The lookup lists adults held in county custody. Work through it like this:

1. Open the jail lookup on any device with internet access.
2. Key in the surname. Add a given name to trim a long list.
3. Tap the row that fits to see the person's record.
4. Note the booking or ID number, since you'll need it for letters and deposits.

The Sheriff reports a daily headcount above 800, so a familiar surname can return dozens of rows. When two entries look alike, read the birth date to staff at 409-726-2500 and they can point you to the right one.

Common reasons a name is absent:

• Intake isn't finished. Booking covers a pat search, property bagging, ID photos, a paramedic screening and charge entry. Wait an hour, then look again.
• They're already out. Release comes through a bond, a paid fine, time served, a District Attorney refusal or a TDCJ commitment.
• Spelling slips. Try a middle name, a former surname or just the first letter of a given name.
• Too young for adult jail. Kids under 17 are kept at a separate juvenile center when held.
• Federal custody. Someone held for a U.S. agency may sit in a different building in the county.

Records staff at 409-726-2500 give the fastest answer.

County custody is spread across more than one building:

• Correctional Facility, 5030 Hwy 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-726-2500. This is the main adult jail, where booking and release happen. Each person is classified as low, medium or high risk, or as a trusty. Lower-risk groups sleep in open dormitories. Medium-risk inmates go places under escort. High-risk inmates, and anyone separated for safety or discipline, are housed in two maximum-security buildings holding 186 beds combined. The Magistrate Court sits inside as well.
• Beaumont Jail, 409-835-8422, visits 409-835-8633. Ask staff there for its street address and who is housed there.
• A privately run jail. Texas jail inspectors count one more lockup in the county, run by a private company. In mid-2022, 279 of its 312 occupants were federal prisoners rather than local arrests. The Sheriff's Office at 409-835-8411 can say where it sits.
• City police stations. Nederland's department keeps nobody and transfers each arrest to the county. After a Port Arthur arrest, or one by officers in the county seat, ask the arresting department where the person went.

Arrests near the Orange, Hardin, Liberty or Chambers line can mean a stay in that county's lockup. Each has a page of ours with its address and phone: the Orange County Correctional Facility, Hardin County Jail, Liberty County Jail and Chambers County Jail.

Plan to ask for a booking photo in writing, since the jail lookup is built around custody records. Under Gov't Code 552.108(c), basic arrest details are public and must be handed over promptly. Mail a Public Information Act request for mugshots or other booking records to the Sheriff's Office, 1001 Pearl St., Suite 103, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-835-8411. A reply that takes longer than ten business days must come with a promised date.

• Mugshot sites charging $150 or more for removal have to fix or pull an inaccurate or incomplete record with no fee. Posting anything covered by an expunction or an order of nondisclosure is barred too (Business and Commerce Code 109.004, 109.005).
• Ask ICE for its own booking photos via its records request form.
• Booking photos from U.S. agencies are seldom released, apart from a U.S. Marshals fugitive photo.

Custody alerts for Texas county jails now run through Texas IVSS-Counties. Registered users hear by phone or email when a person is booked, let go, moved to TDCJ, or has a hearing scheduled or moved.

• Look people up with all or part of a name. Creating an account is optional.
• Phone help in English and Spanish never closes: 866-268-8959.
• The service costs nothing, and the inmate gets no notice of your registration.

Victims can get case news from the prosecutor's victim staff at 215 Franklin St., 2nd Floor, Beaumont, TX 77701, hotline 409-833-3377.

Magistrates hold court inside the Correctional Facility at 5030 Hwy 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-726-2574, holidays included. Within 48 hours, each new arrestee hears the charge and their rights, gets a probable cause ruling, can start a request for appointed counsel and learns the bail amount.

• Bond can be cash posted with the Sheriff. It can be a surety bond from a county-approved bondsman. Or a magistrate may grant a personal bond, which costs nothing at the outset.
• A split bond, mixing cash with another bond type, is refused here.
• Licensed bondsmen appear on the Bail Bond Board's approved list.
• Holds can stretch the stay: four hours after bond on a family violence case, plus any ICE detainer or out-of-county warrant.

Payment, refunds and each bond type get fuller treatment on our release guide.

Open the person's record in the lookup or ask jail staff at 409-726-2500. The magistrate also states the charge at the first hearing.

