The search sits on the county's online records portal, which also holds court cases. The jail side works like this:

1. Open the jail and records portal on a phone or computer.
2. Choose the jail search, not a civil or court case search.
3. Fill in last name and first name, but hold off on the middle name.
4. Open the record whose age or birth date fits.
5. Write down the SO# and the booking date. Jail staff and the mail service both use that number.

About 8,000 people are booked here in a year, so a common last name can bring up many rows. If you still can't tell who is who, call the jail at 830-303-8866 and read off the birth date.

Any of these could explain a blank result:

• Still being booked. New arrivals are searched, fingerprinted and photographed in the order they arrive. Someone drunk or fighting may wait longer.
• Waiting for the magistrate. After booking, people stay in a holding cell until magistrate court, which meets at the jail every day.
• Already released. Someone may have posted bond within the hour.
• Spelled differently. Search a hyphenated surname both ways, try a maiden name, or cut the name to its first three letters.
• Held by another agency. Someone picked up across the line by a neighboring county, or arrested by federal agents, sits in that agency's custody.
• Under 17. Children are taken to juvenile detention, a separate system whose records are confidential.

Jail records staff can check for you at 830-303-6342. Ask for jail records.

All adults jailed by the county stay in one place:

• The Adult Detention Center, 2615 North Guadalupe Street, Seguin, TX 78155, 830-303-8866. The Sheriff's Adult Detention Division runs it. Its 598 beds hold both men and women. Bonds, records and visits share a second line, 830-303-6342.
• For children, the county runs the Juvenile Detention Center, licensed by the state for 37 youths and overseen by Juvenile Services. Its phone is 830-303-1274. Call that line for the street address.

If the arrest happened just past the county line, that county's jail may have the person instead. The Sheriff's Office at 830-379-1224 can tell you whether someone was moved.

Each adult booked here is photographed. Those booking photos are what most people call mugshots. To get a copy, file a Public Information Act request in writing with the Sheriff's Office. Call 830-379-1224 to ask where to send it.

• The Act makes basic facts about an arrest public, and the office must release them promptly (Government Code 552.108(c)). An office needing more than ten business days has to name the date it will respond.
• Private mugshot websites fall under Business and Commerce Code chapter 109. Such a site may not bill you to correct or take down an inaccurate or incomplete record. It also may not publish a record that was expunged or sealed by an order of nondisclosure.
• Booking photos from federal arrests stay private, with one exception: the Marshals Service may release a fugitive's picture.
• For a picture that ICE took, use the ICE FOIA request page.

Texas runs IVSS-Counties, the statewide notice system that replaced VINE. On IVSS-Counties, enter a full or partial name of someone in custody or under supervision. Then sign up for notices, with or without an account. Help in English or Spanish is open day and night at 866-268-8959.

A notice can take time to arrive. For news today, the jail at 830-303-8866 is quicker.

Texas law gives everyone arrested a trip before a magistrate within 48 hours. Here that hearing happens at the jail, and magistrate court meets every day, holidays included. The magistrate explains the charge and the person's rights, asks whether they want a lawyer the county pays for, and sets bail.

Three kinds of bond are common: cash, surety from a licensed bondsman, and personal bond. A personal bond needs no money up front. Instead, the defendant signs a promise to come to court each time. Approved bondsmen appear on a list held by the Sheriff's Office, but jail workers can't suggest or call one for you. Bond questions go to 830-303-6342. Our bail page covers each step, holds that can delay release, and getting cash back.

The jail knows first. Records staff at 830-303-6342 can read you the booking charges. Once prosecutors file the case, it gets a cause number you can look up on the county records portal. Charges can change at that point, so check again after the first hearing.

• Felony files: District Clerk, 211 W. Court Street, Seguin, TX 78155, 830-303-8875, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Class A and B misdemeanors, including DWI: County Clerk, 211 W. Court Street, Seguin, TX 78155, 830-303-8861, weekdays 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Class C cases, which carry fines only: four Justice of the Peace precincts. The county operator at 830-303-4188 can connect you.

