1. Load the Sheriff's online inmate list.
2. Keep the toggle on Current for people still inside. Move it to Released to learn whether someone has gone.
3. Choose a way in: part of a name, words from the charge, or a number of days for recent bookings. "View all inmates" shows the full roster in one go.
4. Each row gives full name, age, race, sex and admit date. Tap the name.
5. Jot down the Name ID on that detail screen. The jail uses it to tell people apart, so quote it on calls and envelopes.

Page won't load? Staff at the Adult Detention Center, 361-553-4475, will check a name by phone.

Listing trails booking. Prints, a picture, a quick medical check and an inventory of pockets all come first, so someone picked up an hour ago may be invisible online. Give it a few hours and try again. Meanwhile:

• type a second spelling, a maiden name, or the surname by itself;
• flip to Released, because bond may already be posted or a transfer done;
• open "View all charges" if you know roughly what the arrest involved;
• phone the jail at 361-553-4475.

Did a city officer make the arrest? Then that department knows where the person went. Its number is in this page's final answer. Federal and immigration holds may be filed under another agency, so read those two answers too.

For an arrest inside county lines, expect the Adult Detention Center: 302 W. Live Oak, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4475. Our research turned up no second adult building. After a city arrest, ask that police department whether the person is still at the station or already on Live Oak.

Crossing a county line changes the jail. Arrests just past the border are booked by the neighbor:

• Victoria County Jail: 101 N. Glass Street, Victoria, TX 77901, 361-575-0651
• Jackson County Detention Center: 115 W. Main, Room 104, Edna, TX 77957, 361-782-5407
• Refugio County Jail: 405 Mesquite St., Refugio, TX 78377, 361-526-1698

Children never go to the adult jail. The under-17 answer names the regional youth center.

Yes, one click deep. The main list carries no pictures, yet each detail screen on the dcn.calhouncotx.org jail roster opens with a booking photo labeled MugShot and a "View next mugshot" button. Height, weight, eye color and hair color appear alongside.

Want a picture the roster has dropped? A Public Information Act letter can be sent to the Sheriff's Office at 211 S. Ann Street, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4646. Texas counts basic arrest details as public and expects a prompt reply (Gov't Code 552.108(c)).

• Paid mugshot websites: Texas law (Bus. & Com. Code ch. 109) targets sites asking $150 or more for takedown. Such a site must repair or remove a record that's wrong or incomplete at no cost, and it may not show expunged or nondisclosed records at all.
• Photos taken by ICE: ask through ICE's FOIA request site.
• Federal agencies seldom hand out booking photos. A rare exception is the U.S. Marshals Service sharing one to catch a fugitive.

Yes, if you register. Texas IVSS-Counties replaced the earlier statewide notice service for county jails. Beyond alerts by call, text or email at booking, release or transfer, it also confirms which county jail is holding someone right now. Sign-up is free and confidential. Help comes in English or Spanish at any hour: 866-268-8959.

For a fast check without signing up, set the Sheriff's inmate list to Released and type the name.

A magistrate sees every arrested adult inside 48 hours and fixes bail. You'll find each amount in the Bond column of the detail screen. Release comes in three forms:

• Cash: the whole sum is paid up front and comes back after the case, as long as every bond term was kept.
• Surety: a bail bond company or other surety signs for the amount and keeps its fee.
• Personal bond: the person pledges in writing to return to court, and no cash changes hands. Charges on the state's violent offense list rule this out.

Under a 2025 change to the state constitution, judges may refuse bail entirely in some of the gravest violent cases after a hearing. The jail, 361-553-4475, can explain where and how to post. Our local bail page covers each step, and our Texas bail law summary adds the statewide picture.

Open the detail screen first. Its charge table gives the offense, the offense date, the court type, the coming court date, a docket number, the bond, and both the charging and arresting agencies.

The court's own file can be searched on the county court records portal, surname first. Clerks can help by phone too:

• Felony files: District Clerk, 211 S. Ann Street, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4630
• Misdemeanors (Class A or B): County Clerk, 211 S. Ann Street, Suite 102, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4411

Statewide, re:SearchTX lets registered users (free) read filed charges and judgments. DPS charges a fee for its conviction name search, which covers the whole state.

Yes. The request starts with the jailed person, who should tell the magistrate they want counsel and sign the sworn income form. Local judges then pick from the appointed attorney list, following the local appointment plan.

• Once the court receives the form, three working days is the deadline for naming counsel (CCP 1.051).
• A lawyer who is named must try to reach the client within a working day of being named (CCP 26.04).

Relatives can't file the request themselves, but a polite call can move things along. Felony: District Clerk, 361-553-4630. Misdemeanor: County Court at Law No. 1, 361-553-4640. Across Texas, appointed-counsel systems answer to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 512-936-6994.

Phone the Adult Detention Center at 361-553-4475 before setting out. Questions worth asking: open days and hours, whether to reserve a slot, which ID works, and whether video visiting from home exists. By state standard, every inmate gets a weekly minimum of two noncontact visits. Each runs a minimum of 20 minutes, and at least one has to be scheduled outside weekday business hours, on a weeknight or a Saturday or Sunday (Gov't Code 511.009). With state approval, some jails run video-only visiting.

Carry a valid photo ID, wear simple clothes, and lock bags and phones in your vehicle. Our jail visiting guide explains how a typical visit works.