Offense grades in Texas start at Class C, punished by a fine alone. Misdemeanors in Class B and Class A may mean time in a county lockup. Felony grades then climb from state jail felony to capital (Penal Code 12.21 to 12.35).

• Felony case files: District Clerk, 1085 Pearl Street, Room 203, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-835-8580
• Misdemeanor files: County Clerk, 409-835-8475
• Case numbers and filed charges: re:SearchTX, free to join

The Criminal District Attorney, 409-835-8550, has the last word on what charge is filed. Its intake division screens new cases.

During the opening hearing, the magistrate asks whether the person wants appointed counsel. Saying yes means signing a sworn statement of finances plus an application, and the magistrate assists with that paperwork. Felony appointments come from a District Judge. Misdemeanor ones come from a County Court at Law judge.

• Income under 125% of federal poverty guidelines creates a presumption of need.
• Under CCP art. 26.04(j)(1), an appointed attorney should try to reach the client before the close of the following workday.
• Questions about a pending request go to the Magistrate Court, 409-726-2574.

Hiring private counsel is always an option. Texas also lets a lawyer of record post a client's bond (Occupations Code 1704.163).

Call before you go. The visit line for the Correctional Facility is 409-726-2565. The Beaumont Jail's visit line is 409-835-8633. Ask about days, sign-up, ID and what you can bring.

Every county jail in Texas must meet a state minimum:

• Two or more in-person visit periods each week, 20 minutes apiece at least
• At least one slot on evenings or weekends
• A parent, guardian or attorney may have to accompany minors
• Extra visits for verified veterans that don't count against that minimum

Our visiting guide adds tips.

Account balances cover commissary purchases and, at many jails, calling time. For current deposit options, limits and fees, ring 409-726-2500 with the inmate's full name and booking number.

A money order may go by mail to Jefferson County Correctional Facility, 5030 Hwy 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705, with the name and ID number printed clearly. Don't send cash.

See our deposit guide for the usual methods and our commissary overview for what a balance pays for.

Texas jail design rules require a phone where people are booked, so a first call often happens early. Past that, each jail picks its own setup for calls, messaging and tablets. The jail at 409-726-2500 can explain accounts, rates and recording.

Leave case details for the lawyer, never a jail line. More is on our pages about jail calling and inmate messaging.

Every envelope or postcard needs the person's full name plus their booking/ID number on the outside. Under the Sheriff's rules, letters and postcards are scanned so inmates read them on kiosks.

• Personal letters: that address has varied, so check the Sheriff's mail page or call 409-726-2500 first.
• Legal mail, books, money orders: Jefferson County Correctional Facility, 5030 Hwy 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705.
• Books must come directly from the publisher.

State rules set no limit on letter count. Staff open mail from attorneys only with the inmate present. General pointers are on our mail guide.

Intake and Releasing staff log and bag property at booking, and every release goes out through that section at 5030 Hwy 69 South, Beaumont, TX 77705.

• Phone 409-726-2500 before the drive and ask for property release.
• Ask whether the inmate must first sign off on handing the items to you.
• Carry a photo ID.
• Find out how unused account funds come back to the person.

A state-certified paramedic checks health at booking. After classification, medical staff take a history. They also give a physical. Each person gets a medical chart that stays on file.

Call 409-726-2500 about medicine or a health concern. Tell staff what medicine is needed, the dose, and the name of the doctor who prescribed it. Name any mental health worry plainly. Under CCP art. 16.22, a jailer who notices possible mental illness has 12 hours to send the magistrate notice.

Inspectors at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards review complaints the jail leaves unresolved. Use its web form or call 512-463-5505. Dial 911 in an emergency.

Criminal warrants countywide fall to the Sheriff's Fugitive Warrant Division, reachable at 409-835-8408. Constables and city officers serve them too. Ticket warrants from the Precinct 1, Place 1 justice court are listed on its fees and warrants page. The DPS list of the Texas 10 Most Wanted shows the state's top fugitives. Talk to a lawyer before you act. A lawyer can arrange a scheduled turn-in or ask the issuing judge to reset the hearing. Paperwork for felony warrants traces back to the District Clerk, 1085 Pearl Street, Room 203, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-835-8580.

