Three tools exist, and each has a job:

• Texas IVSS-Counties. The Sheriff's own page sends searchers to this state site while the local roster is down. Type a first and last name. The help desk takes calls day and night at 866-268-8959.
• The Sheriff's lookup. Bookmark the official inmate search and try it again in a few days. It belongs to the Sheriff's phone app too, "Chambers County SO TX."
• A live person. Jail staff can confirm custody at 409-267-2507. The Sheriff's main desk at 409-267-2500 is open around the clock.

The jail has room for about 148 people.

A blank IVSS result happens a lot. Here is why:

• Booking takes a few hours. Fingerprints, photos and paperwork come first, then the name reaches the system.
• A magistrate may have already released them on bond.
• Baytown officers made the arrest, so the person sits in the city lockup instead. Baytown refreshes its own occupancy list every 45 minutes on its Who's in Jail page, or call that jail at 281-425-1104.
• Baytown straddles two counties. Arrests on its Harris side can lead to a Harris jail.
• The spelling differs. Try the first name without a nickname, or a maiden or hyphenated surname.
• They've gone on to TDCJ, federal custody or an ICE center. See the answers further down.

When nothing turns up, phone the jail with a birth date in hand. Staff can search by date of birth when names get mixed up.

Chambers runs just one county jail. Every other place below belongs to a city or a different county.

• Baytown Municipal Jail, 3100 N. Main Street, Baytown, TX 77521, 281-425-1104. Holds people that Baytown police arrest. Jail profile.
• Harris County, The 1200 Jail, 1200 Baker Street, Houston, TX 77002, 346-286-2211. Jail profile.
• Liberty County Jail, 2400 Beaumont Ave., Liberty, TX 77575, 936-336-9395. Jail profile.
• Jefferson County Correctional Facility, 5030 Highway 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-726-2500. Jail profile.
• Galveston County Jail, 5700 Avenue H, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2315. Jail profile.

Someone who lives here may still be arrested on a case from one of those counties. Each of those jails can say whether it holds the person.

Not at the moment. The Sheriff's roster is offline during the system change, and IVSS-Counties is a notice service, so it is no place to look for mugshots. To get a booking photo, ask for it in writing.

• Texas's Public Information Act (Gov't Code ch. 552) makes basic facts about an arrest public. Send a request through the county's public records portal, or ask Sheriff's Records at 409-267-2515. Answers should come promptly. A request running beyond ten business days gets a written release date from the office.
• Withholding a photo usually means the office seeks an Attorney General ruling.
• Immigration photos require an ICE FOIA request; ICE offers no other route.
• Federal mugshots almost never go public, apart from the occasional U.S. Marshals fugitive flyer.

Texas reins in commercial mugshot sites through Business and Commerce Code ch. 109. Their operators can't charge a removal fee for an entry that's wrong or incomplete. Expunged or nondisclosed cases must stay off them entirely.

It can, at no charge. Texas IVSS-Counties has replaced the state's older custody notice system. Register there for phone or email notice when someone leaves county custody or changes location. The service's staff help by phone at 866-268-8959.

Crime victims can also lean on the Sheriff's Victim Services staff, 409-267-2534. Alerts are a backup. When the date really matters, call the jail as well.

Each new detainee goes before a magistrate inside 48 hours. At that hearing the charges get read, appointed counsel comes up, and bail gets set. Release then takes one of three forms:

• Cash: the whole amount, up front.
• Surety: a licensed bondsman covers it for a nonrefundable charge.
• Personal bond: release on a signed promise; the window collects no cash. Certain violent offenses rule it out.

County Pretrial Services screens new arrests and suggests release terms to the court. It sits at 409 S Main Street, Anahuac, TX 77514, 409-267-2765. Ask the jail where bond is posted today and which payments it takes. Our bail page covers the rules, the costs and the holds that can block release.

Call the jail and a staff member will list what the person was booked on. Arrest charges can change once a prosecutor reviews the file, so check the court record too.

• The county's Court Records Portal is the online case search.
• The District Clerk keeps felony files: 409-267-2432.
• The County Clerk's office handles Class A and B paperwork: 409-267-2418.
• Class C tickets stay with the justice of the peace who got them.

