The Sheriff's Office runs the jail and posts the roster. Do this:

1. Open the roster using a phone or a computer.
2. Type the last name. For a crowded list, a first name helps.
3. Click the entry that fits. Match the birth date so you do not read about a stranger with the same name.
4. Write down each charge, the date of booking and any inmate number shown. Giving staff these details speeds up their answer.
5. Look again after a few hours. Fresh bookings take a while to show.

If the roster fails you, call 865-453-4668 and ask for Booking or Records.

A blank screen is not good news or bad news. Think through these cases:

• Still being processed. Prints, photos and paperwork can take hours.
• A city lockup. Gatlinburg police run a small holding area, and other town departments may keep someone briefly before the handoff.
• A citation. Some people are given a paper with a court date and sent on their way.
• Released. Maybe a family member paid the bond. Or the court sent the person home after a signed pledge to appear.
• Somewhere else. Another county's lockup or a state site may hold them.
• Name trouble. Try nicknames, middle names or married names too.

The jail has the final word. Phone 865-453-4668.

Begin with the Sevier County Jail in Sevierville. The Sheriff's Office, 106 West Bruce Street, Sevierville, TN 37862, 865-453-4668, can give you the jail's street address and directions.

The county uses several sites, and each has its own role:

• The main jail. New arrests come here first. It also holds people who wait for court or serve short sentences. Staff sort inmates by risk and need.
• The jail annex. This is a minimum-security site with many more beds than the main jail. People judged low risk may be moved here. Ask the jail where your person sleeps before you plan a trip or write a letter.
• Gatlinburg police cells. The city has a small lockup for six people. Ask the Sheriff's Office whether someone is still there.

For a stop close to the county border, also try Jefferson County, Knox County and Blount County. Questions 17 to 19 below deal with federal, ICE and state custody.

We could not confirm it. Ring the Sheriff's Office at 865-453-4668 and request a booking picture, if one can be shared. The roster gives each inmate an entry page, which may or may not carry a picture.

Government photographs are public records under the Tennessee Code, section 10-7-503. Many sheriffs post pictures on their sites. The statute never says "booking photo," so each agency sets its own practice.

• If city police made the arrest, ask that department.
• ICE pictures go through a request on the ICE records page.
• A federal mugshot is not for the public, though the U.S. Marshals Service can release one, such as for a fugitive.

VINE is a free alert tool. Visit VINELink, pick Tennessee, and register a phone, text or email. A live operator also answers at 888-868-4631 at all hours.

Coverage of county jails is uneven. Check with the jail at 865-453-4668 to learn whether this one reports to VINE. If you are a crime victim, tell the District Attorney General's office that you want notice of any release.

A magistrate or other officer with bail power sets an amount, and the person then goes before the General Sessions judge. The law tells judges to keep bail modest: just enough so the person returns and nobody is put at risk. The decision weighs home, work, family ties and record.

• Cash bail. The whole sum can be left with the court clerk. Some clerks also accept a debit card or a cash app, for an extra charge.
• Bondsman. The usual charge is about one tenth of the bond. Since 2026 the state insurance department licenses bondsmen, while local courts choose who may write bonds here.
• Waiting periods. Domestic abuse and stalking arrests may bring a 12-hour wait first. The jail can explain.

Before paying anything, phone 865-453-4668 to confirm where and how. Our bail page has details. For the state's general bail rules, try our Tennessee bail laws page.

The roster entry may show them. Official court papers show more. These offices help:

• General Sessions Court Clerk: 865-453-6116, for misdemeanors and first felony hearings.
• Circuit Court Clerk: 127 Commerce Street, Suite 2104, Sevierville, TN 37862, 865-774-3731 (criminal line), for felony files once a grand jury has acted.
• District Attorney General: 125 Court Avenue, Suite 301-E, Sevierville, TN 37862, 865-429-7021. These prosecutors choose how each case goes forward.

Have the legal name and the birth date on hand when you dial. No single statewide site lists these cases.

The ask is made in court. When the judge calls the case, the defendant says a lawyer is wanted and that paying one is not possible. After a look at income, the judge decides.

The county belongs to the 4th Judicial District, shared with Cocke, Grainger and Jefferson counties. That district's Public Defender's office answers at 865-397-0108. Give the name, the charge and the hearing date as early as you can, so the office can begin work.

A private attorney is another path. One can push for a lower bail and meet with the person at the jail.

Visit rules vary by building and shift. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 865-453-4668 first, and ask:

• Which site is my person in?
• When are visiting days and times?
• Is the visit face to face, on video, or either?
• What ID is required? What is the youngest age allowed?
• Which clothes and items are not allowed?

Leave phones and bags in the car. Our visiting guide lists tips that apply to most jails.

Deposits go toward store orders like snacks and soap, and often toward phone time. Bail is a separate matter. Ring 865-453-4668 to learn which deposit options are open, any limits, and which name and number to give.

