117 for a quick answer. Vermillion police book into this same jail, so there is no separate city lockup to check.

Start with the county's own jail. Then widen the search if needed:

• Clay County Jail, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7117. Holds adults arrested in the county, plus people boarded here for Union, Moody and Bon Homme counties.
• Union County Jail, 209 East Main Street, Suite 250, Elk Point, SD 57025, 605-356-9498. A 2026 contract lets Clay house some prisoners here.
• Yankton County Jail, 410 Walnut Street, Yankton, SD 57078, 605-668-3567. This jail sits just west, so phone it too when the arrest happened close to the line.

A detained youth under 18 goes to the Minnehaha center in Sioux Falls.

Booking includes a photo and fingerprints, the Sheriff's office tour page says. The current inmates list notes race, sex, age, arrest date, charges and bond for every entry, but leaves mugshots off. News outlets and families who want a booking photo should ask the Sheriff's Office about release at 605-677-7100.

• Pictures from a federal booking seldom reach the public. A wanted-poster picture of a fugitive is the usual exception.
• ICE photos: use the agency's records request page.

Yes. The Attorney General's office offers SAVIN at no charge. It gives custody status and warns of a release or other change, day or night. Sign up online, or call 844-299-4608 on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central.

Juvenile matters aren't part of SAVIN, so victims in those cases should phone the State's Attorney at 605-677-7107. For a same-day check on anyone in the Vermillion jail, phone the desk at 605-677-7117.

A clerk magistrate can set bond for many charges from the statewide schedule. Serious felonies and every domestic case wait for a judge. Under South Dakota law, the default is release on the defendant's word, with money or extra conditions added only when needed (SDCL 23A-43-2, 23A-43-3).

• Bond is usually brought to the jail lobby. Call 605-677-7117 first to ask the amount and the payment types.
• After a domestic arrest, relaying messages to the alleged victim or their household is against the law until the first court date (SDCL 25-10-43).
• A DUI release frequently comes with 24/7 Sobriety Program testing.

Our bail guide explains amounts, bondspersons and refunds in detail.

The roster entry is a first clue. Jail staff can read the charge list by phone. Formal charges are the State's Attorney's call. That office is in Suite 204, 211 West Main Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7107.

Once a complaint is filed, the Clerk of Courts can share the case number and the counts. Call 605-677-6756. A paid statewide search, PARS, costs $20 each time and shows a case summary.

At the first appearance a magistrate tells each defendant about counsel (SDCL 23A-4-3). Defendants without money can request an appointed lawyer, and the county pays (SDCL 23A-40-6, 23A-40-8). The person may later be told to repay part of that cost (SDCL 23A-40-10).

Families can retain a private defense lawyer instead. For court-appointed counsel questions, the Clerk of Courts answers at 605-677-6756. Lawyers meet clients in a private secure room at the jail, apart from the regular visiting booths.

Visiting days are Sunday, Monday and Thursday, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., holidays included. The Sheriff's rules:

• Call the jail at 605-677-7117 that same morning or afternoon to book. Whoever calls first gets the slot.
• On a visiting day, an inmate's total time is 30 minutes, which visitors may divide among themselves.
• No more than two visitors sit at a time, and babies and children count toward that limit.
• A parent or guardian must accompany any visitor under 18. The Sheriff can okay exceptions ahead of time.
• Every visitor shows photo ID. Showing up late shortens the visit.
• Talks happen through a secure booth. Clergy, lawyers and certain family members use a private room.

Written rules are kept at the jail. See our visiting tips for more.

Funds on the books cover commissary snacks, soap and similar items. Ask the jail at 605-677-7117 which deposit methods work now, plus any limits and fees. Keep the booking number nearby when you call.

Ways to add money are laid out in our money guide. What that money buys at the jail store is in our commissary guide. Never mail cash.

Inmate calls here run through Reliance Telephone under a county contract. The person in jail pays for calls. Ask staff at 605-677-7117 about opening a calling account and whether texts or video calls exist here.

Assume any call could be recorded. Case strategy belongs in talks with the defense attorney, not on a jail phone. Our phone guide covers costs, and our messaging guide covers texts.

The jail now sits at 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, so older addresses for it are out of date. Before you write, call 605-677-7117. Ask staff what line goes above the street, if a booking number is needed, and what can be enclosed.

Write the inmate's legal name, add your own return address, and read our mail guide. Keep cash out of every letter.

Jail staff keep what was taken from the person at booking. To collect things for the person, call 605-677-7117, check whether the inmate has to sign off first, and bring photo ID to the Law Enforcement Center, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069.

The Sheriff's front office can also be reached by email at ccso@claysheriff.org with general questions.

The Sheriff runs the jail (SDCL 24-11-13). Call the jail desk the same day a health worry comes up, at 605-677-7117. Share the drug names, doses and the doctor's phone number.

For a true emergency, dial 911. If self-harm is a fear, say those words at the start of the call.

In this county, deputies and Vermillion police serve warrants. The Sheriff's warrant list uses codes like BW for a bench warrant and FTA for failure to appear, and its warrants page explains them. Confirm any match at 605-677-7100. State lists include the DOC Most Wanted escape page and the state's registry of sex offenders. Looking a case up on UJS ePayments may show a warrant as well. Get a lawyer's advice before acting. Turning in happens at the jail, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069. For a new date, contact the Clerk of Courts, 211 West Main Street, Suite 300, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-6756.

State charges filed here go to the courthouse at 211 West Main Street, Vermillion, SD 57069. The Clerk of Courts in Suite 300 gives dates at 605-677-6756, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Online, Find a Court Date costs nothing and works with a name or case number. For the steps of a case, read our court guide.

1. The Southern Division court in Sioux Falls hears federal cases: 400 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-6600.
2. A judge decides jail or release at the opening federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. Call 605-330-4351 to reach the U.S. Marshals in Sioux Falls, who place federal defendants in jails before trial.
4. After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

1. A detainer (Form I-247A) from ICE reaches the Vermillion jail.
2. Staff may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE moves them to a site run under its St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600. The Pennington County Jail, 307 Saint Joseph Street, Rapid City, SD 57701, 605-394-6116, is on ICE's list of holding sites.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Try the A-number first; otherwise enter the name and birth country.
5. Finally, SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100), passed in 2025, bars local policies restricting what jail staff can tell federal officers about immigration status.

A felony prison term transfers custody to the South Dakota Department of Corrections, which assigns the prison.

• Use the DOC offender locator. It won't show county jail inmates.
• Facility details: our state prisons page.

Police usually hand a child back to family. An intake officer approves detention only for reasons in the law (SDCL 26-8C-3). Minnehaha County Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4200 South West Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, 605-367-4313, open around the clock, takes those who are held. Court Services at 605-677-6485 can explain what comes next.

Clay's population was estimated at 15,031 on July 1, 2025, across about 414 square miles. These agencies make arrests here:

• Sheriff's Office, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7100. Covers rural areas and the unincorporated spots of Burbank and Meckling. Wakonda and Irene contract with the Sheriff instead of running their own police.
• Vermillion Police Department, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7070. Calls roll over to dispatch, so the line is answered around the clock.
• University of South Dakota Police, Davidson Building, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-658-6199. Its sworn officers are also deputized as city officers.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol, District Two, 5316 West 60th Street North, Sioux Falls, SD 57107, 605-367-5700.

The Clay Area Emergency Services Communication Center takes all 911 calls countywide from the same Stanford Street building.