Few people are held here at once. In February 2025 the daily average was about five, with 19 bookings that month. From any browser:

1. Open the official inmate lookup.
2. Put the surname in its box and the given name in the other. Partial spellings can catch typos.
3. Pick the entry with a matching age or birthday.
4. Read its custody status and facility name.
5. Jot down any ID number listed, since staff may ask for it.

That statewide system, SAVIN, also lets you register for release notices on the person.

Common reasons a name won't show:

• Still in booking. Fingerprinting and paperwork happen first, and the record posts after.
• Already released. Class 2 misdemeanor arrests usually end with a quick personal recognizance release.
• Housed elsewhere. Contract and overflow beds sit in neighboring counties.
• Name mismatch. Try the legal given name, a hyphenated surname or a maiden name.
• A minor. Detained youths normally go to a juvenile unit outside the county.
• Tribal arrest. Tribal police may hold people somewhere else.

For a firm answer, phone 605-432-5853. The Sheriff's front desk works weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Sheriff operates one adult jail, and some people sleep in other counties' beds:

• County jail in Milbank, 222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5853. It keeps pretrial detainees, locally sentenced prisoners and work release inmates.
• Day County Detention Center, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222. A contract lets it house some adults from this county, and it takes this county's juveniles.
• Codington County Detention Center, 14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201, 605-882-6284. Its own page names this county among the ones it holds people for.

The county plans a new jail. Until it opens, the Sheriff's Office can say which building has your person. A tribal member arrested by tribal police may end up in tribal court instead. Ask Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement, 100 Veterans Memorial Drive, Sisseton, SD 57262, 605-698-7661, where such arrestees are kept.

The official lookup is built around custody status and notices and leaves mugshots out. For a booking photo, the Sheriff's Office decides. Call 605-432-5853 and ask whether one can be released and how.

• For an ICE photo, file through its records request page.
• Federal photos are mostly withheld. Exceptions come from the U.S. Marshals Service, mostly while a fugitive is at large.

Yes. Sign up with SAVIN, the Attorney General's no-cost notice system for the whole state. It tracks custody and location. After registration, a change of status, including release, triggers a notice.

• Register online day or night, or phone 844-299-4608 Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central.
• Nothing is sent until you sign up for that person.
• Youth cases aren't covered. Victims there should contact the State's Attorney.

On any single day, a call to 605-432-5853 remains the fastest check.

State law begins with release on the person's word, and money or rules come in only if that won't work (SDCL 23A-43-2, 23A-43-3). This Third Circuit county has judges set bond by phone between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. A judge handles every felony and certain Class 1 misdemeanors. Class 2 cases go out on personal recognizance.

• Alcohol and drug cases often carry the 24/7 Sobriety Program, which the Sheriff's Office runs locally.
• Someone still behind bars a day after the release hearing may ask the court to revisit the terms (SDCL 23A-43-8).
• Bail can't be paid on the court's online fine site.

Dollar ranges, payment steps and bondsperson rules sit on our bail page.

No. Once arrested for domestic abuse, the arrested person has to leave the alleged victim and the victim's housemates alone until the first court date, unless a judge allows otherwise. A message sent through a friend or relative breaks the rule too. Doing so is a Class 1 misdemeanor (SDCL 25-10-43).

Release in these cases is a judge's call, not the schedule's. Terms can include staying away, leaving a shared home or avoiding alcohol (SDCL 25-10-40, 25-10-41). Anyone in danger should dial 911.

The booking charge comes from jail staff at 605-432-5853. Prosecutors can change it, so the court file has the last word.

• Find a Court Date shows coming hearings for a name, at no cost.
• Each PARS summary search runs $20.
• Staff at the Clerk of Courts, 210 E. 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5482, can read what has been filed.

The State's Attorney files the charges from 210 E. 5th Avenue, Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-7500.

The judge at the first appearance must mention the right to counsel and to request one at county cost (SDCL 23A-4-3). A person who can't afford a lawyer just says so (SDCL 23A-40-6). Appointed or contract attorneys fill that role in this county.

• Repaying part or all of the cost may be ordered later (SDCL 23A-40-10).
• The Clerk of Courts, 605-432-5482, can explain the forms.
• Families may also retain private counsel.

Discuss the facts only with the lawyer. Jail phone lines are often recorded.

Before making the trip, call 605-432-5853. Find out the open days and hours, whether visits happen in person or on a screen, how early to schedule, and which ID is needed.

Lock phones and bags in your vehicle unless told otherwise, and wear simple clothes. Lawyers can ask staff about private meetings. More general advice is on our visiting page.

