IVSS-Counties is a state system. County jails feed it their custody records. Here's the routine:

1. Go to IVSS-Counties. Nobody needs a login to search.
2. Enter a surname. Tack on a first name, or its opening letters, when the list runs long.
3. Choose the likeliest match and read the holding location. It should be this county's jail.
4. Notices are optional and can be requested from that screen, account or no account.
5. Unsure it's them? Ring the jail line, 254-803-1000, and ask for Booking.

Only people now in custody or under supervision appear. A morning release can drop a name by lunch. For one more look, try the official jail search linked in the opening above.

An empty screen usually has one of these explanations:

• Still in booking. Fingerprints and paperwork happen first, so brand-new arrests lag.
• Already freed. A bond was posted, or the magistrate released them.
• Caught in another county. A local warrant served elsewhere can mean a wait in that other jail before transfer.
• Typed differently. Try only the first three letters, or swap in a nickname or previous surname.
• Federal, ICE or state prison. Separate lookups for each appear farther along.

With the birth date ready, phone the jail desk at 254-803-1000. Ask if a booking happened, and if so, where the person went after.

No. State jail records list a single adult jail here, the Falls County Detention Center, 2847 State Highway 6, Marlin, TX 76661, jail desk 254-803-1000. Sheriff's staff share that street address. In June 2022 the state counted 60 people there against 107 beds. Ten belonged to outside agencies under contract.

Places beyond that jail:

• A different county's jail, after an arrest out there. Call its sheriff.
• A youth detention center, for kids under 17. Juvenile probation knows which: 254-883-1429.
• Federal or ICE holds, both explained below.

Mugshots are booking pictures. Request one from the Sheriff's Office in writing, using the Texas Public Information Act:

1. Keep the letter short: whose photo, which arrest date, and that you want the booking picture.
2. Deliver or mail it to 2847 State Highway 6, Marlin, TX 76661. Phone 254-883-1431 to see whether email or fax works as well.
3. Answers are due promptly. Needing past ten business days means the office owes you a release date.

Basic facts about an arrest can't be withheld (Gov't Code 552.108(c)). Silence for ten business days? The Attorney General's Open Records Division hears that kind of complaint.

Some sites selling removal of mugshots charge $150 or above. Under Texas law, those sites must correct or delete an error-filled or incomplete record at no charge. Records sealed by expunction or nondisclosure orders can't go up at all (Bus. & Com. Code ch. 109). Other removal fees remain legal. ICE keeps its own photos; ask through an ICE FOIA request. Photos from federal bookings rarely come out, though the Marshals sometimes share one for a fugitive.

Enroll through IVSS-Counties, or dial 866-268-8959 around the clock, in English or Spanish. No fee.

• Notices cover bookings, releases, and hearings scheduled or reset.
• You also learn of an escape, a death, or a shift into state prison custody.
• Enrollment is confidential. The jailed person won't find out.

After a prison transfer, TDCJ Victim Services takes over notices: 800-848-4284.

Every adult arrested gets a magistrate hearing inside 48 hours, often on a video screen. There the charge gets read, rights get explained, bail is announced, and the person may ask the county to pay for counsel.

• Cash: the whole sum, paid back once the case's conditions are satisfied.
• Bondsman: a state-licensed surety signs on, charging a premium.
• Personal bond: a signed promise, off-limits on many violent charges.

Family violence bonds can come with a four-hour delay before the door opens. ICE, parole or an outside county's warrant can also block release. Get the bond figure from the Sheriff's Office, then see our bail page for details.

Each charge is read to the person by the magistrate. Relatives can learn them three ways:

• The jail. Phone 254-803-1000 and ask which charges were logged at booking.
• The clerks, after filing. Their offices sit inside the courthouse at 125 Bridge Street, Marlin, TX 76661. Felony files: District Clerk, Room 301, 254-883-1419. Jailable misdemeanors: County Clerk, Room 202, 254-883-1408.
• re:SearchTX. Sign up free to see filed charges, indictments and judgments.

Booking charges aren't final. Prosecutors can raise, cut or drop them after review.

Asking happens at magistration. The person states they can't pay a lawyer, and the magistrate assists with the sworn form, which moves on to the appointing authority inside a day.

• Here the court has until working day three to appoint.
• Counsel's first contact attempt is due one working day after appointment.
• Pay, belongings, bills and dependents all weigh in the decision.

Encourage your person to speak up and ask. Who got appointed? Ask the District Clerk, 254-883-1419, for felonies, or the County Clerk, 254-883-1408, for misdemeanors.

Texas sets minimum visiting rights every county jail has to honor:

• Two or more noncontact visits per week, meaning no touching.
• Each one lasts at least 20 minutes.
• Evenings or weekends get at least one slot.
• Veterans may meet a veterans service officer free, on top of the regular two.

Kids might need a parent or guardian along. Call 254-803-1000 before the drive to confirm days, ID, clothing rules and whether video visits run here. Our visitation page offers more.

Funds on account usually buy snacks, soap and phone minutes. Before sending a dime, ask the Sheriff's Office, 254-883-1431: Which deposit methods work? Any fee? Any limit?

Stick with methods the jail approves, and hang on to each receipt until the balance updates. Read more on adding funds and commissary orders.

A Texas design rule puts a phone in each booking area, so new arrivals can make an early call. Afterward, the jail's own phone setup applies.

• Find out which company runs calls and how to open an account.
• Check whether tablets, texts or email are offered.
• Keep case details off jail phones. Those belong in talks with the lawyer.

Jail desk: 254-803-1000. Also see jail phone accounts and electronic messages.