Whichever clerk keeps the file can help:

• Felony settings: the District Clerk at 409-835-8580, or the criminal court information line at 409-835-8538
• Misdemeanor settings: County Clerk, 409-835-8475
• Traffic and other tickets: the court named on the citation, for example Port Arthur Municipal Court, 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, TX 77640, 409-983-8686

Each courthouse, and what happens at every stage, appears on our court guide.

Federal cases from this corner of Texas belong to the Eastern District, which sits at the Jack Brooks Federal Building, 300 Willow Street, Suite 104, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-654-7000.

1. A federal judge rules at the opening appearance on pretrial detention versus release, following 18 U.S.C. 3142.
2. Detained defendants are in U.S. Marshals custody. Its local office at 409-839-2581 can say where.
3. Pretrial federal detainees often go to contract jails. In 2022 the county's private jail held mostly federal prisoners.
4. Once sentenced, people show up on the BOP inmate locator. The nearby FCC Beaumont complex is at 5830 Knauth Road, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-727-0101.

Immigration custody often moves in these steps:

1. Form I-247A is how ICE asks a local jail to hold someone it wants.
2. The jail may hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under CCP art. 2A.060, Texas jails have to honor these holds unless the person proves lawful presence. A separate statute, Gov't Code 752.053, forbids sheriffs and cities from limiting immigration enforcement by policy. And under S.B. 8, passed in 2025, every Texas county running a jail faces a December 1, 2026, cutoff to finalize a 287(g) pact with ICE.
4. Transfers here are handled by ICE's Houston Field Office, 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816.
5. Detainees from this region may land at sites such as the Montgomery Processing Center, 806 Hilbig Road, Conroe, TX 77301, 936-521-4900.
6. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator using the person's A-number, or their name and native country. No match? Call the Houston office.

Both state prisons and state jails are run by TDCJ, the state's criminal justice department. Someone sentenced waits at the county jail until TDCJ collects them. Intake comes next, then assignment to a unit.

• The TDCJ search finds people by TDCJ number, SID number, or surname plus at least one initial.
• People still waiting in the county jail won't appear yet. The data lags at least a day and refreshes on workdays.
• Unit-by-unit details are on our Texas prison directory.

Texas sends children aged 10 to 16 to juvenile court, while 17-year-olds go through adult court (Family Code 51.02). Youths who must stay in custody are held apart from adults at the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center, 5326 Hwy. 69 S., Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-722-7474. The adult jail lookup won't list them.

Officers must notify a parent promptly. A detention hearing must follow by the close of the second working day (Family Code 52.02, 54.01). Juvenile Probation also answers in Port Arthur at 409-983-8370. The county's Youth Academy is a daytime boot-camp school for students on probation, and nobody is locked in there.

The Census Bureau counted an estimated 254,321 residents here on July 1, 2025. Agencies that make arrests include:

• Sheriff's Office, 1001 Pearl St., Suite 103, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-835-8411. Port Arthur sub-courthouse line: 409-983-8350.
• Beaumont Police Department, 255 College Street, Beaumont, TX 77701, non-emergency 409-832-1234
• Port Arthur Police Department, 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, TX 77641, 409-983-8600
• Nederland Police Department, 1400 Boston Avenue, Nederland, TX 77627, business office 409-723-1518, dispatch 409-722-4965
• Groves Police Department, 4201 Main Ave., Groves, TX 77619, business 409-962-0244, dispatch 409-727-1614
• Port Neches Police Department, 1201 Merriman St, Port Neches, TX 77651, non-emergency 409-722-1424
• Lamar University Police Department, mailing address P.O. Box 10013, Beaumont, TX 77710

Constables make arrests as well:

• Precinct 1: 1085 Pearl Street, Suite 103, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-835-8450
• Precinct 2: 525 Lakeshore Drive, Port Arthur, TX 77640, 409-983-8335
• Precinct 4: 19217 FM 365, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-434-5450
• Precinct 6: 1225 Pearl Street, Suite 101, Beaumont, TX 77701, 409-839-2339
• Precinct 7: 7933 Viterbo Road, Suite 5, Beaumont, TX 77705, 409-719-5990
• Precinct 8: 525 Lakeshore Drive, Port Arthur, TX 77640, 409-983-8311

For arrests in Taylor Landing, Nome, China or Bevil Oaks, or a trooper's highway stop, the Sheriff's Office knows which agency was involved.