Work through this short list:

1. Open the jail search.
2. Begin with the surname alone. Put in a given name only if too many rows show.
3. If you see nothing, swap in a short form of the first name, add a middle initial or spell it another way.
4. Open the record. Write down the charge, any bond figure and the booking number.
5. Save the booking number for later calls, since it helps staff find the file.

When the page will not load, phone the Sheriff's Office at 731-423-6000 and ask someone at the desk to check the name.

Several ordinary things can leave a name off the list:

• The booking is unfinished. Prints, photos and forms eat up time.
• Held by city officers first. The department that made the arrest can keep a person at its own station for a time.
• Cited and sent home. For small offenses an officer may write a notice to appear and release the person on the spot.
• Bond was posted. The person may already be home.
• A different system. They may sit in another county, in federal hands or in state custody.
• A typo. Change the spelling and search again.

The quickest fix is a call to 731-423-6000. Ask if the person is inside right now.

The county's main facility is the Madison County Jail, Criminal Justice Complex, 515 South Liberty Street, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6000. It houses adults who await trial and adults serving time. The Sheriff's Office keeps another office at 317 Denmark Jackson Road, Denmark, TN 38391, using the same number. Treat that as an office, not a place where inmates are kept.

A work program or another building on the grounds could also hold your person. Ask the jail desk to confirm, because the official pages we read do not describe one.

If the arrest happened near the line, a neighbor may have them:

• Gibson County Correctional Complex, 401 North College Street, Trenton, TN 38382, 731-855-1121
• The Chester County Sheriff's Office jail, 333 Eric Bell Drive, Henderson, TN 38340, 731-989-2449, listed on the Chester County Jail page

Federal, immigration and state custody are explained further down.

We could not confirm photos on the county's search, so do not expect to see mugshots there. Tennessee's records law lets people request government photographs. Booking photos are not singled out in the text. Ring the Sheriff's Office on 731-423-6000 and see if a photo from booking can be given out. When a city officer made the arrest, that police department might hold the photo instead.

• Photos taken by ICE must be requested through the ICE records page.
• Booking pictures taken by federal agencies stay closed. The sole exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which can publish one when, for instance, it is hunting a fugitive.

Yes, through Tennessee VINE. Visit vinelink.vineapps.com, pick Tennessee and search the name. Then choose a call, text or email alert. You may also phone VINE at 888-868-4631. Real people answer around the clock.

VINE also tells you where someone is being held, so you can use it just to find someone. Its jail coverage can vary, so call 731-423-6000 to confirm the record is current.

Bail is set by a magistrate or judge, usually at the first appearance. The rule is to pick an amount no higher than what it takes to ensure a court return and public safety. Local ties, steady work, relatives nearby and any earlier arrests all count (Tenn. Code Ann. 40-11-118).

Common paths to release:

• Full cash. You pay the whole amount to the clerk. Paying by card or cash app can add a charge. The Circuit Court Clerk, 731-423-6035, can tell you where and until what hour.
• A bondsman. The fee is typically around ten percent of the bond. Licenses now come from the state's Commerce and Insurance department, while local courts pick which bondsmen may work here.
• Release without money. A judge can sometimes order a person freed on a written promise.

Arrests tied to stalking or domestic abuse may bring a wait of half a day or more before release. Ask the jail. For depth, see our bail guide and the statute list on Tennessee's bail law page.

The record on the jail search lists them, or you can ask the jail desk at 731-423-6000. For more, contact a clerk below. Have the legal name and birthday ready.

• General Sessions Court Clerk, 515 South Liberty Street, Suite 300, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6128 (criminal and traffic).
• Circuit Court Clerk, 515 South Liberty Street, Suite 200, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6035, for felonies and other criminal cases that move up.
• District Attorney General, 225 Martin Luther King Drive, Suite 330, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-5800. This office files the charges for Chester, Henderson and Madison counties.

Raise it at the first hearing. The court reviews your money situation to decide who is given an appointed attorney.