State mail protections include:

• Letters and pages, in or out, have no numeric limit.
• Legal mail gets opened with the recipient watching, and only for a contraband check.
• Supplies are free for the penniless: paper plus stamps covering three letters weekly, at least.
• One item can be refused when it violates a rule.

Call 254-803-1000 first. Verify the mailing address, the ID number format and whether photos or cards pass. See also our mail tips.

Clothes, wallets and phones collected at booking stay in jail storage. Evidence is different, since it stays tied to the case.

1. Phone the jail, 254-803-1000. Ask whether a written release, signed by the person, will let you collect things.
2. Carry photo ID for pickup.
3. Evidence questions go to the District Attorney's office, 125 Bridge Street, Room 309, Marlin, TX 76661, 254-883-1416, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone 254-803-1000 at once and request the shift supervisor. List medications, doses, allergies and the doctor's name. Don't send pills unless told to.

• Under Crim. Proc. Code art. 16.22, signs of mental illness mean staff must notify a magistrate inside 12 hours.
• A person held solely for emergency mental health care must be housed away from criminal defendants.
• Each jail must share its grievance steps on walls in shared spaces and inside the inmate handbook.

Still stuck after asking the jail? Reach TCJS, the state's jail standards agency, at 512-463-5505 or with its online complaint form.

Sheriff's deputies carry out warrants countywide: 254-883-1431. Constables do as well, Precinct 1 at 254-230-2551, Precinct 2 at 254-883-7117, Precinct 3 at 254-721-5828 and Precinct 4 at 254-749-3570. Top statewide fugitives are pictured by DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted. Curious about one name? A deputy or a clerk at the courthouse can check. Found one? Get a lawyer's help first. Together, pick a surrender time with that courtroom's staff, or request a new setting from its clerk. Felony warrant files: District Clerk, 125 Bridge Street, Room 301, Marlin, TX 76661, 254-883-1419.

Settings shift, so recheck near the day:

• Felony: docket PDFs sit on the District Clerk's county web page, and the office answers at 254-883-1419.
• Misdemeanor: try the County Clerk, 254-883-1408.
• Ticket or fine-only: phone whichever JP precinct issued it.
• IVSS-Counties sends an alert whenever a setting is added or moved.

Our court page sorts out which courtroom handles which charge.

Federal cases from here go to Waco, the Western District of Texas courthouse serving this area: 800 Franklin Avenue, Room 380, Waco, TX 76701, clerk 254-750-1501.

• At a detention hearing, a judge picks release on conditions or jail until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• The U.S. Marshals office, which tracks pretrial federal prisoners, can point you to the location: 800 Franklin Avenue, Room 200, Waco, TX 76701, 254-750-1570.
• Low-income defendants can qualify for a lawyer through the Federal Public Defender's Waco office, 510 Austin Avenue, Room 380, Waco, TX 76701, 737-207-4567.
• Post-sentence, search the Bureau of Prisons locator.

When immigration authorities want someone from this jail, things typically unfold this way:

1. A detainer, Form I-247A, reaches the Sheriff.
2. Jail staff may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Immigration agents arrive for the pickup, then transport the person wherever ICE assigns.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator two ways: A-number alone, or name, birth country and date of birth together. Nothing found? ICE points families to its field office.

Under Crim. Proc. Code art. 2A.060, a detainer binds every Texas jail; only proof of lawful status releases someone from it. December 1, 2026 is the cutoff for jail counties to request a 287(g) partnership; local progress is something the Sheriff's Office can explain. Before pleading guilty, consult an immigration lawyer.

A felony sentence often means more days in the county jail until TDCJ, Texas's prison agency, picks the person up. TDCJ intake then assigns a suitable unit. State jail sentences go to state jail facilities.

• TDCJ inmate search: an exact surname with first initial works. So do TDCJ and SID numbers. Records update only on working days, so they trail by at least a day.
• Prison addresses and visiting details: the JailExchange Texas state prisons directory.

Juvenile law in Texas covers ages 10 to 16. Someone 17 is booked as an adult.

• A parent or guardian must hear from the officer quickly, including why.
• Youths never go to the adult lockup. Officers take them for juvenile processing or straight to youth detention. A parent or attorney may sit in during processing.
• A lawyer gets appointed ahead of the detention hearing, which must happen by working day two.

Youth probation for this county is shared with Milam and Robertson through the 20th-82nd Judicial District department. It works out of courthouse Room 400, 125 Bridge Street, Marlin, TX 76661, 254-883-1429 or 254-883-1430. Ask staff which center holds the youth. Statewide oversight rests with TJJD, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.

Arrest paperwork lists who made the arrest. Agencies here:

• Sheriff's Office: covers the whole county and operates the jail. 2847 State Highway 6, Marlin, TX 76661, 254-883-1431.
• Rosebud Police Department: 202 South College Street, Rosebud, TX 76570, 254-583-7919, office hours weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Marlin Police Department: the Sheriff's Office can give its office location and phone.
• Lott and Golinda: which agency covers each town is a question for the Sheriff's Office.

Constables arrest people too:

• Precinct 1: 254-230-2551.
• Precinct 2: 503 Hwy 6, Marlin, TX 76661, 254-883-7117.
• Precinct 3: P.O. Box 390, Lott, TX 76656, 254-721-5828.
• Precinct 4: 2610 State Hwy 7, Chilton, TX 76632, 254-749-3570.

DPS state troopers also work the highways. The city of Marlin's website gives 254-883-3447 as a DPS number. The Sheriff's Office can name the Highway Patrol office that covers this county.