An inmate account covers snacks, soap, stamps and phone time. Payment options change, so ask the jail at 361-553-4475 what it takes today (a lobby kiosk, a website, a phone service) and the fee for each. Keep the Name ID nearby.

Our jail money deposit guide and commissary explainer describe how these accounts usually run.

Only outgoing calls are possible, so family can't ring the person directly. Texas jails usually route calls through a contract company using prepaid or collect accounts, often with tablet messaging added. Ask the jail at 361-553-4475 which company serves this building, then open an account there. Expect recording on everything except attorney calls, so keep the case off the line.

More on this: our inmate calling page, plus our messaging page.

Write the envelope like this, with the Name ID if you know it:

Inmate's full name and Name ID
Adult Detention Center
302 W. Live Oak
Port Lavaca, TX 77979

Under state jail rules, there's no ceiling on the number of letters someone may receive, and letters from lawyers can't be opened unless the inmate is watching. Photos, greeting cards, books and magazines can carry extra rules, so call 361-553-4475 first. Our inmate mail guide covers the usual limits.

At booking, staff count and bag whatever the person carried. Normally it all goes home with them at release. If a relative needs a wallet or a set of keys sooner, call 361-553-4475 before driving over to find out if the inmate's signature is needed, when to come, and which ID to show at 302 W. Live Oak, Port Lavaca, TX 77979.

Evidence is different. Items seized as evidence remain with the arresting agency until a court or prosecutor releases them.

Call the jail at once at 361-553-4475. Mention prescriptions, new injuries, pregnancy, diabetes, seizures or mental health concerns, and give the names of the person's doctor and pharmacy. Medical decisions inside belong to jail staff, but a defense lawyer can bring health needs to the judge when bond is argued.

If nothing improves, a complaint can be lodged with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards by calling 512-463-5505.

Sheriff's deputies, constables from all five precincts and town police carry out warrants locally. For a check, call the Sheriff's Office, 211 S. Ann Street, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4646, or the clerk of whichever court signed it. Open cases are searchable by name in the online court records, and DPS keeps a statewide most wanted fugitives page. The safe way to clear one is with counsel: hire or request a lawyer, then walk in together, either at the Live Oak jail or by having the lawyer request a fresh setting from the issuing judge. On felony warrants, the District Clerk at 361-553-4630 can help.

The detail screen already lists a court date and docket number beside every charge. For the wider calendar:

• Felonies: the District Clerk's docket page, the 2026 calendar, or a call to 361-553-4630.
• Misdemeanors: County Court at Law No. 1, 361-553-4640.
• Fine-only tickets: the justice court printed on the citation.

Our local court guide walks through each courtroom and hearing.

This area's federal cases are heard in Victoria, at 312 S. Main, Room 406, Victoria, TX 77901, 361-788-5000. A magistrate judge there runs the first hearing and chooses between release and a detention hearing.

Until a federal case ends, custody belongs to deputy U.S. marshals, who frequently rent beds in county jails. The marshals' Victoria office, 312 South Main Street, Room 326, Victoria, TX 77902, 361-578-4932, can name the jail. After a federal prison sentence, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator finds people by name or BOP register number.

1. To ask the jail to keep someone past release, ICE sends Form I-247A.
2. Texas requires jails to honor these requests (CCP 2A.060). The hold can run up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Officers from ICE collect the person, who is then moved to an immigration detention facility.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator with an A-number, or else a name and the country of birth.
5. Nothing after a day or two? Try an ICE field office. Houston: 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816. San Antonio: 3523 Crosspoint Drive, San Antonio, TX 78217, 210-564-3300.

Separately, a 2025 Texas law gave each sheriff who runs a jail a job: ask ICE for a 287(g) arrangement before December 1, 2026. Local details come from the Sheriff's Office, 361-553-4646.

Once sentenced on a felony, the person is bused to a TDCJ intake unit. There, staff review health, security risk and needs, then assign a prison or state jail that fits. The trip can take weeks.

• Enter a surname and one initial, a TDCJ number, or a SID in the TDCJ inmate search.
• Each unit's visits and mail are covered on our Texas state prisons pages.

Juvenile court, never the adult jail, handles kids who were at least 10 and under 17 when the offense took place. Seventeen-year-olds are treated as adults in Texas. A parent must hear from officers quickly (Fam. Code 52.02). A judge then reviews detention by working day two, after a lawyer has been named (Fam. Code 54.01).

Detention for youths from contracting counties happens at the Victoria Regional Juvenile Justice Center, 97 Foster Field Dr., Victoria, TX 77904, 361-575-0399. Juvenile Probation, 201 W. Austin St., Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4670, can say where a child is.

The detail screen's Arresting Agency column names the office. Reach it here:

• Port Lavaca Police Department: 201 N. Colorado St., Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-552-3788
• Seadrift Police Department: 361-785-2069
• Sheriff's Office, which covers Port O'Connor, Olivia and every place outside town limits, and handles questions about Point Comfort arrests: 211 S. Ann Street, Port Lavaca, TX 77979, 361-553-4646
• Constables, one for each precinct: Precinct 1, Precinct 2, Precinct 3, Precinct 4 and Precinct 5
• DPS troopers patrol the state highways. If DPS is listed as the arresting agency, the jail at 361-553-4475 can point you to the right trooper office.