Basic arrest and offense details are public by statute (Gov't Code 552.108(c)). Ask the Sheriff's Office and it should give them.

The magistrate's question about appointed counsel is the moment to speak up; a yes gets the request moving. People who need the forms can get them from the magistrate. Requests then travel by email:

• Felony charges: indigentdefense@chamberstx.gov
• Misdemeanor charges: indigentdefense.misd@chamberstx.gov

Lawyers come from a rotating list kept by the judges. A capital murder charge brings in a separate regional office that defends only death-penalty-level cases. The county's full appointment plan lives on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission site. Relatives may still pay for a private attorney at any stage.

Every visit needs an appointment. Call 409-267-2507 between 8 AM and 5 PM, a full day ahead or more. "No appointment, no visitation," the Sheriff's page says.

• Visits start on the hour and stop on the half hour.
• Get there 15 minutes early and sign in at the lobby in front of the Sheriff's Office.
• Bring photo ID: a Texas license or ID card, another state's or a federal ID, or a passport. No exceptions.
• Visitors must be 17 or older.
• Leave your phone behind. Bring one in, and staff will stop the visit and may suspend your visiting.
• Dress modestly. Bad behavior ends the visit.

No visits happen Monday, Tuesday or Friday. On Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, set hours go to men, to women or to people held in segregation, and men and women never share a time slot. When you call, staff will match your loved one to an open block. Our visiting page has more.

Tiger Commissary handles deposits. There are two ways to pay:

• Lobby kiosk. It sits in the visitation lobby and takes cash, debit or credit.
• Online. Go to Tiger Commissary's deposit site, choose "Web Deposits" or "Order Commissary," pick the name from the list, check the SO Number, then pay by card.

Tiger keeps 10% of each deposit. One deposit can't top $150, and a week's total can't top $500. Mistakes aren't refunded, credited or moved, so double-check the name. Problems go to Tiger, since the county doesn't run the web system. See our money page and commissary page too.

The Sheriff's jail pages cover visits, deposits and mail, but they say nothing about a phone company or tablets. Ask staff at 409-267-2507 which provider carries calls and how to open a prepaid account. In most jails, calls only go out, so you can't ring the person directly.

For someone in the Baytown city lockup, the city's jail page explains how to fund a phone account through CIDNET. Our phone page lists general tips.

Since June 2024, ordinary letters go through NCIC Inmate Communications, which scans them for delivery. Mail sent anywhere else comes back. Use this address:

Line one reads NCIC – Chambers County Jail. Line two is the person's name with their SO Number. Lines three and four: PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606.

• Write on one side only.
• Every piece needs the full name, the SO Number and your return address.
• Each envelope holds 5 sheets max, letter size (8.5 x 11) or smaller.
• Any photo returns the whole letter.
• Books, magazines, newspapers and bulk mail are refused at NCIC.

Legal papers, medical letters, court documents, printed photographs and books shipped by a publisher take a separate route straight to the jail:

Chambers County Jail
Last Name, First Name – SO Number
PO Box 998
Anahuac, TX 77514

Legal or medical mail sent to Longview gets returned. More help sits on our mail page.

The jail logs and stores what a person has on them at booking. The Sheriff's pages don't spell out how a family member picks it up. Call the jail at 409-267-2507 first. Ask:

• Has the person signed a release letting you take the items?
• What hours can you come, and which ID do you need?
• Are any items held as evidence? Those stay with the case.

The jail does not keep visitors' belongings during a visit, so don't bring bags along. If a car was towed after the arrest, the towing company has it, not the jail.

Every Texas jail must give care to people it holds. Call the jail at 409-267-2507, ask for the shift supervisor and describe the problem. Name any medicines and the doctor who prescribes them.

• Doctors' letters and medical records go by mail to PO Box 998, Anahuac, TX 77514, with the full name and SO Number.
• Don't mail medical letters to the NCIC address. They will be sent back.
• If a real problem goes unfixed, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards takes jail complaints at 512-463-5505.

Jot down each staff name and call time so any follow-up has a paper trail.