At the magistrate hearing, the person is asked if they want an appointed lawyer. Answering yes and filling out a form about income and bills starts the process. Appointments follow the county's indigent defense plan, which you can read on the state commission's county plans page.

Someone who turned down a lawyer at first can still ask later. They can tell a jailer or send a written request to the court with the case. Felony courts answer at 830-303-8852. Misdemeanor cases belong to County Court at Law No. 1, 830-303-8869, or No. 2, 830-303-8871. Paying for a private attorney instead is always allowed.

Every visitor shows government photo ID. A driver's license, a License to Carry, a military card or a passport all work. The visiting day depends on the first letter of the inmate's last name:

• A through L: Fridays and Sundays.
• M through Z: Saturdays and Mondays.
• Men: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., then noon to 4:00 p.m.
• Women: the jail prints these hours as 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Call to confirm before you make the drive.
• The sign-up list opens 15 minutes before a session and closes 45 minutes before it ends.

Each inmate gets two 30-minute visits a week. Close family traveling more than 100 miles can ask for a special visit. Kids 16 and younger must come with an adult named on the visitation card. Dress modestly and carry only your ID and keys. For questions, call 830-303-6342 and ask for visitation. Our visiting page has more tips.

From the Sheriff's detention web page, families can reach an online deposit service. Funds on the account pay for commissary, where puzzle books and other items are sold. Ask whether a lobby machine or a phone payment can be used as well by calling the jail at 830-303-8866.

Our commissary page lists store goods, and our money page covers deposits in more depth.

Only outgoing calls work. The jail passes along no incoming calls or messages. People inside call out collect or from a prepaid account, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., for up to 20 minutes a call. Calls are recorded and may be monitored, so nobody should talk about the case.

• To open a prepaid account or unblock your number, call 866-230-7761. It answers weekdays 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central and weekends 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Billing questions go to 877-650-4249.

Letters reach inmates on a jail tablet, as the mail answer explains. Our phone page and email page cover more ways to keep in touch.

Ordinary letters skip the jail entirely. Mail them to the scanning center at Viapath, PO Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131. There each letter is opened, scanned and sent to the inmate's tablet.

• On the envelope, write the inmate's full booking name and SO#, plus your full name and complete return address.
• Skip stickers, glitter, lipstick, perfume and cologne. Sending contraband can lead to criminal charges.
• Photos go to the same scanning address. Nude or sexual pictures are rejected, and paper prints are refused.
• Legal mail from lawyers, courts, public officials and news media goes to the jail, 2615 N Guadalupe St, Seguin, TX 78155. Staff open it only with the inmate present.
• Newspapers by subscription and books mailed straight from the publisher also go to the jail address. Papers are thrown out after 7 days. The jail has a library as well.

Letters have no limit on number. An inmate with no money can get supplies for legal mail, plus three regular letters a week. More mail tips sit on our mail page.

Clothes, wallets and other things taken at booking stay in jail storage. Release starts with a property form, signed by the inmate, that lists you by name. Then pick them up between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except county holidays. Bring a state-issued ID. Phone 830-303-8866 ahead of the trip to learn where to go.

Don't wait if a transfer is coming. Anything still in storage 30 days after someone moves to another facility is destroyed or donated. A person freed without decent clothing is given some to wear home.

Medical care is one of the jail's own divisions. If you know of an illness, a needed medicine or a fresh injury, call 830-303-8866 and ask about medical. Give the name, birth date and SO#, plus the doctor and pharmacy if you know them. Privacy rules may keep staff from telling you much.

Worried about care or conditions? The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the state agency that inspects jails, takes reports on its complaint form, by mail at P.O. Box 12985, Austin, TX 78711, or at 512-463-5505. State law also says a person in emergency mental health custody who is kept at a jail must be housed apart from people facing charges (Health and Safety Code 573.001).

Sheriff's deputies, constables in four precincts and city police officers can all arrest on a warrant. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 830-379-1224 to learn if one is active. Two official wanted lists are online: the Sheriff's Most Wanted page, plus the Texas 10 Most Wanted run by DPS. Case filings show on the county court and jail portal, and each Justice of the Peace office can look up a missed ticket. Before doing anything about a warrant, get legal advice. With counsel, a person can walk in to the jail and surrender, or the lawyer can file to have the issuing judge reset the date. Felony case files are held by the District Clerk at 211 W. Court Street, Seguin, TX 78155, 830-303-8875.