Use only the method the jail names. Cash in the mail is lost cash. Anyone demanding gift cards or wire transfers to free a person is a scammer. Our money guide covers typical deposit routes, plus a commissary guide on what a balance can buy.

In most jails the inmate places the call. Ask at 865-453-4668 about setting up a call account, the price per minute, and whether texts or video are offered in your person's building.

Assume a call is recorded. Keep case details for your attorney, since lawyer calls are private. More help: jail phone guide and inmate email and texts guide.

Do not guess at the address. Call 865-453-4668 and get the exact mailing address for the right building. Check whether a booking number is needed on the outside, and which items will be sent back.

Print the inmate's legal name as the addressee, with your return address on the flap. Stick to plain paper. Never tuck in cash or stamps unless the jail says so. Our mail guide lists general limits.

Things the person had on arrival stay in storage until release or a move. To bring clean clothes or collect items, phone 865-453-4668 and ask for Property or Booking. Learn the hours, the photo ID to bring, and if a release form is needed.

The Sheriff's Office sits at 106 West Bruce Street, Sevierville, TN 37862. Call ahead, since the property window may be elsewhere.

Call right away at 865-453-4668 and request the jail nurse or health unit. If no one is free, leave a message through the front desk. Name the medicine, how much is taken, and your person's doctor with a phone number.

Have your person fill out a sick-call slip in writing, and send another if nothing happens. Say so clearly if you fear a mental health emergency. If life is in danger, call 911.

The Sheriff's Office serves county warrants at 865-453-4668. In the city of Sevierville, the police do it at 865-453-5506. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge officers cover their own towns. We found no public wanted list to link, so call and ask.

To check a case, give the General Sessions Court Clerk, 865-453-6116, a full name and birth date. To clear a warrant, see a lawyer. Next, reach out to the judge's court that signed the warrant. The Circuit Court Clerk works from 127 Commerce Street, Suite 2104, Sevierville, TN 37862.

The court handling your case sets the date. Check any papers you were given, then call:

• General Sessions Court. First appearances, lesser charges and preliminary hearings. Reach the clerk at 865-453-6116 or the judges' line at 865-908-2560. County offices are at 125 Court Avenue, Sevierville, TN 37862, so ask which room you need.
• Circuit Court. Felony trials follow a grand jury indictment. The Circuit Court Clerk, 127 Commerce Street, Suite 2104, Sevierville, TN 37862, is open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Criminal line: 865-774-3731.

Felony charges get a probable-cause hearing: 14 days out if the person sits in jail, 30 days out if the person went home. Our court guide explains the later steps.

Our county is assigned to the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern Division. Federal cases are heard in Knoxville, inside the Baker courthouse (Howard H. Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 800 Market Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The clerk's number is 865-545-4228.

1. The first hearing settles jail or release until trial, as 18 U.S.C. 3142 provides.
2. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service is in charge of the person. Their office, 800 Market Street, Suite 320, Knoxville, TN 37902, 865-824-3801, can tell you the facility.
3. Free defense counsel comes from Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, 800 South Gay Street, Suite 2400, Knoxville, TN 37929, 865-637-7979.
4. Later, once a federal sentence exists, look in the BOP locator.

A detainer, written on Form I-247A, requests that the jail hold someone a little longer. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE can arrive.

1. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Search with the complete name plus the birth country. If you hold an A-number, that works too.
2. When nothing shows, contact the ICE New Orleans Field Office, which handles Tennessee. The locator lists how.
3. Tennessee's Department of Safety includes Sevier in the group of counties teaming up with ICE through 287(g), a federal program.

Please speak with an immigration attorney quickly.

Once the sentence is state time, corrections staff handle intake and choose the prison. Before that move, the person may remain in the county jail for some time. Ask at 865-453-4668.

• Use the offender lookup. An entry may show the offender's picture and status, plus where they are held, what they did and the term.
• Department of Correction: 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Visiting and mail details are in our state prisons guide.

Children stay apart from adult inmates. A child's case is heard by Juvenile Court, which operates inside General Sessions Court. Phone the Sevier County Juvenile Services Center, 157 West Main Street, Sevierville, TN 37862, 865-774-3800. Youths are not on the adult roster.

Ask when the detention hearing is and how to get a lawyer for the child. The General Sessions clerk, 865-453-6116, can confirm the hearing date.

Whoever arrested the person can tell you where they were taken. Departments in the county:

• Sheriff's Office. Handles roads, rural land and any town with no police force. 865-453-4668.
• Sevierville Police, 300 Gary Wade Boulevard, Sevierville, TN 37862, 865-453-5506.
• Gatlinburg Police and Pigeon Forge Police. We could not confirm their phone numbers, so ask the Sheriff's Office for the right line.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol. Troopers patrol state routes. Find the district that serves the county on the THP contacts page.