Sheriff's deputies serve most local warrants; the Warrants desk is at 409-267-2548. Constables help too, at 409-267-2614 for Precincts 1, 4 and 6 and 409-267-2517 for Precincts 2 and 5. Baytown officers serve city warrants. For the state's most hunted fugitives, DPS posts the Texas 10 Most Wanted; no public statewide warrant search exists. To check one name, phone the Warrants desk or ask a clerk. To clear it, line up counsel first, then either turn in at the jail by arrangement or petition the signing judge for a hearing. The District Clerk, who files felony warrants, is at 404 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, TX 77514, 409-267-2432.

Which clerk to call turns on the court:

• Felonies: ask the District Clerk, 409-267-2432. A branch office serves Mont Belvieu at 409-267-2666.
• Class A and B misdemeanors: ask the County Clerk, 409-267-2418.
• Class C tickets: phone the JP precinct named on the citation. Phone numbers are on our court page.

The online Court Records Portal may show settings as well. People out on bond with supervision terms report to Pretrial Services at 409-267-2766, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and again 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Missing a court date can cost the bond and bring a new warrant.

Federal prosecutions from the Trinity Bay area are heard at the Galveston Division of the Southern District. Clerk's office: 601 Rosenberg, Room 411, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3530.

• Before sentencing, a federal defendant's jail is the U.S. Marshals' choice. Their Galveston office: 601 Rosenberg Street, Suite 502, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3771.
• Prosecution comes from the U.S. Attorney, 1000 Louisiana, Suite 2300, Houston, TX 77002, 713-567-9000.
• Defense for those who can't afford it: Federal Public Defender, 440 Louisiana Street, Room 1350, Houston, TX 77002, 713-718-4600.
• Post-sentence, look for the federal prison name on the BOP inmate locator.

ICE can file a detainer with the jail. Texas jails must honor it. It lets the jail keep someone for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE officers can pick them up.

• Search the ICE detainee locator. An A-number is best. Without one, type the full name, the date of birth and the native country.
• The Houston Field Office covers this area: 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816.
• One nearby detention site is the Montgomery Processing Center, 806 Hilbig Road, Conroe, TX 77301, 936-521-4900.

A local bond may not end custody when a detainer exists. An immigration lawyer can explain the choices before any plea.

Sentenced prisoners usually spend some weeks more in Anahuac before TDCJ sends for them. Then use the TDCJ inmate search. It searches by SID, by TDCJ number, or by last name joined to a first initial. People still in county custody won't appear.

Unit-by-unit rules appear in our Texas state prison directory. People sentenced to probation instead report to the county's adult probation office (CSCD) at 409-267-2753.

Criminal adulthood starts at 17 in Texas. For anyone 10 through 16, the Family Code applies, and officers owe the parent prompt word of the custody and its reason. A youth may go to a processing office, a detention center or home.

• Juvenile Probation runs the local side: 407 S. Main Street, Anahuac, TX 77514, 409-267-2747. Staff there know which center is holding a child.
• TJJD lists no detention center for youth inside this county, so any child ordered held goes to a center in another county.
• The child's lawyer joins a judge's detention review, which happens within two working days.
• The juvenile board's lawyer appointment plan explains how counsel is chosen.

Knowing the agency helps you find the right jail and report. Agencies that make arrests here:

• Sheriff's Office, 201 North Court, Anahuac, TX 77514. Patrol: 409-267-2596. Main desk, open 24/7: 409-267-2500. Deputies patrol the areas outside city limits.
• Baytown Police Department, 3200 N. Main Street, Baytown, TX 77522, 281-422-8371. It covers the part of Baytown inside the county.
• Constables: Precincts 1, 4 and 6 at 409-267-2614; Precincts 2 and 5 at 409-267-2517.
• Smaller towns such as Anahuac, Mont Belvieu, Cove, Beach City and Old River-Winfree: ring the Sheriff's main desk. The desk can name the arresting agency and the jail used.
• Texas DPS troopers patrol I-10 and the state highways. Jail staff can tell you if a trooper brought the person in.

Records requests for any Sheriff's report go through the county's records portal or Records at 409-267-2515.