Account funds cover commissary items like snacks and soap, and phone time too. Call 605-432-5853 to learn which deposit options work, what they cost, and what payee line a money order needs.

Know that a person can be billed for jail costs (SDCL 24-11-45). Our deposit guide and commissary page describe how this usually works. Never send cash by mail.

Phone the jail at 605-432-5853 to ask how families open a calling account, the rates, and if messaging or tablets exist there.

Assume each call is recorded, apart from approved lawyer calls. Domestic arrest cases add a no-contact rule covering the alleged victim's home until the first hearing. Our calling guide and inmate messaging page give the basics.

Envelopes need the legal name and the street address:

Inmate's full name
Grant County Jail
222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252

Put your own return address in the corner. Before mailing pictures, books or magazines, phone 605-432-5853 to check what gets through and whether a booking number is required. Our mail page covers common jail rules. Never put cash in an envelope.

Items taken at booking, like clothing, wallets and phones, are stored until release. If the person is still inside and you need something, phone 605-432-5853 on a weekday. Staff may need the inmate's signed permission.

Show photo ID at 222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252. While there, ask how any leftover account balance will be refunded.

Caring for prisoners falls to the jail, and state law addresses their medical treatment (SDCL 24-11-21). Report a health need right away at 605-432-5853.

• Tell staff each drug and dose, plus who prescribed it and that office's number.
• Flag at once any worry that they may hurt themselves or are in a mental health emergency.
• Dial 911 if a life is at risk.

Bench and arrest warrants get served by Sheriff's deputies countywide, while city officers may handle their own town. Ring the Sheriff's Office at 605-432-5853 to ask. A case search on UJS ePayments can flag an active warrant. Two state lists also exist: the Sex Offender Registry and the DOC's Most Wanted page, which names escapees and walkaways. To clear a warrant, phone a lawyer, then surrender at 222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, or see whether the court that issued it will set a fresh hearing. Reach the Clerk of Courts at 210 E. 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5482.

Free Find a Court Date takes a name or case number. A docket view covers this county's hearings for the coming nine business days, starting today.

The Clerk of Courts is another route: 210 E. 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5482, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Have the defendant's name and birthday at hand. Our court page maps out what follows.

This area's federal cases go to the Northern Division court, 102 4th Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401. The clerk handles calls from Sioux Falls, 400 S. Phillips Ave., Room 128, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-6600.

1. A judge settles custody until trial at the first federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Until trial, defendants are in U.S. Marshals custody, frequently sleeping in county jails under agreement. Their Aberdeen office, 102 Southeast 4th Avenue, Suite 409, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-1794, can say where.
3. Following a sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

1. Form I-247A, called a detainer, asks the jail in writing to keep someone.
2. Custody may then last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Oversight of this state sits with the St. Paul Field Office: 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600.
4. ICE lists the Pennington County Jail, 307 Saint Joseph St, Rapid City, SD 57701, 605-394-6116, on its roster of detention sites.
5. In the ICE Online Detainee Locator, type the A-number if known; otherwise use name and birth country.
6. Under SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100), local governments in this state can't block officials from sharing immigration status with federal agencies.

A felony prison term sends the person from county jail into the custody of the South Dakota Department of Corrections.

• The DOC offender locator searches by surname, given name or DOC number. County jail and probation records aren't in it.
• To read up on the prison a Grant County defendant lands in, open our South Dakota state prisons page.
• Headquarters of the DOC: 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478.

Youth cases run on their own track. Usually a parent takes the child home, and an intake officer can hold a youth only for reasons the law lists (SDCL 26-8C-3). When a youth from this county is held, it is usually in the youth section of the Day County Detention Center, 710 W 2nd St, Webster, SD 57274, 605-345-3222. Parents may phone there, or the Clerk of Courts at 605-432-5482, for the hearing date.

Emergency calls here are answered by a dispatch center in Watertown. Possible arresting agencies:

• Sheriff's Office, 222 E 5th Ave., Milbank, SD 57252, 605-432-5853. Deputies cover the countryside and towns lacking a police force, and they serve warrants.
• Milbank Police Department: call the Sheriff's number above and ask how to reach it.
• Big Stone City, Revillo, Strandburg and other small towns: ask the Sheriff's Office who responded.
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement, 100 Veterans Memorial Drive, Sisseton, SD 57262, 605-698-7661. Its officers police tribal members on the slice of Lake Traverse Reservation land inside the county.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol, District One, PO Box 1797, Aberdeen, SD 57402, 605-626-2286. Its troopers cover the Watertown and Glacial Lakes area.

As a rule, tribal arrests go to tribal court, county arrests to the county jail, and the gravest reservation crimes to federal court.