The 26th Judicial District Public Defender serves this area from the I.C. Railroad Building, 245 West Sycamore Street, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6657. Before you dial, have the name, the charge and the next date written down. Hiring a private lawyer is also allowed.

Visits happen by video, and the Sheriff's Office notes that every one is recorded. It also posts rules on dress and behavior. Break them and the visit may end.

Scheduling goes through a company the Sheriff's Office names for families, CorrectPay. Visit times can shift, so call 731-423-6000 before you plan. See our visitation help too.

The Sheriff's Office points families to CorrectPay for commissary deposits. Call 731-423-6000 to verify amounts and limits. Our deposit page and commissary page give background.

Remember that money on an account is spending money. It never pays for release. Only the court, a clerk or a bondsman can do that.

Phone accounts run through Correct Solutions, a company the Sheriff's Office lists on its website. You add funds, and your person makes the calls. Messaging and video go through CorrectPay. Each company sets its own prices, so read them before you add funds.

For a blocked number or a lost balance, call the jail at 731-423-6000. We also have a phone guide and an electronic messages guide.

The jail's mail address and its rules were not clear on the official pages we read. Call 731-423-6000 first and get the details. On the outside, print the inmate's full name with the booking number, and add your own return address. Items that break the rules may come back to you. Our mail guide has general advice.

The jail logs a person's items at booking. Call 731-423-6000 to learn the pickup steps, the ID needed and whether family may collect. Do not drop anything off for an inmate without asking first.

Phone 731-423-6000 and ask to be connected with the health care team inside. Give the name, the health issue and any medicine taken. Your person should also hand staff a written request for care. When it is urgent, say so right away and tell the front desk you need a supervisor.

The Sheriff's Warrants Division serves arrest papers from 515 South Liberty Street, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6003; city and town police serve them too. Read the Sheriff's lookout page or phone to ask about a name. To confirm a case, phone the General Sessions Court Clerk, 731-423-6128. To get one resolved, see an attorney and then reach out to the court behind it. The clerk works from Suite 300 at that street address, and staff can tell you which window to visit.

Check the paperwork or ask the jail. Misdemeanors and first hearings are in General Sessions Court, Suite 300, 515 South Liberty Street, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6128, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Felonies are sent to a grand jury, and from there to the Circuit Court, whose clerk is in Suite 200, 731-423-6035.

Phone before driving, since rooms and schedules change. See the court guide for what each hearing means.

This county belongs to the Eastern Division of Tennessee's Western federal district, which sits at 111 South Highland Avenue, Jackson, TN 38301. This is the James D. Todd building. The clerk answers at 731-421-9200.

1. At the first federal hearing, a judge sets custody or release during the case (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals Service keeps federal prisoners. Its office is in that courthouse, 731-427-4661.
3. Once the person is sentenced, look for them with the federal prison inmate locator.

To request a hold, ICE files Form I-247A. If the jail agrees, the stay may last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)). Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator, entering a full name and the birth country.

Tennessee falls under the ICE field office in New Orleans. Tennessee's enforcement division page names this county as one that takes part in the federal 287(g) program. Questions go to the jail at 731-423-6000.

A person whose sentence is state prison time could stay at the local jail awhile, until the state's Department of Correction (TDOC) collects them. Ask the jail at 731-423-6000. TDOC is at 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.

The TDOC offender search gives a picture, current status, housing site and sentence details. See also our Tennessee state prison guide.

A child is kept apart from adult inmates. Juvenile Court Services is at 224 Lexington Avenue, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-6140, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Detention, when ordered, happens at the Juvenile Detention Center. Ring Juvenile Court Services for the child's location and hearing time.

Look at the booking record to see who made the arrest.

• Sheriff's Office, 317 Denmark Jackson Road, Denmark, TN 38391, 731-423-6000, for areas outside city limits.
• Jackson Police Department, 234 Institute Street, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-425-8400
• Tennessee Highway Patrol: its contact page lists every district office, so pick the one serving this county.

For any other town or campus department, ask the jail desk which agency brought the person in.