The jail's daily magistrate court is the first stop, inside two days of the arrest. After that, the case goes to the court for its level. Felonies belong to the District Courts. Class A and B misdemeanors are split between the two numbered County Courts at Law. Justices of the Peace handle fine-only cases. Look the case up on the records portal by name or cause number, or read the District Clerk's felony docket.

For a felony date, ring the District Clerk at 830-303-8875. For a misdemeanor date, ring the County Clerk at 830-303-8861. Both share 211 W. Court Street, Seguin, TX 78155. Our court page goes step by step from the first hearing to a sentence.

Cases brought by U.S. prosecutors here run through San Antonio, a division seat of the Western District. Find the clerk at 262 West Nueva Street, Room 1-400, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-472-6550. At a detention hearing a few days in, a federal judge rules on release or custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).

• Until trial, federal defendants are guarded and transported by the U.S. Marshals Service. Reach its office at 262 West Nueva Street, Room 2-300, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-332-6800.
• When a federal prisoner is housed in a county jail, that jail can confirm it by phone.
• After sentencing, find the federal prison on the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Posting bail does not always mean going home. When ICE wants someone, things usually go in this order:

1. The first sign is usually Form I-247A, a detainer that ICE lodges with the jail.
2. The form requests a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so agents have time to come (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails are bound by CCP art. 2A.060 to honor these holds. Only someone who shows papers proving citizenship or lawful status is excused. Government Code 752.053 also blocks any local policy that would slow immigration enforcement.
4. S.B. 8 became law in 2025. It requires every jail-running sheriff to seek a 287(g) deal from ICE, and December 1, 2026, is the last day to do so (Government Code ch. 753).
5. Once ICE takes over, its San Antonio Field Office handles the case: 3523 Crosspoint Drive, San Antonio, TX 78217, 210-564-3300. Detainees from this area may go to the processing center at 409 FM 1144, Karnes City, TX 78118, 830-254-2000.
6. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It works from an alien registration number (A-number), or from a full name joined with a birth country.

For noncitizens, pleading guilty can change immigration status, so get a lawyer's view on that first.

TDCJ, the state's prison agency, takes people sentenced to prison or state jail. New arrivals first go to an intake unit for testing and classification. They are then assigned to a unit that suits their sentence and needs. Until the transfer happens, the person stays in the county jail.

The TDCJ inmate search accepts the prison number (TDCJ) or state ID (SID). It also takes a surname plus first initial. It is updated on working days only, and its data is at least a day old. For a list of the state's prisons, visit our Texas state prisons page.

In Texas, 17-year-olds go to adult court. A child aged 10 to 16 who is taken into custody goes to juvenile intake, not the adult jail. The arresting officer must alert a parent quickly and explain the reason (Family Code 52.02). Locally, held youths stay at the Juvenile Detention Center. Juvenile Services answers at 830-303-1274 and has its own Juvenile Services page.

A judge reviews a youth's detention within two working days, or by the next working day after a Friday or Saturday arrest (Family Code 54.01). The court names a lawyer before that hearing. Youth records are kept private, so call Juvenile Services instead of searching online.

Arrests in this county come mostly from the groups below.

• Sheriff's Office: deputies patrol the parts of the county outside city limits. Patrol and general questions go to 830-379-1224.
• Cibolo Police Department: city offices at 200 South Main Street, Cibolo, TX 78108, 210-658-9900, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Other towns: for Seguin, Schertz, New Braunfels, Marion, Kingsbury, Santa Clara, Selma, Staples and New Berlin, phone the Sheriff's Office. Staff can say which department handled the arrest and how to reach it.
• Constables: Precinct 1, 830-372-4223. Precinct 2, through the county operator at 830-303-4188 (ask for Constable Precinct 2). Precinct 3, 210-945-6685. Precinct 4, 830-372-8918.
• State troopers: DPS troopers work the state highways. After a trooper's arrest, the jail at 830-303-8866 can confirm a booking.